MCDONALD — The woman’s body found in the Mahoning River last year is now identified as 40-year-old Bessie Ryan of Warren.

McDonald police confirmed the identity after several months of investigation. Ryan was reported missing from Warren in March 2020; the body was found in the river by a kayaker July 5.

Now authorities are asking for the public’s help to determine what happened to her.

Police had requested assistance from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to identify her. Lt. Ryan Ronghi said several people came forward with information regarding missing loved ones, but these were determined not to match with the body.

“We hit a bit of a dead end, but we submitted DNA from her to the BCI, and they have a program they run that can match DNA samples,” Ronghi said. “The DNA was matched to Ryan.”

The next step for police is to follow up on leads and Ronghi said the department “has received a bunch of calls already.”

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost praised BCI’s work in a news release, saying the identification of a missing person may be the first step in solving what happened.

“On behalf of the many families searching for hope, I’m grateful for the work BCI does to reunite families with their missing loved ones,” Yost said.

Anyone with information on Ryan’s disappearance should contact Ronghi and McDonald police at 330-530-5472 or Trumbull County 911 at 330-675-2730.