Pasco deputies say they found human remains on a property in Hudson and made an arrest as they continue searching for a family of four missing since early Thursday morning.

“We do not know who those human remains are at this time,” Sheriff Chris Nocco said early Saturday afternoon. “The missing person case will remain open until everyone is identified.”

Deputies are searching for Rain Mancini, 26; Phillip Zilliot II, 25; 6-year-old Karma Zilliot; and 5-year-old Phillip Zilliot III.

Rory Atwood faces a first-degree murder charge in the case, Nocco said. Atwood lives on the property on Nottingham Trail where the remains were found, according to the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. For now, the sheriff said, Atwood is accused in the case of John Doe.

Of the family, Nocco said: “We believe that they may be on the property deceased, but we do not know that definitively.”

He described a tangled and confusing case that deputies were still trying to decipher late Saturday.

Mancini and the elder Zilliot were drinking with Atwood at the home on Wednesday night, the sheriff said. Their children were there, too, as was Atwood’s daughter and a friend of Mancini.

According to Nocco, Mancini’s friend said the couple and Atwood argued. Before leaving, the friend reportedly heard someone mention that Rory had pulled a gun on them previously.

About 2 a.m. Thursday, Nocco said, Atwood called a friend and sounded distraught saying he had shot somebody. Early Thursday morning, Atwood dropped off his daughter with the child’s mother, according to Nocco.

The Sheriff’s Office received a call that Atwood may have killed somebody on Thursday afternoon, he said. They began investigating and searched the property but found nothing.

On Friday, deputies learned family members had not heard from Mancini, Zilliot and their kids, whom the sheriff described as moving from place to place, without stable housing. He said at some point they may have lived with Atwood.

Deputies again searched the property with dogs trained to find human remains. That’s when they found something. Nocco said the missing persons case will remain open until deputies receive more definitive information from the medical examiner.

Pasco Sgt. Michael Rosa said deputies were continuing to search the property Saturday. It is about 10 acres.

Authorities did not immediately release further information, but they asked anyone with tips about what happened to call the Sheriff’s Office.