Human remains discovered; unknown if missing woman

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office discovered the remains of a human body Saturday in a wooded area off County Road 308 near Crescent City. 

However, Col. Joe Wells said it has not been determined if the remains are those of a missing Fruitland woman. 

Nyeisha Nelson, 20, was reported missing Wednesday. Detectives located her car - a gray 2008 Honda Accord - on Thursday evening. 

At a press conference Saturday afternoon at Middleton-Burney Elementary School, Wells said human remains were discovered about 4 miles from where Nelson's car was located. 

He said it was too early to determine if the remains were those of a woman or man, or an adult or a child.
"We are comfortable saying they are human remains, but cannot say anything further than that at this time," Wells said. "We're still in the process of recovering those remains from a heavily wooded area. It's a tedious process." 

Wells said the identity of the remains would not be confirmed until an autopsy is completed early next week. He said it was not yet known how long the remains had been at the site where they were discovered.

He said authorities continue to treat the woman's disappearance as a missing person case. It has not been ruled a homicide. 

"The remains were discovered as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Nyeisha Nelson, but we're just unable to say for sure if (the remains) are her, the sex or
if they were connected to her disappearance," Wells said. 

Nelson was last seen  Feb. 11 dropping off her 5-year-old daughter at Middleton-Burney Elementary School in Crescent City. The sheriff's office was contacted about her disappearance Wednesday. Authorities discovered Nelson's car Thursday in a wooded area just outside Crescent City, near U.S. 17 and Junction Road.

Sheriff's office spokeswoman Allison Waters-Merritt said there were no indications that led authorities to believe it was more than an isolated incident if the remains are determined to be those of Nelson. "It's still an open investigation to determine if the remains are of the missing person," Waters-Merritt said. "We won't know that until the identity is confirmed from the medical examiner."

A press conference was held at the school Friday where Nelson's mother, Chasity Nelson, pleaded for information about her missing daughter.

Wells asked anyone with information related to the missing woman or her car to contact the sheriff's office.

Anyone with information can also contact Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida anonymously at 888-277-8477.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the medical examiner assisted the sheriff's office at the scene Saturday in recovering the remains.