Wisconsin brothers on cattle business trip feared dead after visiting farm in Missouri; farm owner arrested as cops search his property
CAMERON, MISSOURI: A man from Missouri has been charged in the disappearance of two Wisconsin brothers who went missing while on a business trip, according to reports. Authorities, who were initially treating it as a missing person case, have now changed it to a death investigation.
The man, identified as 25-year-old Garland Nelson of Braymer, Missouri, was arrested and charged with first-degree felony of tampering with a motor vehicle on July 26, KMBC reported.
His charges are believed to be in connection with the search of 35-year-old father-of-four Nick Diemel, and his 24-year-old brother Justin Diemel. The pair were reportedly visiting farms in Missouri's Caldwell and Clinton counties when they missed their flight home on July 21.
A search was launched for the brothers, and police eventually found their missing rental truck abandoned in a commuter parking lot with the keys in the ignition on July 22 in Holt, Missouri.
Nick's wife, Lisa, while talking to Fox4KC, said that the bothers were staying at the Quality Inn in Cameron, Missouri, and were supposed to visit a client the day they went missing. She added that the last she spoke with her husband was the morning of the day they went missing. "I honestly don't know what's happened to them, but something isn't right," she added.
The authorities, who processed the brothers' truck for evidence, were seen digging in the dirt behind a home near Braymer, which is listed as Nelson's farm address on his charging documents.
Police said that the truck's GPS information indicated that the brothers had arrived at Nelson's farm at 9.30am July 21, and then the GPS showed the truck leaving the farm at 11:44 am. One of the brothers' employees reportedly said that he talked to the pair on the phone at 11 am and "everything seemed fine."
When authorities searched surveillance videos, they saw the truck in Polo, Missouri, about 15 miles away from Braymer, at about 12.15 p.m. However, there was nobody in the truck's passenger seat in the clips. It was later seen parked in the commuter lot in Holt.
Police said that Nelson, in his charging document, admitted that he left the truck in the commuter parking lot.
Caldwell County Sheriff Jerry Galloway, in a press conference, said that the Diemel brothers' case has "changed from a missing person’s case into a death investigation," but did not reveal the information on what caused them to change the status of the case.
Nick Diemel is described as 5 foot 7, weighing 210 pounds with black hair and hazel eyes. Justin has brown hair and hazel eyes. He is 5 foot 11 and weighs 200 pounds.
Anyone with information about the Diemel brothers' case is asked to call Clinton County CrimeStoppers at 816-632-TIPS.