BOX ELDER COUNTY, Utah — After dozens of volunteers with high-tech equipment spent many hours in the western Utah desert, the remains of 19-year-old Dylan Rounds were discovered this week.
"It's a very big vast desert and we missed the needle in a haystack for a long time," said Chief Deputy Sheriff Cade Palmer.
The Idaho teen moved to the town of Lucin to farm, and was last heard from over Memorial Day Weekend 2022.
Rounds' land is 150 miles away from the Box Elder County Sheriff's Office in Brigham City.
"Every time we went out there it's a big event. There are no facilities. There are no gas stations. There's no food," said Palmer.
With the help of the FBI, remains believed to be Rounds' were found Tuesday in a "remote area." On Wednesday evening, the state medical examiner's office confirmed the identity.
"Every day, that's all you thought about is, 'How are we going to find Dylan? Where are we going to find Dylan? What resources?' It just consumes you," said Rounds' mother, Candice Cooley.
The man charged with Rounds' alleged murder, 60-year-old James Brenner, has been in police custody since summer 2022. Cooley said Brenner gave up the location of Rounds' remains as part of a plea deal, although the sheriff's office did not confirm that information.
"The ultimate goal was to get Dylan back," said Cooley. "We said many times we didn't want to make a deal with the devil, but ultimately get Dylan back and move forward."
The Rounds-Cooley family has publicly voiced their disappointment with law enforcement's handling of the investigation. Cooley said deputies didn't spread enough awareness over Rounds' disappearance.
"We don't have a division that posts missing persons," claimed Palmer. "Our detectives and our search and rescue team – when there's a report of a missing person, we go and we try to find them."
Cooley is working with Utah lawmakers and victims rights groups to prevent other families from experiencing the same heartbreak.
"It's about being held accountable for what you didn't do and what was done wrong," she said. "With that comes education, with education comes change, and with change, our son might've still been here."
Palmer said it should take around a week for the Utah Medical Examiner's Office to determine if the remains are indeed Rounds.
Brenner's preliminary hearing is set to start May 16. There's a possibility that could change after Tuesday's discovery.
Cooley wants the public to be aware of potential scammers posting fake fundraisers to collect money for a funeral for Rounds. The family does not intend to collect donations and any online fundraiser is not legitimately through them.
