SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Utah) – Authorities won’t relinquish their investigation of Dylan Rounds.
The 19-year-old disappeared on Memorial Day weekend. He was operating his farm in Lucin in western Box Elder County.
The mother of Dylan Rounds claimed authorities with Box Elder told her they will not turn the case to another agency to investigate. Candice Cooley said they would post their decision on Facebook.
But weeks have passed and there has been no official statement on Facebook from the sheriff’s department. Others pointed out that there may be a reason for the lack of transparency.
As a result of being shut out, Rounds’ family has relied on volunteer organizations like Heavy D Sparks to search for the whereabout of their son.
“We want to bring closure to Dylan Rounds family because losing a 19-year-old kid in the desert sucks,” said Dave Sparks one of the founders of Heavy D Sparks.
His statement was found on their Heavydsparks channel on Youtube.
His team was about to embark on an aerial search for Dylan. They also met with Dylan’s mother and her husband.
“They were out there trying to help us because we weren’t getting any help and it was amazing that they came out and did that,” said Candice Cooley.
Four months after Dylan disappeared from his farm near Lucin, Cooley claimed the sheriff’s office in Box Elder County has continued to shut them out of the investigation.
“No communication,” she said. “No reaching out, nothing.”
A former deputy chief of Unified Police said there is many reasons why law enforcement keeps things close to the vest.
“We don’t want maybe a family member or somebody else to hear about it and maybe repeat it,” said Chris Bertram. “These are maybe sensitive things that we’re waiting for results to come back whether it be for cellphones or lab results.”
The sheriff’s office did name James Brenner a suspect in Dylan’s disappearance. He remains in the Weber County jail where he faces federal and state charges for gun violations.
Cooley said she recently learned he failed a polygraph test.
“I was told two months ago they had enough to charge him,” she said. “I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if it was lip service. What are they waiting for?”
A Salt Lake trial attorney said the legal system can move slow.
“When you’re talking about serious felony crimes like murder, there’s no statute of limitation on murder,” said Clayton Simms. “So, it’s going to take time to develop theories of your case.”
But under Utah law, Simms said victims of crime do have rights.
“There should be no communication,” Simms said. “There should be information back and forth. A family does have a right to be informed of the procedures.”
And while the family claimed the investigation is going nowhere, Bertram understands the secrecy.
“But we hope that it’s because law enforcement has active leads out there, that they actively doing things out there, they’re just not at liberty to share information,” Bertram said.
There was a felony warrant for Brenner’s arrest in April 2021. But he was never arrested despite the seriousness of the crime. That is why there is a mistrust by Dylan’s family.
“If they would have done their job in the first place our son would still be here,” said Cooley.
Late Thursday, a spokesman from the Box Elder County sheriff’s office claimed they have too much invested to turn over the investigation to another agency. Deputy Chief Cade Palmer said the FBI has taken over the duties of informing Dylan’s family about any updates.
