What Happened with Dylan Rounds?

The progenitors of a 19-year-old Utah agriculturist, purportedly slain in 2022, assert that they are prepared to progress now that the individual suspected of ending their son's life has been formally indicted.

James Brenner, aged 59, was officially accused last Friday with one count of aggravated murder in the demise of Dylan Rounds, and one count of abuse or desecration of a human body, as delineated in court records, reported by EastIdahoNews.com.

"For our family, and for Dylan, this stands as a significant triumph. This matter cannot be clandestinely concealed. It is now in the public domain; charges have been brought forth, and we can commence the journey ahead," expressed Rounds' mother, Candice Cooley, to the outlet on Thursday.

Rounds, who had procured hundreds of acres of land in the secluded Utah desert several years ago, in pursuit of his aspiration to possess a farm, last conversed with his grandmother in May 2022. He informed her that he was relocating his grain truck from his camper in northwest Utah near the Nevada border to a shed about five miles away, seeking refuge from an impending rainstorm.

Cooley, domiciled in Idaho, learned on May 30 that no member of the family had communicated with Rounds since then.

"I would go three or four days without conversing with him, and then we'd have a chat for five consecutive days," she divulged to PEOPLE in June of last year. "But he was always in contact with someone. So, when it dawned on us that no one had communicated with him, we all headed down to the farm."

Upon arrival, Cooley recounted discovering his grain truck in the shed. Subsequently, a search and rescue team unearthed his boots behind a mound of soil, one of which bore a bloodstain, confirmed through DNA analysis to be attributed to the absent teenager, as per EastIdahoNews.com.

According to a federal complaint acquired by PEOPLE, Brenner was occupying a trailer on the premises where Rounds stored his grain truck.

During a search of Brenner's trailer on June 16, authorities stumbled upon ball ammunition, ignition caps, black powder, and speed loads, all associated with 'muzzle loading,' the complaint states. Another search on June 21 led to the confiscation of boxes of ammunition and a muzzle loader.

On June 20, a confidant and neighbor of Brenner's relayed to authorities that subsequent to the teenager's disappearance and Brenner's interrogation by authorities, Brenner purportedly transported three black powder guns to his residence and implored him to 'safeguard' them, according to the federal complaint.

"When [the friend and neighbor] queried 'why,' Brenner asserted that he needed to take such measures for 'his own safety' and cited that 'the last time he encountered legal issues, authorities confiscated all his possessions, and he was averse to relinquishing what little he possessed," the complaint elucidates. Court documents filed in Box Elder County, Utah, reveal that investigators conducted a digital forensic extraction of Rounds' phone and stumbled upon a video, timestamped at the time of Rounds' disappearance, per EastIdahoNews.com.

"The video depicted the defendant with bloodstains adorning his arms and shirt as he meticulously cleansed a firearm. The shirt worn by the defendant in the video was scrutinized, revealing traces of the victim's DNA," elucidates the probable cause statement.

Cooley reminisced that her son harbored aspirations of owning his farm since childhood.

"From his formative years, he harbored an innate desire to pursue farming," she previously recounted to PEOPLE. "He epitomized the quintessential American farmer. Dylan would have seamlessly blended into the milieu, clad in his overalls, a familiar figure in the coffee shop, chewing straw, sipping on coffee. That's who he was. That's who he was destined to become."The remains of Dylan Rounds, a denizen of eastern Idaho who vanished nearly two years ago, were discovered on Tuesday morning in a secluded locale of northern Utah, proximate to the Nevada boundary, as confirmed by his family.

Rounds disappeared from his farm in the desert hamlet of Lucin, Utah, during Memorial Day weekend in 2022. The 19-year-old conversed with his grandmother over the phone before his vanishing and never resurfaced. His family has expended the past two years in relentless pursuit of elucidation.

“We extend our gratitude to all for their unwavering support and affection,” conveyed Candice Cooley, Round’s mother, to EastIdahoNews.com. “We are appreciative that we have now reclaimed Dylan’s remains and can repatriate him as we persevere in our quest for justice.”James Brenner faces charges of aggravated murder and abuse or desecration of a human body in connection to Rounds’ demise. He guided authorities to the site where the young man was interred Tuesday morning as part of a plea agreement, disclosed Cooley. Family members were apprised around 11 a.m. that skeletal remains had been unearthed, and authorities presume them to be those of Rounds.

“The FBI collaborated with the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office in scouring the area for evidence and recovering the remains. The remains are currently in the custody of the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner for identity confirmation,” disseminated the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office in a statement on Facebook. “Our condolences extend to the family of Dylan Rounds. We offer our deepest sympathies for the loss of their kin. We comprehend that the anguish stemming from their bereavement is incalculable, and we hope they find solace in moving forward.”