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Sheriff: Bones of Arizona man found in fire pit, suspect in custody

Deputies went to a 67-year-old man's home to conduct a welfare check and found evidence of a sinister crime.

YAVAPAI COUNTY, Ariz. — The suspected skeletal remains of a 67-year-old man have been retrieved from a fire pit on his Yavapai County property and investigators believe he was the victim of foul play. 

Deputies with the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office traveled out to John McCabe's home after his mail hadn't been picked up at the Ashfork post office in over a year.  

When deputies arrived at the property in the Juniper woods, they found 76-year-old Terry Welfenberg living at McCabe's home. 

Welfenberg allegedly told YCSO that McCabe had left two years earlier and Welfenberg broke into the home to steal some firearms. The suspect indicated he had been living in McCabe's home for a while, YCSO said.

YCSO investigators conducted a search of the property and discovered human bones in a fire pit near the home. They later recovered McCabe's medical ID bracelet and his wallet at the property.

Welfenberg was taken into custody and is facing multiple criminal charges, YCSO said. 

“Now a suspected murderer is in custody and there can be justice for a man whose tragic death may never have been discovered,” Sheriff David Rhodes said in a statement.

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