The Texas Rangers have confirmed a Midland teenager missing for two decades is the girl whose remains were found in 2013 near an oil well site in Midland County.
In early 2000, Sylvia Nicole Smith's mother reported her missing as a runaway but the 16-year-old never returned.
Thirteen years later, unidentified remains were found but investigators were not able to match the victim's DNA with anything in a missing person's data base.
More recent technology was able to find a distant relative of Smith and through that relative, investigators found Smith's mother.
The Texas Rangers took DNA samples from members of the Smith family, and now they have confirmed the remains belonged to Sylvia.
A murder investigation remains active.
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