Police say that they may have found the biggest clue in the case of missing woman Tracy Ocasio. A boot (see the boot) that Tracy's friends are sure belonged to her, was found in one of the first places where police thought her body may have been dumped.

Investigators released a picture of the boot Thursday that was found in a wooded area along Highway 50 and Bluford Avenue in Ocoee (see map) earlier in the week.

The area is close to Tracy's home and officers say, is known to the suspect.

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SEE THE BOOT: Large Image Of Boot Found
INTERVIEWS: Tracy's Mom | Friend
AT THE SCENE: Search In Area Where Boot Was Found
TRACY OCASIO: See Pictures Of Missing Woman
JAMES HATAWAY: Watch Bond Hearing | Booking History

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The 80 or so acres of wooded area have been searched twice, but the Ocasio family insists it makes perfect sense. Tracy Ocasio, 27, was last seen with James Hataway in Metrowest.

James Hataway, officers say, had a record of illegal dumping in the same wooded area.

Deputies, who were training in the wooded area, stumbled across the black boot Saturday afternoon. Friends of Tracy Ocasio said it's just the shoe the missing woman would've been wearing when she walked out of the Metrowest bar with James Hataway in May.

Her friends said she kept a pair of boots exactly like the one that was found in her car to slip on at anytime. The friend, who identified the shoe in person, remembers first seeing the photo.

Eyewitness News reporter George Spencer spoke with a friend of Tracy who is sure the boot is hers.

"As soon as I saw the picture, I drove down to the Ocoee Police Department and identified it and, sure enough, it was her boot. I mean, the same material, I'll give it a 99 percent, because you got to give a one percent because there are companies that make more of those boots. I am positive this is Tracy's boot," Tracy's friend said, who did not want to be identified (watch interview).

"Shock, because as soon as I saw it, it looks exactly like hers," she said.

Now, the Florida Department of Law enforcement is testing the boot to see if DNA on it matches Ocasio's.

Ocoee police and the Ocasio family agree that the boot, which is Tracy Ocasio's size, is one of the strongest leads in the case to date.

"It's kind of a nerve-racking week waiting for DNA tests because her friends are so sure that it is her boot," Liz Ocasio, Tracy's mother said (watch interview)..

The lead comes after a string of fruitless searches and false starts. Crimeline received a tip Wednesday night (read report) that Ocasio's body may have been dumped in an old animal crematory in West Orange County. But investigators found only animal bones.

"This place is perfect, he could've done whatever he did there and just gone home and gotten a night's sleep," Liz Ocasio said.

The DNA test that might link the shoe to Ocasio, may not be back until early next week. If the DNA test comes back positive, the entire area will be searched again.