Remains found on Missouri farm in Wisconsin brothers search

BRAYMER, Mo. (AP) — Authorities who had been searching a Missouri farm for two missing Wisconsin brothers announced Wednesday that human remains have been found there, more than a week after the pair disappeared during a trip for their livestock business.

Clinton County Sheriff Larry Fish said the remains were found Tuesday on a farm in Braymer that was operated by Garland Nelson, who is accused of tampering with a vehicle that authorities say was rented by Nicholas Diemel, 35, and his 24-year-old brother, Justin Diemel.

The brothers haven’t been seen since they missed a flight back to Wisconsin after visiting northwest Missouri on a trip for the business they operate in Bonduel, Wisconsin.

Fish said during a brief news conference Wednesday that the remains haven’t been positively identified and no cause of death has been determined. He said a forensic pathologist determined the remains were human.

Authorities said shortly after the brothers disappeared that the case was a “long-term death investigation” but they have not said why they believe the brothers are dead.

Fish said on Monday the brothers went to the farm for a business deal that “has been going on for a few months” and authorities were trying to determine what occurred during that visit to the farm in Braymer, which is about 70 miles (112.65 kilometers) northeast of Kansas City.

Nicholas Diemel’s wife, Lisa Diemel, filed a petition Tuesday in Shawano County, Wisconsin, Circuit Court asking a judge to appoint her as a special administrator for the estates. It lists the brothers’ date of death as July 21.

Authorities on Monday charged Nelson, 25, of Braymer, with tampering with a vehicle. Charging documents say Nelson abandoned the Diemel brothers’ rental truck in a commuter parking lot near Holt after they visited the farm near Braymer. GPS data showed the truck arriving at the Braymer farm and then leaving about two hours later with only one driver. Deputies found the truck in the lot on July 22. The court documents say Nelson admitted to leaving the truck there.

Nelson has been held without bond at the Caldwell County Detention Center.
Online court records do not name an attorney for him.

Nelson was sentenced in 2016 to two years in prison for selling more than 600 head of cattle that did not belong to him. Federal prosecutors said at the time that Nelson pleaded guilty to cattle fraud that caused more than $262,000 in losses. He was released from prison in March 2018.

He also pleaded guilty in August 2015 to two misdemeanor counts of passing bad checks.