WALLACE — The Shoshone County Sheriff's Office has confirmed the identity of human remains discovered earlier this month in the St. Joe River. 

Shoshone County Sheriff Shawn Wehr announced Thursday that the Spokane County Medical Examiner's Office had positively identified the skeletal remains found July 5 as those of Chantel Williams, a 24-year-old Deer Park woman who had been reported missing. 

Williams was reported missing Dec. 13. Her last known location was just upriver from where the remains were discovered. According to her missing-person report, Williams was allegedly experiencing a mental health crisis at the time of her disappearance. 

The remote area where Williams went missing had recently experienced significant flooding, and the St. Joe River was flowing higher and faster than normal for mid-December. 

Wehr and Shoshone County Coroner Rick Smith announced the identification Thursday afternoon after receiving notification from the medical examiner's office and informing Williams' family. 

According to Wehr, investigators used dental records to confirm Williams' identity. 

The identification comes nearly two weeks after a kayaker discovered the remains. Since then, investigators had reportedly made little progress in identifying them. 

Earlier this week, Wehr said medical examiners had been unable to make a positive identification through DNA analysis or available dental comparisons. 

"Failed DNA simply means that did not have a DNA match uploaded into the database," he said. "This would not be uncommon for a young woman such as our missing person." 

The lack of progress had previously frustrated Wehr, who said he was considering the use of ancestral DNA testing, also known as genetic genealogy, as an investigative tool. Genetic genealogy combines DNA analysis with genealogy databases to identify relatives and trace family connections. When traditional identification methods are unsuccessful, investigators can compare DNA recovered from human remains with potential relatives in those databases to help establish the identity of a decedent. 

"We're thankful for all of the efforts that have gone into this investigation and that an identification has been made," Wehr said. "Our hearts and thoughts go out to the family during this difficult time. We are thankful to have been able to provide them some closure."