The discovery of a body in Jackson, Mississippi, has led to the arrest of Carol Ryan’s son and daughter-in-law, after the 81-year-old woman was reported missing. The remains were found buried in the couple’s backyard.

John Ryan, aged 50, and Samantha Ryan, 48, were taken into custody by the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office early on Christmas Eve, as indicated by inmate records. They each face charges of desecrating a human corpse, according to reports from local news sources WLBT and WJTV.

The couple was initially questioned by the Jackson Police Department regarding Carol’s disappearance on December 22, a fact confirmed by Jackson’s Interim Police Chief and Hinds County Sheriff Tyree D. Jones during a press conference held the next day.

That same evening, authorities secured a search warrant for the residence where John and Samantha once lived with Carol, suspecting that clues pertinent to her vanishing might be located there.

Utilizing a “specialized sniffing dog,” investigators were guided to a “specific spot in the backyard,” which the sheriff described as being potentially a grave site.

Excavation efforts in the yard revealed “unidentified human remains” encased in “some type of tarp.” The grave was noted to be “six to eight feet deep” and included concrete layers, providing further complexity to the investigation, according to the sheriff.

Authorities confirmed that a formal death investigation is underway, noting that the identity of the deceased has yet to be determined by the coroner and medical examiner.

“At this time, Carol Ryan will continue to be classified as a missing person,” the Jackson Police Department shared in a statement, “until the remains are conclusively identified through forensic analysis.”

“We’re still not exactly sure if this is the missing person,” the sheriff said in his press conference, “although there’s a strong indication that it is, but of course, we can’t confirm.”

The Jackson Police Department announced on Dec. 22 that a family member had reported Carol missing, saying she had not been heard from in “several months.” The relative who made the report was not John or Samantha, the sheriff later told reporters.

John and Samantha remain in police custody as of Dec. 29, and it’s unclear if they’ve retained an attorney. The husband and wife appeared before a judge on Dec. 24 and received $100,000 and $75,000 bonds, respectively, per WLBT and WJTV.