Lillian remains not confirmed or denied as missing mother

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The mother of Brittney Wood said on Wednesday she does not know if human remains found in Baldwin County are those of her daughter.

Chessie Wood told FOX10 News she is hoping test results will reveal more information about the remains found in Lillian. She said family members were told that could take a few days.

The skeletal remains were discovered on Tuesday in a wooded area in the Lillian Community in Baldwin County. The remains were apparently scattered.

They have since been turned over to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Mobile.

This is the first Christmas since Wood disappeared.  But, instead of holiday cheer her mother Chessie Wood is shedding more tears.   Wood found out Tuesday about the skeletal remains found in Lillian.

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"So, it hit hard, you know.  I went outside, and I told my husband that they had found somebody," Wood said.

Wood said she definitely wants to know who the remains belong to, but she said she still has conflicted emotions about it.

"We don't know what to pray for anymore. We don't know if we want it to be her, so we can bring her home for her baby, or it not be her and we still have the hope that she's still alive. We don't know what to want anymore," she said.

Brittney's stepmother Stephanie Hanke said they've been told by investigators tests results could take a few days.

"From what we were told, we're waiting on DNA. Until I hear it from the detectives or y'all report who the remains belong to, I won't believe it," Hanke said.

And, Chessie Wood said investigators have her DNA and other means to determine whether or not the remains are Brittney's.

"I know a lot of times they can take DNA out of certain parts of skeletal remains.  I turned over her dental records, and she's a little tiny girl.  She may very well be mistaken for a child if she was found in that condition," Wood said.

But for now the family is waiting. 

Both Wood and Hanke said they still don't know what to tell Brittney's  daughter.   The toddler was just two years old when Brittney disappeared.

Brittney Wood, 20, has been missing since May. The mother disappeared when she went to visit an uncle in the Styx River area, family said.