Investigators are asking for the public's help after skeletal remains were identified as a missing St. Landry Parish woman.
Erica Hunt disappeared from Opelousas in the summer of 2016. More than two years later, remains were discovered in Evangeline Parish. They were positively identified today as Erica Hunt. Although it's a big break, there are still questions.
Hunt's family says they are numb at the news that her remains have been identified after all these years. Now they're trying to figure out why it took so long.
Erica Hunt was last seen outside of Ray's Boudin in Opelousas nearly five years ago.
The break in the case came in December of 2018, when a local volunteer team was searching for a missing boy in Evangeline Parish.
The boy was later found, but during that search, volunteers found a human skull under a shed on Prairie Rhonde Road.
KATC spoke with Hunt's mother, Shannon Issac, in 2017, who said that she had seemed to have vanished into thin air and left behind her then three-year-old daughter, Bri.
"I would like the closure, but then again I don't want the closure because I would hope that she is still alive,” said Issac.
Some answers came Friday when Hunt's remains were identified by the LSU FACES Lab and the DNA Doe Project, two years after her body was found in Evangeline Parish. State Trooper Thomas Gossen says there's a reason why it took this long.
"I think the problem is when they found it, it was just skeletal remains with nothing to identify with. It's somewhat a tedious process in order to identify that," Gossen explained.
Now police are asking the community to come forward with any information.
"Whether it be big or small, you never know what the right piece is to fit this puzzle,” Gossen added.
State Police say this case is being investigated as a homicide.
If you have any information about the disappearance and death of Erica Hunt, call Crime Stoppers at 948-TIPS. You can also text "TIPS 6-2-5" and the tip to CRIMES.
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