BLAIRSVILLE (WSB Radio/WSB-TV) -- The GBI announced Monday that human bones found over the weekend in Union County are those of missing Blairsville woman Kristi Cornwell.

The remains were discovered Saturday, about nine miles from the spot where Cornwell, 38, disappeared 18 months ago, said GBI spokesman John Bankhead. GBI agents spent Sunday searching the woods for evidence. The human remains were sent to the GBI crime lab for analysis, Bankhead said.

"Today at 10:00am, Dr. Lora Darrisaw, a GBI forensic pathologist, positively identified the remains found Saturday in Union County as those of Kristi Cornwell," said the GBI's John Bankhead in a statement. "The identity was made through dental records." p>

Bankhead told WSB Radio's Jon Lewis the GBI will hold a 2 p.m news conference in Cleveland, Ga. to address the test results.

Bankhead said that Cornwell's family was notified of the discovery.

Last summer, on the one-year anniversary of Cornwell's disappearance, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said it had conducted interviews at 450 houses in the Union County area, and that its file on the case had grown to 38 volumes.

Police think Cornwell was abducted near her Blairsville home Aug. 11, 2009. The 38-year-old was last heard from while she walked along rural Jones Creek Road. Family members told police her boyfriend heard her screaming over the phone before she disappeared.

Law enforcement, GBI and FBI have searched for Cornwell across northeast Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. The ground search was called off after eight days.

Cornwell's family has set up a website, KristiCornwell.com, appealing for help. They are offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest or Cornwell's return.

In January, investigators said they received a letter from an anonymous North Carolina woman stating that the sketch of a suspect in the attempted abduction of a woman in Ranger looked like her grandson. Police said they think the same man may have abducted Cornwell.

The grandmother also wrote in her letter that her grandson drove the same vehicle, a Nissan Xterra, seen in the area of the attempted abduction, and he was in Union County on the day of each attack.

Authorities said the family was asked not to speak to the media about the case before the analysis of the remains was completed.

(Information from WSB-TV and CNN was used in this report.)