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Human remains found Friday morning at the Salt Lake County landfill have

been identified as belonging to Lori Hacking.

The positive identification was made at the state Office of the Medical

Examiner using dental records, said Salt Lake City police Detective Phil

Eslinger.

No cause or manner of death has been determined.

But the identification brings an official end to the search for Lori

Hacking's body, a search that began shortly after she was reported missing

by her husband, Mark Hacking, on July 19.

Salt Lake County prosecutor Bob Stott said he was told by police the body

was found wrapped in plastic garbage bags, which fits murder suspect Mark

Hacking's description of how he disposed of his wife's body in a Dumpster at

Research Park at the University of Utah.

Mark Hacking, 28, faces a preliminary hearing Oct. 29 on charges of

first-degree felony murder and obstruction of justice. He is accused of

shooting Lori Hacking, 27, once in the head with a .22-caliber rifle as she

was sleeping in the early morning hours of July 19. The charges, which are

based largely on a confession he gave to his older brothers on July 24, also

accuse him of disposing of her body and the murder weapon in separate

Dumpsters. The gun has not been found.

Officers for the past 10 weeks have sifted through more than 4,000 tons

of trash believed to have been dumped into the landfill the day Lori Hacking

died.

Human remains were found shortly after 8 a.m. on Friday. Salt Lake City

Police Chief Rick Dinse said the remains were "heavily decomposed," but

added authorities believe they have found most of the body.

Police informed Lori's family of the positive identification, Eslinger

said.

Thelma Soares, Lori's mother, issued a statement shortly afterward,

thanking those involved in the search.

"It means everthying to us to find Lori's mortal remains so that we might

lay them to rest with the dignity befitting the valiant daughter of God she

was," the statement said.

Mark Hacking's family also issued a statement of gratitude.

"We hope today's discovery will begin to bring closure to both our family

and the Soares families in this tragic event," said the Hacking family news

release.

Stott credited the many police officers who have toiled for weeks at

landfill.

"We are pleased with the police and their work and dedication," he said.