Nearly two years after he went missing, the body of Dylan Rounds was found this morning in northern Utah.
19 year old Rounds went missing from his family’s 600 acre farm in Lucin, Utah, in May of 2022. On the morning of May 28 he called his grandmother from the farm; this is the last known communication he had with anyone.
His family became worried when they hadn’t heard from him, and reported him missing to the Box County Sheriff’s Office on May 30, 2022.
James Brenner remains in custody after being charged with Dylan’s murder back in March 2023.
The Disappearance of Dylan Rounds
The last confirmed sighting of Dylan Rounds was at the Saddle Sore Bar in Montello, Nevada on the evening of May 26, 2022. The bar is located about 30 miles west of Lucin, Utah, where Dylan was living and working on his families farm.
On the morning of May 28, 2022, Dylan spoke to his maternal grandmother on the phone, stating he would call her back later that day. Dylan never called her back, and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
His family became worried when they hadn’t heard from him, and reported him missing to the Box County Sheriff’s Office on May 30, 2022.
Investigation
On May 30, 2022, the day he was reported missing, Dylan’s boots were found approximately 100 yards from where his grain truck was parked (about 5 miles west of the farm), appearing as if they had been casually tossed out.
Detectives told Dylan’s mother that it appeared the boots had a drop of blood on them, and that they would be sent off for testing. They were sent off to the lab on June 6.
Law enforcement confirmed the last activity on Dylan’s cell phone was the call he made to his grandmother on the morning of May 28, 2022, and that it was made near his farm. The last ping on his phone was at 3:41 pm that afternoon, and it was at or within 15 miles of the farm.
Multiple agencies have been assisting with the search for Dylan, including the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Search And Rescue, the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Horse Posse, Weber County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, Elko County Sheriff’s Office, Utah Department of Public Safety Aero Bureau, Utah Search Dogs, and the FBI.
According to the Official Find Dylan Rounds Facebook page, Dylan’s maroon Ford 4×4 4-door pickup was found parked at the farm, freshly pressured washed. The seat was pushed too far forward for him to have been able to drive, and the transfer case was found to have been placed in 4X4 mode, which Dylan knew was not working properly.
There has been no activity on his cell phone or credit card since he went missing. None of the vehicles on the farm were missing, and his personal belongings were all left behind. However, his cell phone and wallet have not been located.
On June 16, 2022, the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office announced the search for Dylan was being treated as both a missing person’s case and criminal investigation.
According to authorities, volunteer teams have logged over 300 hours of searches, covering more than 3,000 miles, while detectives have spent 650 hours investigating the case thus far.
The Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office is the lead law enforcement agency in Dylan’s case, but the FBI confirmed they are now helping with the investigation.
Dylan’s parents are actively involved in the search, and are offering a $100,000 reward to anyone who can locate him or knows where he may be.
On June 30, 2022, it was announced that an arrest warrant had been issued on Dylan’s neighbor, James Brenner, on a weapons charge. The warrant is for possessing a firearm as a felon, but does not mention whether the neighbor is a suspect in Dylan’s disappearance.
James Brenner Named Suspect in Dylan’s Disappearance
On July 6, 2022, federal prosecutors named James Brenner a suspect in Dylan’s disappearance. They asked the judge to keep him in custody pending trial, citing his criminal history.
At the time of his disappearance Brenner was squatting in a trailer on a property near Dylan’s farm. Multiple search warrants have been executed on his trailer.
On August 16, 2022, authorities executed another search warrant on Brenner’s property. However, authorities did not find anything related to their investigation.
James Brenner Charged With Murder
On March 3, 2023, James Brenner was formally charged with aggravated murder and abuse or desecration of a human body.
During the investigation authorities discovered a pair of boots that belonged to Dylan on the property, one of which tested positive for Dylan’s blood with DNA analysis.
Law enforcement confirmed the last activity on Dylan’s cell phone was a call he made to his grandmother on the morning of May 28, 2022, and that it was made near his farm. The last ping on his phone was at 3:41 pm that afternoon, by a pond not far from where Brenner was staying.
Digital evidence from the phone revealed a time lapse video during the time of Dylan’s disappearance showing blood stains on Brenner’s arms and shirt. Testing of the shirt confirmed the blood belonged to Dylan.
Leave a Reply