Human remains identified by authorities as woman missing since 2015

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - Remains discovered last month in Ohio have been identified as a woman who had been missing since 2015, according to authorities.

Kristy Thomas was last seen alive on June 19 of that year. Her mother, Kimberly Osborne, spoke to WOIO about Thomas’s death.

“I was mad, angry, and hurt I had to tell Kristy’s son,” Osborne said. “That was the hardest part.”

On May 13, a worker found bones in a field in Slavic Village, a neighborhood located on the South and East Side of Cleveland.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office compared Osborne’s DNA to the remains, confirming they belonged to Thomas on June 17.

“I knew something was wrong because she would’ve contacted her son,” Osborne said. “Everyone tried giving me that hope and I got that hope back but now it’s shot down again.”

Thomas’s family previously said she was last spotted just a few streets away from where her remains were found.

Osborne also said she didn’t know her then-25-year-old daughter was missing until she received a suspicious phone call telling her that her daughter disappeared. She said she still does not know who made that call.

“It’s a little bit of closure but it ain’t fully closure until I know what happened to my daughter, and then I can lay her to rest properly,” Osborne said.

It’s not known when or where Thomas died, or how long her body was in the location where her remains were found.

Thomas’s family also made a statement on a Facebook page created to help in the effort of bringing Thomas home:

“I can’t put into words how I feel right now but just know, this is our first step towards healing. We don’t have to wonder if she is alive or an angel. She gained her wings. We love you so much Kristy.”

The Medical Examiner’s Office has yet to determine the cause of death.

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