A 44-year-old Bemidji man likely will face charges in connection to a double homicide after authorities found the remains of two bodies in a fire pit, officials said Wednesday.

Although the Beltrami County attorney’s office has yet to file official charges related to the homicide, Darren L. Stebe has been in the county jail since Feb. 5, when he was arrested for violating his probation.

The Beltrami County sheriff’s office said Wednesday that Stebe contributed to the deaths of 39-year-old Adam Thorpe, of Maple Grove, and Jason McDonough, 41, whose last known address was in Superior, Wis.

In the ’90s, Thorpe was a DJ at First Avenue and other Twin Cities music clubs.

Minneapolis-based promoters HotDish paid homage to Thorpe in a Facebook post: “We will remember him for being one of the major pillars of our Twin Cities culture and one to thank for uplifting so many of us … through rhythm, through friendship, through laughter, through dance.”

County Attorney David Hanson said he couldn’t give a specific time when his office will file charges.

“Investigators have been working to gather evidence, interview potential suspects and witnesses, and (establish) a motive and timeline of events leading up to the discovery of the human remains,” Beltrami County Sheriff Ernie Beitel said in the news release Wednesday.

Authorities found the remains of Thorpe and McDonough in the fire pit on a property in the 6500 block of Minnesota 89 just west of Bemidji after investigators executed a search warrant Feb. 5 in connection with a missing person report.

The sheriff’s office received the missing person report Feb. 4 regarding Thorpe, who was driving to the Bemidji area from the Twin Cities. The caller was a family member who hadn’t heard from Thorpe since the week before. The missing person report also indicated Thorpe may have traveled with another person from the Duluth area.

The sheriff’s office located the car the two men reportedly drove in at the Palace Casino in Cass County. The vehicle led them to Stebe and another person of interest, who has not been named, officials said.

Investigators secured a warrant for the home where Stebe and the second person of interest allegedly stayed. That’s when they found the remains of Thorpe and McDonough.

Although the sheriff’s office said the remains were found in a fire pit, it didn’t describe the actual condition of the remains. However, they likely were either badly burned or otherwise damaged since investigators originally couldn’t definitively say they were human.

The remains were sent to the Ramsey County medical examiner’s office for identification.

The sheriff’s office said preliminary testing identified some of the remains as belonging to Thorpe. However, Beitel said they need further testing to confirm the other remains belong to McDonough.