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Remains Found In Woods By Lost Dog's Owner Confirmed As Those Of Ohio Mom Missing Since 2017
Amy Nicole Hambrick disappeared from northeastern Ohio on the way to a friend's house in 2017. Remains found by a woman searching for a lost dog in late August have now been identified as hers.
The remains of an Ohio woman who vanished nearly five years ago was found by a pet owner searching for a lost dog in the woods last month, according to reports.
Skeletal remains discovered by a woman in a wooded area in August were positively identified as belonging to Amy Nicole Hambrick, 29,who vanished in November 2017, Youngstown Police said in a press release sent to Oxygen.com.
Hambrick’s remains were located in a wooded area in the East Side area of Youngstown, Ohio off of Thorn Hill Road on Aug. 26 — roughly 10 miles west of the Pennsylvania state line. Authorities said a local woman looking for her lost dog discovered the bones wrapped in cloth, police said.
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The Mahoning County Coroner’s Office has since positively identified skeletal remains as belonging to the Hambrick. The coroner’s office, in conjunction with anthropologists at Youngstown State University, reassembled Hambrick’s skeleton and ultimately identified her using her jawbone and dental records.
Her cause and manner of death has been listed as undetermined. It’s unknown how long Hambrick’s skeletal remains had been in the wooded area — or how they may have gotten there.
“At least one person knows what happened to her,” Chief of Detectives Capt. Jason Simon said in the press release. “We’re asking to speak to either that individual, because clearly there’s a side of the story here, or anyone that has information about her discovery.”
Hambrick disappeared in in Nov. 2017, after she left home meet up with a friend in North Jackson — a town 15 miles to the west of her home in Youngstown — WKBN-TV reported. According to her family, she never made it.
Despite the search efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies that probed the case, the investigation into Hambrick’s whereabouts quickly went cold.
“Every investigative avenue was utilized over the last five years, including countless interviews, searches of residences, the use of cadaver dogs and the serving of legal process on digital and cellular records,” Simon added. “These cases are always challenging, but they are never forgotten about."
Hambrick’s family members, some of whom appeared at last week’s police press conference, previously confirmed the solemn news on social media.
“Our family wanted to formally announce that Amy has been found,” they wrote in a statement on a Facebook page dedicated to her disappearance on Sept. 16. “We're sorry that we haven't posted anything about her yet, but our family is still processing this information that was confirmed last Tuesday. We are all heartbroken [and] in shock, but we will forever make sure Amy's name lives on. We want to thank all of you for sharing all the posts, prayers & keeping hope for a better outcome.”
Hambrick was born and raised in Youngstown, according to her obituary. After graduating from high school there, she studied to become an esthetician, her family said. She’s survived by a daughter, Jaden.
“Her greatest joy in life came from being Jaden’s mother,” her obituary stated. “Her daughter was the light of her life.
Hambrick’s relatives have since made funeral arrangements for the 29-year-old. Officials haven’t released further information.
