Xavier De’Shawn Andrews (Courtesy New Iberia Police Department)

UPDATE, 2/16/22, 2:46 p.m.: New Iberia Police have made a second arrest in connection with the human remains found in New Iberia.

Xavier De’Shawn Andrews, 23, faces charges of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery, and obstruction of justice.

UPDATE, 2/15/22 10:14 p.m.: Though police are still waiting to confirm the identity of the remains, many in the community believe they belong to Deja Cummings, 20.

Cummings went missing in October after hanging out with friends at a nearby motel.

Community activist Donavon Davis says he helped the cummings family in their search.

“It’s been a long, tedious search for the young lady. Like with all families with a particular crisis of this kind, the desperation level and the panic is something that you’ve got to expect from losing a dear loved one and not having any breaks or information or leads. That’s got to lead to a lot of anxiety,” Davis said.

Dwayne Alfred (Courtesy New Iberia Police Department)

“To suddenly have them lost, that’s hard to mentally continue in life and go on, not having any closure,” he added.

For months, Davis says her family has hoped she’d be found alive and well.

Family members of Cummings laid candles, flowers, and balloons in the area where police found the human remains over the weekend.

ORIGINAL POST: NEW IBERIA, La. (KLFY) — The New Iberia Police Department (NIPD) said an arrest has been made in connection to remains found in New Iberia, according to a press release.

Dwayne Alfred, 24, faces the following charges, according to New Iberia Police Todd D’Albor: first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, obstruction of justice, and two counts of failure to appear.

The remains were found near Cherokee St. on Sunday, Feb. 13. There is speculation that the remains belong to Deja Cummings, 20, who went missing in October of 2021. Identification results are pending at the state DNA lab at LSU.