The body of 37-year-old Stephen Walker, missing since Dec. 19, was found and a man faces murder charges, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday.

Stephen Walker (Courtesy of the El Paso County

Sheriff’s Office)

Along with Walker, 46-year-old Johnny Rankin Morris was reported missing the same day and officials say he was a housemate of Walker at a residence on the 1800 block of Pima Drive in unincorporated El Paso County just east of Colorado Springs.

Missing persons reports were filed after law enforcement discovered pools of blood Dec. 19 in the garage of the residence near Powers and Palmer Park boulevards.

The investigation led authorities to a wooded location outside of El Paso County, where Walker’s body was found. Cassandra Sebastian, spokeswoman with the Sheriff’s Office, could not provide anything more specific Friday about the location or timing of the recovery.

Morris was arrested in Mississippi Monday, along with another person of interest, 43-year-old Hailey Cole, after a call came in about an attempted car break-in.

On Friday, the Sheriff’s Office said Morris faces charges in connection to the death of Walker and is awaiting extradition from Pearl River County in southern Mississippi. Morris is being held without bond.

Morris and Cole also face charges for both commercial and attempted residential burglary after law enforcement said they were camping in someone’s shed in Mississippi prior to their arrest. Both had outstanding warrants from the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Public records show that homicide investigations have been opened and Morris and Cole face charges in separate counties connected to the death of 65-year-old Timmy Huston.

Morris’ case is in El Paso County while Cole’s case is in Park County

Huston was found dead in a residence in Park County. Cole was also living at that residence according to public records. Investigators said that a  “known occupant” of that residence, had at least indirect ties to Morris and/or Walker, officials said.

Law enforcement said Morris and Cole are accused of killing Huston sometime on Dec. 19.

Morris is facing additional charges out of El Paso County including first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with physical evidence.

In the days leading up to the discovery of Walker’s body, friends and family created a public Facebook page to aid in the search for him. Nearly 850 people had joined the page by Friday morning, offering tips on where Walker might be and volunteering to assist in the search.

According to Gazette news partner KOAA, the group formed a search party Monday morning to look for Walker near Constitution Avenue in the Cimarron Hills area. Several volunteers with no ties to the family even showed up to help with the search.

After the news broke Friday that Walker’s body had been found, members in the group made several posts, many offering their condolences to the family. Erick Walker, Stephen’s brother according to court records, posted Friday morning asking everyone to “please respect our privacy and give us peace while we grieve at this time.”