Last week, police in Ennis, Texas took to social media to ask the public for help with locating Emily Wade.
The 38-year-old Chili's waitress and mother of one was last seen on January 5 after leaving a co-worker's house, where she spent a few hours watching a movie and eating pizza.
Emily's mother, Shirley Wade, reported her daughter missing the next day when she failed to come home or report for her shift at the restaurant.
"I don't think she ran off, I would bet my life on that," Shirley told NBC News. "It just rips your heart out and I'm having a hard time. Every day gets harder. I'm scared I'll never see her again alive."
Unfortunately, Shirley's biggest fear may have just come true as a body believed to be Emily's was recently found on January 21 in a creek that flooded the night she went missing.
The discovery was made by a volunteer search party, and according to a statement by the Ennis Police Department, the body meets "the description of a missing person, Emily Wade."
"Volunteers that were working with us on searches located her this morning about 500 yards from Low Water Crossing Bridge on Ensign Road," Toney Wade of Cajun Coast Search & Rescue Team told Law & Crime.
Toney also explained that Emily's car, a 2012 Nissan Altima with Kentucky license plates and a broken bumper, "has not been found at this point."
An autopsy will be performed by the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office "for positive identification and determination on the cause of death."
"The Ennis Police Department would like to share our appreciation for all of the volunteers and assisting agencies that have spent countless hours over the past two weeks searching for Emily Wade," the police statement continued. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Emily Wade."
At this time, no suspects have been identified.
Authorities have previously questioned Emily's mother, coworkers, and the father of her daughter, Jared Jones. However, all of them have been cleared as persons of interest.
