Megan Nichols Missing Update: Illinois Teenager's Remains Found In Shallow Grave

A body found in rural Wayne County, Illinois, last month belongs to missing teenager Megan Nichols, who disappeared on July 3, 2014, the FBI confirmed Tuesday. The human remains were found in a shallow grave at a very remote site in rural Wayne County.

In a statement, FBI spokesman Brad Ware confirmed the victim’s identification but gave no other details saying that the investigation into Nichols' death is ongoing. Authorities first considered Nichols a runaway, but her family didn’t agree. And while her body has been found, the questions of what happened to her are still unanswered.

“If anyone wants to still submit tips, they can,” Ware told Dateline. “It’s an ongoing investigation, [and] details will not be released at this time.”

Nichols was last seen on July 3, 2014 at her home in Fairfield where she lived with her mother and stepfather. Her mother Kathy Jo Hutchcraft told authorities that Nichols had left a note behind, in which she mentioned she was not happy at home. However, the exact reason for her leaving the house was not mentioned.

Before her disappearance, the teenager withdrew money from a local bank while on her bicycle, authorities said, adding that she had left her cell phone behind at the house but no data was found in the phone.

"It's really hard to put it into words,” Hutchcraft told NBC affiliate 14 News, a year after her daughter's disappearance. “I dream about her and then I have to wake up to this. This is hell."

Authorities first believed Nichols ran away from her home, but her family rejected the theory, saying that it was possible that the teenager didn’t write the note or if she did, she may have written it under some threat.

During the investigation into Nichols disappearance, police thought the teenager may have reached out to her biological father, a registered sex offender. Her father was questioned after being found in Oklahoma but authorities found no evidence that he knew his daughter’s whereabouts.

After the teenager's body was found, authorities are trying to find out what happened to the young girl. Wayne County Coroner Jimmy Taylor said Tuesday that a result to determine the cause of death was yet to be received.