A group of N.C. kayakers came upon human remains while paddling along Johns River Aug. 30, sparking a death investigation.
The man – whose body was found near the Corpening Bridge – was identified as Mark Dwayne Mitchell, according to the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, who have arrested three people in connection with the case, according to a press release from the office.
Robert Ford Dale, Jr., 58, Rocky Lee Dale, 35, and Lorie Knight Stephens, 50, are each charged with felony concealment of unnatural death and disturbing human remains, according to their warrants for arrest, which were obtained by PEOPLE.
They have not yet entered pleas to the charges, Burke County Criminal deputy clerk Sara Canada tells PEOPLE.
Investigators have released sparse information about the circumstances surrounding Mitchell’s death, and on Tuesday, Sept. 10, Canada told PEOPLE that the sheriff’s office had not yet filed many of the preliminary documents in …