Police said the remains found near White Oak Church Road had not been officially identified.
EUFAULA, Ala. — A family-organized search for 18-year-old Markavious Rumph Jr. ended Monday when searchers found charred remains in a wooded area near White Oak Church Road in Barbour County, authorities and relatives said.
Rumph had been missing since early May after family members said he was last seen leaving with another person. His disappearance drew relatives into a search that used ATVs, drones and a dog before the grim discovery. Eufaula police said investigators were still working to positively identify the remains because of their condition.
Police said Rumph was last seen getting into a black Nissan at Beeline #3 Gas Station. Relatives reported him missing May 7, and his family later formed a 12-person search party. Searchers spent about two hours along White Oak Church Road before finding the remains. Eliza Franklin, who joined the search, said the scene was devastating. “It wasn’t even a body there,” Franklin said, describing what searchers believed they saw.
Eufaula police responded after the remains were found and closed off the area as a crime scene. Danny Christ with Eufaula police said officers could not yet confirm the remains were Rumph’s. “The remains that we found we cannot positively ID,” Christ said, citing the condition of the body. Police said the Barbour County Sheriff’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation were helping with the case.
Family members told local reporters they believed Rumph’s body had been dismembered and burned. Investigators have not released an official cause or manner of death. Police also have not announced arrests. Christ said investigators had suspects and were using cadaver dogs and fire marshals as part of the work at and near the scene.
Rumph’s family said he had recently earned his GED and planned to attend welding school. Those details became part of the grief around the case as relatives shifted from searching for a missing teenager to waiting for forensic confirmation and answers from police. The case has shaken Eufaula, a southeast Alabama city near the Georgia line.
Christ said he understood why relatives searched on their own, but said police must follow legal steps as they process evidence. Investigators were looking at the road, nearby property and possible signs of blood and burn piles described by searchers. Authorities have not said what evidence, if any, has been recovered.
The investigation remained active Thursday, with the remains still pending official identification. Police said the next major step is forensic confirmation and continued evidence review in Barbour County.
Author note: Last updated May 14, 2026.