Human remains found late last month in east Orange County are of Tia Bonta, a mother reported missing last year, a private investigator said Tuesday.

"It’s with a heavy heart ... that the remains recovered in East Orange County were those of 'Tia,' James Copenhaver, an Orlando-area private investigator working for Bonta's mother, said in a news release Tuesday evening.

Bonta's mother, Sherry Ellis, was notified by the Orange County Sheriff's Office that the remains found near Fort Christmas Road were of Bonta, Copenhaver said.

“We knew the outcome probably would be grim, but at least now the mom has some type of closure,” said Copenhaver. “And she knows that her baby isn’t laying out in the woods buried in a bunch of Palmetto grass.”

Rings were found with the remains, and it’s those rings that prompted a lot of feelings the body was Bonta.

“As soon as those rings were made public by the sheriff’s office ya know social media lit up like a buzz, and literally I had private citizens blowing up my phone, ‘Hey these rings look like the rings that belong to Tia,” said Copenhaver. “We not only have the rings, but we have potential dental records, but more importantly there is some DNA that may come after the dental records.”

Bonta was last seen July 31, 2016 near Colonial Drive and Alafaya Trail. She was with a friend at a Days Inn there when she was seen getting into a vehicle with James Dellofield (sometimes spelled Dellafield), detectives said.

Her father, Kevin, told investigators that it wasn't normal for her to not contact someone for any length of time.

Bonta missed several family members' birthdays, including her own son's first birthday, and was presumed dead in November 2016.

The family now wants justice and believes Bonta was murdered.

“There is no doubt in my mind, without a question. And rest assured that there is no perfect murder,” said Copenhaver.

Anyone with any information about the crime is asked to call Crimeline at 800-423-8477.