Deputies arrest man in 2019 Gasconade County homicide case

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Deputies in eastern Missouri arrested a man Sunday in connection with the 2019 discovery of human remains on the banks of the Gasconade River.

The Gasconade County Sheriff's Office posted on Facebook that Jefferson County, Missouri, deputies arrested Daniel W. Russell of High Ridge, Missouri, on Sunday on suspicion of first-degree murder, abandoning a corpse and evidence tampering.

The remains were found in a plastic barrel lodged next to a boat ramp at the river access in Gasconade, a few months after Michael A. Graham of Georgia was reported missing. Investigators later confirmed the remains were those of Graham.

"After taking office and recognizing that the investigation had become stagnant, I directed members of the Sheriff's Office to conduct a comprehensive review of the cold case," Sheriff Scott Eiler wrote in the Facebook post. "Through renewed investigative efforts and continued collaboration, investigators were able to develop additional evidence."

The post doesn't elaborate on the nature of the new evidence.

Russell was being held Monday at the Franklin County Detention Center without bond, the post states.

Information about Russell's charges was not yet available in online court records Monday afternoon.