Richard Cornwell never stopped looking for his sister.

After Kristi Cornwell was abducted on a country road in August 2009, authorities say her brother would canvass the dense woods of Union County, looking for signs of her.

He rented helicopters. And on foot, he had a system of walking in straight lines so he could cover every inch of ground.

He searched like this almost every weekend for the last year and a half, said John Bankhead, an official with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations.

On Saturday, Richard Cornwell found his sister.

At a Monday news conference, GBI officials confirmed the remains found near Moccasin Road in Blairsville are those of Kristi Cornwell. They were identified through dental records.

“I’m thankful she can have the proper burial she deserves,” her brother said.

The body was found about nine miles from where she was abducted on Aug. 11, 2009, and three miles from where investigators later found her cell phone, according to Capt. Dallas Batson with the Union County Sheriff’s Office. Officials believe her remains have been at that location since she was killed.

Recently uncovered cell phone records of the late James Scott Carringer, an early suspect in the case, led investigators to the location, said GBI Director Vernon Keenan. Carringer’s cell phone registered on a Union County tower the day the victim disappeared, which puts the caller within two miles of that tower.

Carringer committed suicide in April 2010 as police attempted to arrest him on charges of raping a woman in Ellijay.

Investigators had plans to search the area but said the search was pushed back until January because of staffing issues.

Richard Cornwell, who often called investigators for updates on his sister’s case, was told about the location and conducted his own search, finding the remains around 5 p.m. Saturday.

Keenan said the remains were mostly above ground and were burned, which investigators hope will lead to further information from someone who saw signs of a fire there the night Kristi Cornwell was abducted.

Officials were led to Carringer following a similar incident in Ranger, N.C., in which a man driving a Nissan Xterra intentionally struck a woman on the side of the road, walked toward her and then left when another car approached.

Carringer was known to have owned three Nissan Xterra’s, officials said.

Officials said he is the main suspect in the case, but it is still an open investigation. They said there are no other leads at this time.

Officials said the cell phone records can piece together a picture of Carringer’s steps before and after the vctim’s death, but did not provide further details.

Bankhead said officials are considering that an anonymous letter received in January 2010 by police in Cherokee County, N.C., was actually written by Carringer to lead investigators astray. In the letter, a woman said her grandson fit the suspect description and did not come home the night of Kristi Cornwell’s disappearance.

The police department and the victim’ mother, Jo Ann Cornwell, made several pleas for the grandmother to identify herself, but they never received any calls, Bankhead said.

At the news conference, Mike Ayers, GBI special agent in charge of the case, cited the family’s diligence as a main contributor to finding Kristi Cornwell’s remains.

“Without a doubt I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “...They’ve done absolutely everything we’ve asked them to do and more so.”

The victim’s mother and brother sat quietly at the news conference, clasping hands and holding back tears while officials gave details about the case.

In a short statement, they thanked the agencies involved for never giving up and for allowing them to now give Kristi Cornwell a proper burial.

“We didn’t want it to be this way, but that’s the way it is and we can bring her home now,” Jo Ann Cornwell said. “I know in my heart she’s in heaven.”