DNA testing has confirmed the identity of a woman’s body pulled from the Red River back in June 2012 but family members waited three years to get answers.

Police initially used a composite sketch of the deceased to try and get tips in the case but the identity of the woman remained a mystery up until this week.

Winnipeg Police Service Superintendent Danny Smyth revealed the woman’s identity during a media conference Friday morning.

“The female has been positively identified as Audrey Desjarlais who was 52-years-old," said Supt. Smyth.

Desjarlais is originally from the Saddle Lake community in Alberta but police believe she was living in Winnipeg prior to her death.

Desjarlais first came to their attention in September 2012 but it wasn't until a media report this past April prompted investigators to get a DNA sample from Desjarlais' daughter Barb—the sample they used to identify her mother.

"Barb Desjarlais provided investigators with a DNA sample that matched our “Jane Doe” and identified her positively as Audrey Desjarlais," said Supt. Smyth.

Investigators said it took so long because two witnesses interviewed back in October 2012 reported seeing Audrey Desjarlais alive even after the body was recovered.

"Quite frankly the focus of the investigation changed when those witnesses came forward because [investigators] were acting on the belief that Ms. Desjarlais was still alive,” said Supt. Smyth.

Leah Gazan, a University of Winnipeg professor and advocate for missing and murdered indigenous woman, said the case highlights the issues First Nations people face when trying to get answers from police.

"It's another example of a family, people in our community for whatever reasons trying to get help from authorities and being ignored,” said Gazan. “I think it's a common theme that needs to be addressed."

Supt. Smyth said racism played no role in the delay. Smyth said Desjarlais was never reported missing and that they didn't know the race of the woman when the body was recovered.

He said investigators were also comparing 300 profiles of missing women to try and get a match.

"We were trying to identify a body that was recovered,” said Supt. Smyth. “We didn't know anything about the body."

Badly decomposed at the time it was recovered, police believe Desjarlais’ body could've been in the river several weeks, even months.

The medical examiner wasn’t able to determine a cause of death but police said there were no obvious signs of injury or trauma to her body.

Supt. Smyth said Winnipeg police still have many more questions about Audrey Desjarlais and how she ended up in the Red River.

Investigators are still searching for those answers. They believe someone knows something and want to speak with anyone who came into contact with Desjarlais in the final days before her death.