Cale is charged with concealment of a deceased human body.

At Cale's preliminary hearing Nov. 19, Sgt. R. L. Stump, with the Parsons detachment of the West Virginia State Police, testified that he decided to review the case, after being placed on desk duty because of injury.

Stump found a statement made by Wesley's son, Aaron, stating that he heard his father and brother, Wesley Cale Jr., talking about digging a hole, then later saw his brother digging in the shed behind the family's home.

That led about 20 troopers and members of civilian search-and-rescue teams to search the property on Licking Creek Road on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 11.

A West Virginia University professor brought in a ground-penetrating radar, which measures the density of the earth, and shows where ground has been disturbed.

The radar helped searchers find the body, which is believed to be that of Wesley Cale Sr.'s wife, Bonnie Lueann Woods-Cale.

Searchers found skeletal remains concealed under the dirt floor of the small wooden shed located about 30 yards from the rear of the residence on the property, according to Wesley Cale Sr.'s criminal complaint.

The remains were buried several feet deep, then covered by a large steel plate, the complaint says.

Bonnie Woods-Cale went missing on March 24, 2002, according to court testimony, and was reported missing on April 1, 2002, by Wesley and his attorney.

While the Office of the Medical Examiner has not yet identified the remains, troopers said clothing and jewelry found at the scene lead them to believe that the body is that of Bonnie Woods-Cale.

The medical examiner's office sent the badly decayed remains to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D. C., to get help from one of its forensic anthropologists.

Dr. John Carsons with the medical examiner's office testified that the Institute has not identified the body or determined the cause of death yet.

However, the Institute was able to tell Carsons the body had been severely beaten, with fractures to the skull, neck, ribs and collarbone.

Wesley Cale Sr.'s defense attorney argued that the statute the prosecutor charged Cale under did not go into effect until 2006, and told Irons he didn't believe Cale could be charged since the incident allegedly occurred in 2002.

The prosecution argued that the continued concealment of the body meant that Cale could be charged, and Irons agreed.

Prosecutors say they may file new charges, once they learn the identity of the body.

Troopers arrested Wesley Cale Sr. just before 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13.

They found him at a camp he owns or co-owns in the Lead Mine community, according to 1st Sgt. J. A. Wise with the Elkins detachment.

Someone called in an anonymous tip that morning, telling troopers that Cale's car was parked at his mother-in-law's home in the Moore community, Wise says.

When troopers responded to the home, they saw the car, which Wise said was not there on the previous day.

Cale is in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail.