NEWTON COUNTY – Skeletal remains found back in March have been positively identified as a woman who has been missing since 2018.

A press release on Tuesday by the Newton County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) said that skeletal human remains that were discovered in a wooded area on Hollingsworth Road on March 20 have been identified as Stacey Nease.

Nease was first reported as missing on Aug. 10, 2018after disappearing from her then-boyfriend’s home in Newton County.

The remains were positively identified by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s (GBI) medical examiner’s office.

According to the NCSO, this discovery will prompt a more concentrated effort into the case.

“The discovery of Stacey Nease's remains reignites the investigation into her disappearance and subsequent death,” a press release stated. “The investigation is ongoing, and all efforts are being made to uncover the suspicious circumstances surrounding her death.”

Family members of Nease have been contacted.

Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact investigator Joshua Hicks at 678-625-1455 or via email at jhicks@newtonsheriffga.org.

“Any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, could be crucial in helping solve this case and bring closure to the family of Stacey Nease,” a press release stated.