The remains of an Etowah County man reported missing last month – have reportedly been found.

Johnny Lee Rhodes was reported missing September 8th, however Etowah County Sheriff’s Office officials received information that he had been seen October 1st, being dropped off at a residence on Bristow Cove Road. 

Investigators – with the assistance of cadaver dogs from a private entity in St. Clair County, as well as cadaver dogs from Montgomery and Jefferson County, searched a nearby wooded area with no findings.

On Monday of this week (October 14th), a resident of the 4400 block of Bristow Cove Road, notified the Sheriff’s Office that a dog had brought to their property what could possibly be human bones.  Upon inspection, it was determined that one of those arm bones contained a surgical steel plate matching Rhodes’ medical history.

Investigators combed the wooded area until 10:00 that night without finding anything else.

Early the following morning, Etowah County investigators and members of the Jacksonville State University Department of Forensic Science returned to the location and continued to process the scene, recovering a majority of the human bones believed to belong to Rhodes – including a skull, several long bones, and a breast plate.  In addition, investigators located a phone in the same wooded area believed to belong to Rhodes.

Two persons of interest are currently in custody at the Etowah County Detention Center, as the Sheriff’s Office continues its investigation.

(AL.COM/www.al.com)