SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A multi-agency investigation entered its third day Thursday at a Southcrest home where human remains were found in the yard, with 74-year-old Dwight Rhone named as a person of interest in the ongoing case.
Investigators continued digging and searching areas of the home and backyard Thursday morning, with yellow markers marking specific locations throughout the yard as law enforcement officers methodically combed the scene.
The investigation has drawn significant attention from the community, with neighbors watching from their yards and people constantly driving by to observe the activity.
Miriam Diaz, who lives next door to the property, allowed ABC 10News reporter Laura Acevedo onto her yard to observe the investigation. Diaz said investigators first arrived Sunday evening.
"Last night they started," Diaz said in Spanish, referring to when the digging near her property line began.
Diaz and her family said they never saw or heard anything strange from the neighboring property until law enforcement arrived this week.
"We didn't hear noises, we didn't hear screams, nothing," she said during an interview in Spanish.
Her husband took pictures Thursday morning showing investigators working in the yard with the yellow markers visible throughout the scene. The neighbors noted that areas now being searched were previously overgrown with weeds several feet high.
As more details emerge about Rhone and his background, his estranged family members are speaking out about his lengthy criminal history. A nephew who now lives out of state described Rhone as troubled throughout most of his life.
"He's kind of like the black sheep of the family," said David Khalid Rhone, Dwight Rhone's nephew.
The family member explained that Rhone had a pattern of incarceration and brief periods of freedom.
"He'd be in prison for 5 years, out for 8 months, in prison for 6 years, out for a year," said Rhone.
The nephew said Rhone comes from a good family that tried to help him over the years, but they don't know where things went wrong. He said he has had no contact with Rhone for at least 20 years.
"That's not who we are as a family, and our name is important to us," he said.
Rhone remains only a person of interest in the investigation. Authorities have not yet provided updates on the identity of the remains found or the cause of death.
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