A Georgia woman who has been missing for more than two years has been found dead, Fox News reports.
The woman is Olivia Samantha Fowler, a 27-year-old mother of three.
Fowler was last seen hiking on Pebblebrook Road in Meriwether County, Georgia, at around 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 13, 2021.
The following day, after she did not come home, her family reported her missing to the Meriwether County Sheriff's Office.
Nearly a year and a half after Fowler was reported missing, on Dec. 16, 2022, investigators were given a tip that led them to human remains.
These remains were sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab. The lab then shared samples with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Now, a little more than two years after Fowler went missing, the authorities have found her body. On Tuesday, officials announced that the discovered human remains belong to Fowler.
Sheriff Chuck Smith said that officers "met with and notified the immediate family members of Olivia Samantha Fowler that the remains recovered in December 2022 were in fact Olivia as they were verified through DNA testing."
According to Smith, however, the investigation is not over.
"Although the outcome of the disappearance of Olivia Samantha Fowler is not what any of the family or law enforcement wanted, this investigation remains active and ongoing," Smith said, adding, "This case will now be classified from a missing person case to a death investigation."
The big question that remains, of course, is how exactly did Fowler die. Smith did not give any suggestions one way or another. Rather, he only said that "there is still much evidence to be analyzed and processed."
Tamara McCoy, Fowler's aunt, has told news outlets that Fowler went missing after she saw a man whom she had been dating. Who this man is remains unknown.
It also remains unclear as to whether the police have any suspects in Fowler's disappearance or death. At the moment, authorities are asking anyone with information that may be relevant to Fowler's disappearance and/or death to contact the Meriwether County Sheriff’s Office.
On behalf of Fowler's family, the sheriff's office has put out a statement, saying:
The family requests that they be allowed to properly grieve this recent news and [that the community] be supportive of them during this difficult time. The family would like the public to know that Olivia was not only a mother, but a daughter, a sister, a grandchild, and an important member of the Fowler family.
