“This is no longer a missing persons case,” said Washington Police Chief Charles Ramsey. “This is a death investigation.”

Levy disappeared on or about May 1, 2001, as she prepared to return to California after completing a stint as an intern with the federal Bureau of Prisons. The disappearance triggered an avalanche of publicity after she was romantically linked to California Democrat Rep. Gary Condit.

The remains–a human skull, bones and fragments of clothing–were found by a man walking his dog and searching for turtles. The Washington medical examiner made the positive identification some eight hours later, using dental records.

The location of the remains led to immediate speculation that they were Levy’s. The body parts were found just one mile north of the Klingle Mansion in Rock Creek Park. Before she logged off from her laptop computer for the final time, Levy looked up a map site on the Internet for directions to the mansion, according to the Washington Post. In addition, there were other identifying factors. “We did find items suggesting that the identity was female and that there was a strong possibility the remains were those of Chandra Levy,” Ramsey said.

The body parts were found in an area Ramsey called “heavily wooded” and “remote.” D.C. police had searched the 1,700-plus acres of Rock Creek Park in the weeks following Levy’s disappearance.

On Wednesday, some 100 reporters–some representing media as far away as Great Britain–crammed into a small corner of the idyllic park, waiting for some word of whether the long search for Levy was over. Neighborhood boys on bicycles hawked root beer and chocolate-chip cookies to journalists and police on the scene.

More reporters surrounded the Levy house in Modesto, Calif., where Levy’s parents learned of their daughter’s identification from television news reports. Ramsey subsequently confirmed the reports by telephone. Ramsey expressed sympathy for the couple. “They’re obviously very distraught,” Ramsey said.

Police said they would continue to search the scene until nightfall, looking for a weapon or other evidence.