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IDAHO FALLS — While many enjoyed camping, boating, visiting cemeteries and spending time outdoors this Memorial Day weekend, Candice Cooley and Justin Rounds marked a horrible anniversary: the disappearance of their son.
Dylan Rounds vanished May 28, 2022, in Lucin, Utah. Since then, one Christmas, one Thanksgiving, one summer and Dylan Rounds' 20th birthday in August have passed with Cooley and Rounds wondering what happened to their boy.
"Every day has been a first. This whole year has been at first," Cooley tells EastIdahoNews.com.
For months there were no answers. Then, in March, 59-year-old James Brenner was charged with one count of aggravated murder and one count of abuse or desecration of a human body.
Brenner was squatting on property near Dylan. He has a violent criminal history, according to court records, and video captured on Dylan Rounds' phone the morning he disappeared showed Brenner with blood stains as he cleaned a gun, charging documents say.
Brenner's next court appearance is scheduled for June 5 in Box Elder County, and Dylan Rounds' parents are frustrated the legal system is taking so long.
"We feel like he's sitting in jail laughing because you get charged on March 3, and here we are almost three months later, and he still hasn't even been arraigned," Cooley explains.
There has been no sign of Dylan Rounds since he disappeared in the remote Utah desert, even though his boots were found near a dirt mound and his phone was discovered at the bottom of a pond near Brenner's trailer.
Rounds and Cooley have spent countless hours with volunteer K-9 teams from Montana, Colorado, eastern Idaho and other states looking for Dylan Rounds over the past year.
"They come out and do the search during the day. Then they'll go back to the hotel and practice with their dogs and take care of them," Rounds says. "It's pretty neat to watch the determination they have and to do what they do."
Dylan Rounds' parents remain optimistic that their son will be found soon. They're "overwhelmed" with the support they've received from people all over the world. They want to give back and are working with Ron's Tire and Motorsports on a rib cook-off fundraiser to benefit K-9 search teams. It will be held June 10 and more information can be found on the Justice for Dylan Rounds Facebook page.
Watch our entire interview with Cooley and Rounds on EastIdahoNews.com.
