Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) activity took place all day Wednesday at Romeo’s Little Market. An agent on scene said shortly before 6 p.m. that information would be slight, since it is a “very active investigation.” He did say that his unit specializes in homicides and that the Conejos County Sheriff and his staff have done a commendable job on their end.

He would neither confirm nor deny statements by Conejos County Coroner Richard Martin that human remains had been found and it was definitely a homicide.

Martin said he didn’t closely examine the body so he didn’t have an estimate of how long the individual had been deceased. Conejos County Sheriff Howard Galvez Jr. reported earlier that the investigation began when information was received about a missing person, James H. Sprouse, 77, who was last seen in June 2016 and reported missing on March 10, 2017. Community members say Sprouse and his wife once ran a store in the building and he had apparently been living in the back.

Martin said the identity of the remains hasn’t been formally confirmed and an autopsy is slated this Friday.