Human Remains Found in Eckles Township Identified

One of the Victims has Been Identified

ECKLES TOWNSHIP, Minn. – According to the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office, remains of one of the victims found in a fire pit located on a property in Eckles Township have been preliminarily identified.

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office positively identified one of the remains as belonging to Adam P. Thorpe, 39, of Maple Grove.

Authorities were investigating a missing person’s case and found the remains of two individuals while executing a search warrant at a residence in Eckles Township.

Reports state authorities were contacted by a concerned family member on February 4 to report a possible missing person.

The caller told authorities they had not had contact with their family member since the previous week and believed they had traveled from the Twin Cities metro to the Bemidji area possibly with an acquaintance.

Authorities located the vehicle the missing person had traveled in at the Palace Casino in Cass County and identified two people of interest in association with the vehicle.

With the assistance of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension both of those individuals were located and interviewed where further information was gathered that led investigators to believe a crime of violence had taken place at a residence the individuals shared together.

Authorities obtained a search warrant for the residence located in Eckles Township on February 5 where they located what is believed to be human remains from two individuals. One of the victims is believed to be from the Duluth-Superior area.

A suspect, 44-year-old Darren L. Stebe of Bemidji, was arrested on February 5 for violations related to his MN Department of Corrections Probation. He is expected to be arraigned on charges relating to the cause of death of Thorpe and 41-year-old Jason McDonough.

Further testing is needed to confirm the identity of the other remains but they are believed to be those of McDonough.