Authorities were investigating Tuesday whether a concrete-encased body buried in a Georgia backyard is a former Florida journalist who went missing in August.
Twin 31-year-old brothers have been arrested on an accusation of concealing the death of another person, said police in Winder, Georgia, where the body was found.
William and Christopher Cormier are being detained as the investigation continues, and the twins are known locally for their traveling and playing poker, said Winder Police Chief Dennis Dorsey.
An autopsy was being conducted Tuesday to determine if the remains belong to former crime reporter Sean Dugas, 30, of the Pensacola News Journal, who has been missing since August 27, said Pensacola Police Capt. David Alexander.
Pensacola detectives were working Tuesday in Winder, Georgia, located about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta.
Winder police went to the home of the brothers' father on Monday, acting on information from Pensacola police, Winder Police Chief Dorsey said.
The father said his sons arrived from Florida three weeks ago, and the brothers told their father they had been caring for the missing man's dog but ended up killing the dog, Winder police said.
The dog was buried in the backyard of a home that the father is renting, Dorsey said.
In the yard, police unearthed a body in a plastic storage container that had been encased with concrete, Dorsey said. The body was buried two feet below the surface, Dorsey said.
Authorities believe the body was buried about three weeks ago, and the concrete may have been purchased at a Home Depot, Dorsey said.
When the two brothers arrived at their father's home during the police investigation, they were detained, Dorsey said.
The father hasn't been charged and is cooperating with investigators, Dorsey said.
Managing Editor Ginny Graybiel of the Pensacola News Journal said that Dugas worked at the newspaper from 2005 to 2010.
"He started as a clerk and became a police reporter -- along the way he did a good bit of entertainment coverage," Graybiel said. "Sean was a very gentle, good-hearted soul. To be the victim of a crime like this is, of course, something we never could have imagined."
Dugas' girlfriend noticed he was missing August 27 when she went to pick him up at home for lunch that day and found he wasn't home, Pensacola's Capt. Alexander said in a statement.
When she returned to the home on September 7, she found it empty except for a television, Alexander said. A man who also lived at the house was gone, police said.
The girlfriend reported to police on September 13 that Dugas was missing, Alexander said.
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