Remains of missing 20-year-old Maury-Ange Martinez discovered in Tennessee woodland

COBB COUNTY, Ga. - The remains of a missing woman who was last seen in Cobb County have been found in Tennessee. 20-year-old Maury-Ange Martinez was first reported missing last summer.  

"She was very loving, funny, quirky, sing at the top of her lungs doesn't care if anybody's listening type of person. Just a fantastically loving human being, and that's the thing I can be most proud of," said Anita Darling, Maury's mother. 

Martinez was reported missing from Gwinnett County in late August last year. The search for Martinez later moved to Cobb County.  

"Further investigation revealed at some point she had been here in Cobb County in the area of Powers Ferry Road," said Cobb County Police Sgt. Eric Smith.  

But then the trail ran cold.  

Maury-Ange Martinez (Cobb County Police Department)

Until just recently, when authorities in Tennessee confirmed that skeletal remains found in January were those of Maury Martinez. The remains were found in a wooded area outside Chattanooga.  

Now investigators in Cobb County, Gwinnett County, and Hamilton County, Tennessee are working together to find out what exactly happened.  

"There are more resources, but it requires a lot of coordination among each other to make sure they're sharing information and things of that nature to hopefully find out what happened," said Sgt. Smith.  

Darling says she learned on Mother's Day that Tennessee authorities confirmed the remains were her daughter's. 

"I want to know what happened to my daughter. It doesn't cure the loss by any means, but it fills a hole that my brain doesn't haven't to make up what happened for the rest of our lives," said Darling.  

The months of not knowing where Maury were hard on her mom and two sisters.  

Maury-Ange Martinez (Cobb County Police Department)

Confirmation of her death was devastating. But sometimes, a memory and a smile.  

"Funny little things that we see, or we notice that remind us of Maury," said Darling. 

Despite those rare funny moments, the family needs to know what happened to her.  

"Someone has to know something. She was a noticeable girl. She was a gorgeous girl with an energetic, magnetic personality.  If anybody has information, step up and say something," said Darling.  

Anyone with information can call the Cobb County Police Department's Crimes Against Persons unit at 770-499-3945. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crimestoppers at 404-577 TIPS (8477).