Missing man may be dead

LITTLE FALLS - Authorities investigating the disappearance of a Little Falls man said Sunday that they had found human remains in a shallow grave in Mille Lacs County.

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In a news release Sunday, Little Falls Police Chief Mike Pender said the remains were transported to the Anoka County Medical Examiner's office to determine cause and manner of death, as well as establish the identity of the body.

Pender could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Lewis Wilczek, 21, disappeared April 29 when he was supposed to meet someone in St. Cloud. His family told police officers it was uncharacteristic of him to lose contact with family or friends.

His Ford pickup truck was found Wednesday, and St. Cloud Police arrested a man who was driving it and claimed to be Wilczek. The man, Jeremy Jason Hull, 24, was being held in the Stearns County Jail for allegedly providing false information to police and for outstanding warrants.

The mother of Lewis Wilczek said she was told by police that her son's case had become a homicide investigation.

Police didn't say what role, if any, Hull might have played in Wilczek's disappearance but that Hull was a person of interest in the case.

Sharon Wilczek, Wilczek's mother, said police told her the investigation into her son's week-long disappearance had changed from a missing person case to a homicide. She declined to elaborate on what else police told her since the investigation is still open.

Sharon Wilczek described her son as a hard worker with a bright future. He worked for his father's fireplace wood business and also had his own exhaust and metal fabrication company. "Lewis didn't deserve this," she said.

Investigating agencies include the Little Falls and St. Cloud police departments; the Morrison, Stearns, Benton and Mille Lacs County sheriff's departments; and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

(The Associated press contributed to this story)