Fayette County Sheriff Jess McMullen has announced major developments in the investigation into human remains discovered earlier this summer.
Deputies were called on July 7, 2025, to a ditch along Route 60 near Gauley Bridge, where they found a deceased individual. The body was taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office, where the victim was later positively identified.
According to Sheriff McMullen, information gathered from the victim’s family and acquaintances led investigators to a residence in Nicholas County connected to the person last seen with the victim.
A search warrant executed at the home uncovered numerous burned items belonging to the victim. Investigators also obtained video showing the victim in an impaired state shortly before leaving with the individual of interest. Additional surveillance footage placed a matching vehicle near the Gauley Bridge area shortly before the body was found.
As a result of the investigation, 42-year-old Calvin Lee Foster has been charged with two felony offenses:
Concealment of a Deceased Human Body
Drug Delivery Resulting in Death: Failure to Render Aid
Troopers with the West Virginia State Police in Nicholas County later located Foster and served the warrants. He is now awaiting further court proceedings.