Body of Dylan Rounds found in remote Utah desert, family says
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LUCIN, Utah — The body of Dylan Rounds, a man from eastern Idaho who has been missing for nearly two years, was recovered Tuesday morning in a remote part of northern Utah near the Nevada line, according to his family.
Rounds disappeared from his farm in the desert town of Lucin, Utah, over Memorial Day weekend in 2022. The 19-year-old spoke with his grandmother on the phone before be vanished and was never heard from again. His family has spent the past two years searching for answers.
“We thank everyone for their support and love,” Candice Cooley, Round’s mother, tells EastIdahoNews.com. “We are grateful we now have Dylan’s body and can bring him home as we continue our fight for justice.”
James Brenner is charged with aggravated murder and abuse or desecration of a human body in connection to Rounds’ death. He led authorities to the location of the young man’s burial site Tuesday morning as part of a plea agreement, Cooley says. Family members were told around 11 a.m. that skeletal remains had been found and authorities believe they are Rounds’.
“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,” the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office posted in a statement on Facebook. “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.”
Brenner has been in the Box Elder County Jail since being arrested on firearms violations in June 2022. He was squatting on property near Rounds’ farm when the young man disappeared, authorities said.
The Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office had no further comment on the discovery.