Man held in case of missing brothers after human remains are found on his farm

A man being investigated in connection with two missing Wisconsin farmers will remain in jail without bond until another hearing next week, a Missouri judge ruled Thursday, according to CNN affiliate KCTV.

Garland “Joey” Nelson will be back in court August 8. He’s been charged with tampering with a vehicle after a truck rented by Nicholas Diemel, 35, and his brother, Justin Diemel, 24, was found in a commuter lot last week and Nelson admitted driving it there.

Investigators looking for the Diemel brothers found human remains Tuesday on a Missouri farm visited by the missing brothers.

“This is still an active investigation, and human remains have not been identified at this time,” Clinton County Sheriff Larry Fish said at a news conference. The causes of death haven’t been determined, Fish said.

Nelson, who owns the farm, is the only person who’s been arrested in the case, Fish said.

The brothers, owners of a livestock company, were in Missouri for a cattle deal. Their company has contracts with farmers in multiple states to raise cattle for them, CNN affiliate KCTV reported. Nelson’s Braymer, Missouri, farm was one of several farms they were going to visit last week, the affiliate said.

“Investigators are still working with Frontier Forensic doctors to determine what took place,” Fish said. The sheriff declined to give any further information.

Nelson has been the subject of previous investigations, including a federal one, Fish said. In 2015, when Nelson was 21 years old, he pleaded guilty to a cattle fraud scheme that resulted in losses of nearly $300,000 for the victims, according to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Missouri.

Nelson’s three-part fraud scheme included loan fraud, livestock sales and insurance fraud, the attorney’s office said.

A year later, Nelson was sentenced to two years in federal prison without parole and ordered to pay $262,450 to the victims.