Buy Photo Flyers with missing information about Chelsea Bruck for distribution at a closed Monroe Bank and Trust Bank branch in Newport, Mich. on Saturday, April 18, 2015. (Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo 
 
 A body found in a field in Monroe County on Friday is that of missing woman Chelsea Bruck, who was last seen at a Halloween party in Frenchtown Township six months ago, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said Saturday night. 
 
 Bruck's handmade Halloween costume, which was found on April 5 at a vacant industrial site in Flat Rock, and other evidence helped police connect the dots to determine it was a homicide, said Monroe County Sheriff Dale Malone. Dental records confirmed the victim's identity. 
 
 "Our thoughts and prayers are with the Bruck family," Malone said at a news conference. He released few details of the case but said, "evidence at the scene indicated it was a homicide." 
 
 "In all likelihood, the crime was committed at or near where the body was located," he said. 
 
 He would not comment on whether there are any known suspects or any persons of interest. 
 
 Buy Photo (Photo: Tresa Baldas Detroit Free Press) 
 
 The Wayne County Medical Examiner's office said an autopsy conducted Saturday morning was inconclusive, and more investigation is needed to confirm how the woman died. A cause of death, Malone said, could take up to a month to determine. 
 
 "It's been a long, complicated case," said Malone, who noted police had few details to start with. "It was a puzzle ...we're at three-quarters of the puzzle. And we're not gonna stop." 
 
 The Bruck family had launched an exhaustive effort to find Chelsea, including distributing more than 1 million flyers. The family, which was notified at 3:45 p.m. Saturday of the news, was not at the news conference and did not release a statement. Police said they have requested privacy. 
 
 Earlier, Monroe County Sheriff Deputy Chief Heath Velliquette said the body, discovered by the property owner at a heavily wooded site close to train tracks near Carleton, appeared to have been at the undeveloped residential property for months. 
 
 Velliquette had said an anthropologist was called in to help with the identification. The discovery was made about 2 p.m. Friday after the property owner building a home paused to work on some of the excavating equipment. 
 
 Malone said the killer likely knew the area where her body was dumped. 
 
 "I believe he was familiar with the railroad tracks that are there," Malone said, noting the area is private property. The property owner is not a suspect, he said. 
 
 The site is 12 miles from where Bruck was last seen at the party. "It was a unique costume," Malone said of what Bruck wore. "She hand-made the costume. It was one of a kind." 
 
 Supporters shared their sympathy on the Help Find Chelsea Bruck Facebook page, which has more than 12,000 members. 
 
 Nathaniel Bruck, who identified himself in a post as Chelsea's brother, wrote, "I want to thank everyone for their efforts. And while this may be the end of the search, it is also a new beginning. The beginning of the search for justice for my sister." 
 
 Contact Robert Allen at rallen@freepress.com or @rallenMI Staff writers Katrease Stafford and Gina Damron contributed to this report. 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/1GtWOBh ||||| Chelsea Bruck went missing from an Oct. 25 party while wearing a leaf-covered costume. (Photo: Monroe County Sheriff’s Office) 
 
 The family of missing Monroe County resident Chelsea Bruck on Wednesday addressed this week’s discovery of “clothing and other evidence” found at an industrial site in Flat Rock that may be related to the 22-year-old’s disappearance. 
 
 Bruck disappeared after leaving a Halloween party with an unidentified man Oct. 25. On Wednesday, her family implored the public to help them find their daughter. 
 
 “We need to stress: This is our lives, not a police show, not a detective show,” said Chelsea’s mother, Leannda Bruck, at a press conference in Newport. “This is our reality, and it’s not like TV. Please put yourself in our shoes.” 
 
 Meanwhile, the discovered fabric materials are being examined by a Michigan State Police forensic specialist. 
 
 “Police responded to a report of clothing,” Leannda Bruck said. “It’s in the lab and they don’t know yet if it belonged to Chelsea. They’re hoping to pick up some DNA.” 
 
 It was the first possible break in the case since Bruck disappeared. 
 
 “In five months, we had nothing,” Leannda Bruck said. “It was amazing to get that call, but at the same time, you don’t want to get your hopes up. So if DNA comes back as hers, it will be the first break in the case. Remember: No news is better than bad news.” 
 
 According to her family, Bruck was wearing a homemade leafy Poison Ivy costume to the party, which was held at a Newport farmhouse about eight miles from Bruck’s home and was attended by an estimated 600 people, most of whom were reportedly too drunk or high to be of much help to authorities. 
 
 According to her mother, Bruck almost didn’t attend the party. 
 
 “Up until 3 p.m., she wasn’t sure she was going to go because she didn’t have a ride,” Leannda Bruck said. 
 
 Bruck was last seen leaving the party at about 3 a.m. the next day with an unidentified man. 
 
 The latest searches follow one in March along the Lake Erie shore in Monroe County, where police had said the melting snow could yield clues at the Pointe Mouillee State Game Area in Berlin Township. 
 
 On Sunday evening, Flat Rock police and the Michigan State Police helped the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office search a field near Vreeland and Peters roads. 
 
 Police resumed their search Monday after a tip came in to search an abandoned concrete block building near the field. Searchers Monday morning used a helicopter and a K-9 unit. 
 
 While thanking people for their support and interest in her daughter’s disappearance, Leannda Bruck also cautioned the public to be respectful of police as they do their work. 
 
 “Police need their space to do their jobs,” she said. “A crowd may ruin evidence or cause a distraction. ... If you think you know something, or found something, please don’t touch it or move it. 
 
 “Don’t call your friends about it, call the detectives.” 
 
 First Lt. Tony Cuevas, commander of the MSP Monroe post, said earlier this week he could not comment on the results of the searches, referring questions to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. Flat Rock police also referred questions to the sheriff’s office. A message seeking comment was not returned. 
 
 Meanwhile, a Facebook page has been set up, and friends and family have blanketed southeast Michigan with fliers, T-shirts, buttons and yard signs bearing Bruck’s image and have affixed purple ribbons to trees, poles and mailboxes in an effort to find her. 
 
 Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at (734) 240-7700 or Monroe County Central Dispatch at (734) 243-7070 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800 SPEAK-UP, www.1800SPEAKUP.org or text CSM and the tip information to 274637. 
 
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– The body of Chelsea Bruck, the 22-year-old Michigan woman last seen at a Halloween party last year, has been found in a field in Monroe County. Bruck's mom had been tirelessly searching for her daughter for six months, and last month, police got a tip. Bruck's homemade Halloween costume was found at a vacant industrial site in Flat Rock April 5, and on Friday, a body was found at a heavily wooded site near Carleton, a few miles away, the Detroit Free Press reports. The Sheriff's Office revealed last night that the body was identified as Bruck's. An autopsy was inconclusive and a cause of death could take as long as a month to determine, but police say the case is a homicide and her body appears to have been at the site for months. "I believe [the murderer] was familiar with the railroad tracks that are there" where Bruck's body was found, 12 miles from the Halloween party, the sheriff says. "In all likelihood, the crime was committed at or near where the body was located." Her body was found on private property, but the property owner is not a suspect; the remains were discovered after a dump truck got stuck and construction crews worked to free it, MyFox Detroit reports. "I want to thank everyone for their efforts," wrote a person identifying himself as Bruck's brother on the Help Find Chelsea Bruck Facebook page. "And while this may be the end of the search, it is also a new beginning. The beginning of the search for justice for my sister."