Police believe they have found the body of 19-year-old Dylan Rounds, nearly two whole years after he vanished.
For those who haven’t followed the case, here is the rundown. According to the East Idaho News, Dylan disappeared from his farm in Utah in May 2022. He was last seen working on his farm on May 25, 2022. He then talked to his grandmother on the phone three days later. He was never seen or heard from again afterward. And for the past two years, his family has been hoping to get answers about what happened to Dylan. So sad.
What they did know was that a 60-year-old man named James Brenner had been squatting on a property near the farm at the time of his disappearance. The family reported Dylan had a “weird run-in” with the stranger, and he got some bad vibes from the man. In fact, they said Dylan “felt” the guy “was dangerous and may have been high.” Whoa! Police eventually found evidence in connection to the case near Brenner’s trailer: the teen’s boots were discovered next to a dirt pile on the property. Additionally, Dylan’s phone was located at the bottom of a pond. In light of the evidence, Brenner was named a suspect in Dylan’s disappearance in July 2022. He also was arrested on gun charges at the time.
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By March 2023, he was finally charged with aggravated murder and abuse or desecration of a human body in connection to the teenager’s death. Investigators reportedly discovered a time-lapse video on Dylan’s phone dated from around the time he went missing. Per East Idaho News, the clip “showed Brenner with blood stains on his arms and shirt as he is cleaning a gun.” Law enforcement said an analysis of that same shirt revealed it had Dylan’s DNA on it. When cops interviewed Brenner, court documents stated the suspect “made several claims that corroborated forensic evidence in addition to making numerous demonstrably false statements.”
It seemed like a case-closed type of situation, right? However, one massive problem remained. The documents noted police were still not able to find Dylan’s body despite the extensive search and investigation. That was apparently due to Brenner “removing and concealing it.” The family even got involved, working with a team that owned forensic dogs to help search for her son. Their efforts, sadly, were in vain. Two years after his disappearance, though, his remains have been finally located. And it’s all because of Brenner.
On Tuesday, the murder suspect led law enforcement to the site where he buried Dylan as part of a plea deal he made in the case. The Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Facebook:
“On April 9, 2024, skeletal remains presumed to belong to Dylan Rounds were recovered in the remote western Box Elder County area of Lucin. The FBI assisted the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office by processing the area for evidence and recovering the remains. The remains are in the possession of the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner for confirmation of identity.”
They continued:
“Our hearts go out to the family of Dylan Rounds. We offer our sincerest condolences for the loss of their family member. We understand that the pain of their loss is immeasurable, and we want to express our deepest sympathies to them. It is our hope that they can find peace moving forward.”
East Idaho News reported the family was notified they located his remains in a remote part of Northern Utah near the Nevada line at around 11:00 a.m. Dylan’s mom, Candice Cooley, reacted to the news, saying:
“We thank everyone for their support and love. We are grateful we now have Dylan’s body and can bring him home as we continue our fight for justice.”
We cannot imagine what must be going through her mind right now. At this time, no further information about his remains or the burial area has been released. Details about Brenner’s plea agreement also have not yet been disclosed either. Hopefully, the family will get some justice for what happened to Dylan.
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[Image via Box Elder County Sheriff’s Department, East Idaho News/YouTube]