Darice Knowles' Body Believed Found: Inmate Leads Investigators To Fla. Site

COCOA, Fla. (CBS/AP/WKMG) Brevard County police have found the remains of a woman they believe to be 22-year-old Bahamian student Darice Knowles. Knowles was reported missing in February, 2006 while visiting a friend in Cocoa, Fla. according to Florida Today.

In what has been a slow, arduous investigation, officials received a tip from an inmate that prompted them to begin searching a dense wooded area Monday about 40 miles from Orlando. On Friday officials continued to trudge through the grounds, with the inmate who provided the tip, and discovered a foot bone along with other forensic evidence, say police.

Knowles, once a beauty pageant contestant, was reported missing after family remembers failed to reach her a few weeks after she arrived in the United States. Authorities recently contacted Knowles' family about the find and are expected to continue gathering evidence through the weekend.

The bones and other evidence were locatedabout a half-mile into the woodland which belongs to a New York landowner, who previously had plans to develop a residential neighborhood and shopping center on the land, according to Florida Today.

According to CBS affiliate WKMG, the remains found during the search were sent to the medical examiner's office to determine the cause of death.

A Facebook page of the missing student chronicles the trying story of Knowles' mysterious disappearance, evoking frustrations of a loved one lost.

No suspects have been named in the ongoing investigation, states Florida Today.