She Was Missing for Days — Then Police Found a Burn Barrel, and a Chilling Story Began to Unfold

An Alabama man is accused by police of allegedly striking a woman twice with her own vehicle and then taking her remains to his home where they were later found by officers. 

Logan Rogers, 28, is charged with murder after human remains, believed to be of 38-year-old Autumn Strickland, were discovered in a burn barrel at his Florence home on Tuesday, May 20.

“We do believe they are hers, but we can’t confirm that 100 percent until they have been forensically analyzed,” Florence Police Department officer Joshua Meza tells PEOPLE.

Strickland, a mother of one, disappeared in the early morning hours of May 17 after she was last seen on video walking with some people near the Stricklin Hotel on Court Street in downtown Florence.

She was reported missing on May 18. At the time, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said Strickland “may be living with a condition that may impair her judgment.”

Police believe that Rogers was driving Strickland’s 2012 Kia Soul when she was fatally hit in a business and residential area about a mile and a half from the hotel.

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“Video evidence supports that Logan Rogers struck the victim twice and that this act was intentional due to the location and manner in which it was carried out,” according to a criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE.

After he allegedly struck Strickland twice, Meza says, he abandoned her vehicle on Helton Drive — about a mile and a half away — and then got a ride to pick up his truck in the downtown area. From there, he allegedly drove back to the crime scene, picked up Strickland’s body, and brought her back to his home.

“I believe that this body was returned to his residence and recovered by law enforcement during the execution of the search warrant on May 20, 2025,” according to the complaint.

According to Meza, remains were found in a burn barrel on Rogers’ property.

“I know there was some fire at some point,” says Meza, who added that the two were strangers.

Rogers was initially charged with attempted murder, but the charges were upgraded after the remains were discovered at his home.

He is being held in the Lauderdale County Detention Center without bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 14.