The mystery of the missing school teacher has been solved.
The body recovered on Bokeelia Tuesday has been positively identified through dental records as 41-year-old Amy Patterson of Bokeelia.
A cause of death is yet to be determined and will require further forensic analysis. The investigation continues.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit received information from 45-year-old Daniel Proctor about the location of a body Tuesday in a densely wooded area near Howard Road and Bahama Way in Bokeelia.
Earlier, investigators identified Proctor as a suspect in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Patterson, a middle school teacher with the Lee County School District who was reported missing in July 2011 when she did not show up July 25 for the start of the school year.
Detectives said they suspected she was the victim of a domestic homicide. The Forensics Unit excavated the remains, which have been turned over to the District 21 medical examiner for an autopsy to determine cause of death.
Sheriff's Office detectives had been in Alabama to testify in the trial of Proctor, a former Bokeelia resident who was arrested at at 3:45 a.m. Sept. 5, 2011, in Okeechobee after being found sleeping in a stolen vehicle. He was then extradited to Alabama on a warrant for grand theft auto and theft of a firearm.
Proctor had fled Florida in Patterson's vehicle, which was recovered in Alabama. He allegedly stole another vehicle, a 1997 Ford Explorer, and a .380-caliber handgun before leaving a note indicating he was en route back to Florida.
Proctor has now been convicted on the charges in Alabama.
