ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Law enforcement officials said Saturday that human remains found in Orange County on Friday are not those of Tracy Ocasio.
The remains were found near Hackney Prairie Road in west Orange County Friday afternoon, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies said it was skeletal remains -- including a skull -- that were found and preliminary indications point to it being human.
According to deputies, the Medical Examiner's Office took the remains to conduct its examination. On Saturday, officials said it had been "definitively ruled out" that the remains were those of Ocasio, who has been missing since 2009.
The Ocoee Police Department, which has been investigating Ocasio's case since her disappearance, had been notified about the discovery of the remains.
The family of Michelle Parker, who disappeared two years ago, also made a visit to the scene.
Parker vanished in 2011, the same day she appeared on the television show People's Court with her ex-fiance Dale Smith.
"I immediately communicated with our lead detective at OPD. Prayers are being said for someone to get closure from this find despite the heartbreak," Parker's stepmother said in a statement.
The human remains were found by road crews in a wooded area on the 8300 block of Hackney Prairie Road, said the Sheriff's Office. Hackney Prairie Road remains closed near Apopka-Vineland Road. Crime scene tape is across the roadway.
The remains were found about 2 miles from the Ocasio family home. The area is one of many places searchers scoured in the weeks and months following Ocasio's disappearance.
"We're going to work methodically, carefully, and provide these remains the proper investigative techniques we have today," Nieves said.
Authorities said the Medical Examiner's Office is still working to identify the remains.
WFTV
