Ind. cops: Remains found in Chicago may be man missing a year

CHICAGO -- Police in Indiana believe a dismembered body found in a garage in a Chicago neighborhood Sunday may be that of a man missing more than a year, reports CBS Chicago.

And, Chicago police have said Milan Lekich's disappearance may be linked to the disappearance of his mother-in-law Nena Metoyer, who has been missing from Indiana for at least two weeks.

Police responded to a garage in Chicago's Hegewisch neighborhood around 3:20 p.m. Sunday after neighbors reported a foul odor, reports the station. Sources told the station the victim's body had been dismembered and wrapped in plastic.

Authorities have not identified the remains, but police in Fowler, Ind., believe the body may be that of Lekich, who was reported missing by his family in June of 2013, several months after he got married in Las Vegas, police told the Chicago Tribune.

Fowler Police Patrolman Dan Moyars told CBS Chicago Lekich once lived at the home in Chicago where the remains were discovered.

His wife Teresa Jarding later moved to Fowler, reports the paper, but it's not known if Lekich went with her. About a year ago, Jarding "developed a romantic relationship" with another man in Fowler, Fowler Police Chief Dennis Rice told the paper.

The case heated up Sept. 20 when Lekich's sister called Fowler police about her missing brother, saying she had located Jarding in Fowler, but that Jarding wouldn't speak to her about the case.

Chicago police say Lekich's disappearance may be linked to the more recent disappearance of his mother-in-law, Nena Metoyer. She was last seen by her sister Aug. 5 when she flew from her home in Tampa to Indiana to care for Jarding -- her daughter, and Lekich's wife.

Jarding, 49, was reportedly found in medical distress Sept. 24 in her home in Fowler by authorities conducting a welfare check, reports the Lafayette Journal & Courier. She was rushed to the hospital and died the following day, reports the paper.

The Tribune reports Jarding was discovered sitting in a reclining chair with a gun nearby, but the Journal & Courier reported it hadn't been fired. She died of multiple organ failure, reports the Tribune.

Police then noticed her mother, Metoyer, was missing, having left behind her belongings, medicine and car at the Fowler home, reports the Journal & Courier. Metoyer's grandson reportedly drove her car from Florida to Indiana, but he saw only Jarding when he dropped off the vehicle.

About two weeks before Jarding's death, Metoyer's sister reportedly heard the now-missing woman in the background as she spoke on the phone with her daughter Jarding, reports Journal & Courier. There's been no sign of Nena Metoyer since.

Fowler patrolman Moyars reportedly told CBS Chicago the case is "one that Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot should be working on. To us, it's like something right out of a TV set."

Police are continuing to investigate possible links between the two cases.