Apparent partial human remains discovered Friday in the middle of a North Dakota farm field may be those of missing Vadnais Heights resident Michelle Newell, authorities said Monday.
The Cass County Sheriff's Office said the man last seen with Newell in August, Timothy J. Barr, provided information about the remains' location to Minnesota authorities on Friday.
Barr, 51, was charged Monday in Cass County with one count each of felony manslaughter and felony duty (to stop) in an accident involving death or injury. He is in custody in Minnesota awaiting an extradition hearing.
Hair, a forearm bone with the elbow connection, teeth and other small bones were recovered 5 to 10 feet away from a culvert in a farm field, according to authorities and charging documents.
"This [site] was on a minimum maintenance road, near the middle of a field," said the Cass County court documents. "Only someone with complete knowledge of where Ms. Newell was would be able to pinpoint where we found her."
Assistant Cass County State's Attorney Tristan Van de Streek said it's unclear what happened to the rest of the body.
"It would be hard for me to differentiate, at this point, what a person may have done vs. what animals may have done in the last couple of months," he said.
The Cass County charging documents reference evidence from a Ramsey County case brought against Barr in September in which an informant told Ramsey County authorities that Barr said Newell stole a pound of methamphetamine from him. She hid it in the woods and then hid from Barr. He "accidentally" backed over and killed her as she hid under his car.