MESA, AZ — A family is in mourning after authorities say human remains have been identified as an elderly Mesa man who went missing eight years ago.
Mesa police said Wednesday that the Maricopa County medical examiner confirmed the remains belong to Hugh Turner.
They were discovered by a hiker on the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community on January 5.
Salt River police say evidence at the scene indicated the remains could be Turner.
They were later taken to the medical examiner's office.
Turner's daughter told ABC15 she thought she might never get that phone call that her father had been found.
"I was torn between elation then just heart-wrenching loss," said Turner's daughter, Janice McCaffrey.
McCaffrey says it's tough to go years without knowing what happened to a loved one.
Turner was last seen on Christmas Eve in 2010.
McCaffrey says she is grateful for everyone who helped search for her father over the years.
"If you continue to search, your whole life becomes wrapped up around searching and when you have no more clues to go on it will eat you alive," she said.
Investigators at the time conducted an exhaustive search of east Mesa and other areas.
