Cheerleader Body Found, 13-year-old Hailey Darlene Dunn Missing Since 2010, Remains Identified in Texas: 'Person of Interest' Sparks Murder Rumors

Reports confirm that the remains of a young girl that were discovered back in March officially belong to 13-year-old Hailey Darlene Dunn, a middle school cheerleader from Texas who went missing in 2010. The Scurry County Sheriff's Office conducted DNA tests and confirmed the positive identity on Friday, April 26. A police investigation is currently underway, and several people (including Dunn's grandmother Connie Jones) believe that she was murdered. Shawn Adkins, the ex-boyfriend of Dunn's mother, was initially named a person of interest, but was never charged in the case.

An unidentified person discovered Dunn's body near Lake J.B. Thomas in West Texas on March 16. The remains were officially identified over a month later. Dunn's mother Billie Jean Dunn reported her 13-year-old daughter missing on December 28, 2010. Scurry County Sheriff Trey Wilson announced during a news conference on Friday that the cause of Dunn's death still remains under investigation. Her mother was informed that same day, and planned on driving from Austin to arrange her daughter's funeral.

“It is a relief to know that she’s at peace,” family member Spicy Dunn told reporters. “She doesn’t have any more suffering... I hope the family comes to a closure. I know it’s very hard.”

An avid search for the young girl commenced once Dunn was reported missing in December 2010. Both Billie Jean Dunn and her boyfriend at-the-time Shawn Adkins denied involvement in her disappearance. Adkins told authorities that the young girl told him on Dec. 27 that she was going to her father’s home nearby and then would spend the night at a friend’s house. She was never seen again. Adkins was initially named a person of interest, but has not been charged. Authorities later accused Billie Jean of lying about Adkins' whereabouts at the start of the investigation. She pleaded no contest in June 2011 to making a false report to law enforcement and received a suspended 90-day jail term with probation. Dunn broke things off with Adkins last year.

The girl's paternal grandmother Connie Jones told bigcountryhomepage.com, "She was murdered. I had that feeling all along. It's just an emptiness I've had in my stomach all along. When they found the remains in Scurry County, I Knew." She later went on to say, “At least now we can get some closure. We can bury her. She can go home to her maker. She can be at peace.”

Freda Radcliff of Hailey's Angels (a community organization dedicated to finding Dunn) said after Friday's news conference - "We've been searching for her for two years, and it's like losing a child of your own. I hate it. I wish we could have brought her back."

Family and friends mourned Dunn's death at a prayer vigil in her hometown of Colorado City on Friday evening.

Thoughts and condolences go out to Dunn's family and friends during this unfortunate time of loss.