Laura Garza, Aspiring Dancer, Found Dead; Texas Woman Identified 16 Months After Vanishing in NYC

NEW YORK (CBS) Laura Garza walked out of a Manhattan nightclub sixteen months ago with a registered sex offender, and hadn't been seen since.

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On Monday, authorities confirmed that remains found last week in a Pennsylvania field are those of the missing 25-year-old aspiring dancer from McAllen, Texas.

State police confirmed her identity using DNA.

Garza was last seen in Dec. 2008 with registered sex offender Michael Mele. She vanished after leaving New York's Marquee Nightclub.

On April 11, 2010, more than a year later, kids on ATVs found skeletal remains in a field near Olyphant, Pa. That's about an hour's drive from where Mele lived.

Mele has been investigated in the case but not charged. He is currently in prison on an unrelated offense.

He was denied parole in March due to a "history of sexually deviant behavior."

Reporting Contributed by CBS Affiliate WCBS

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PICTURES: Laura Garza Found Dead