The Bexar County sheriff and the family of 19-year-old Camila Mendoza Olmos believe that the human remains found in a field near her home on Tuesday belong to the missing teen.

“Although it's still too early to definitively say that it's her … or what happened to that body that caused the death, I personally feel strongly that it is her,” Salazar said in a social media video Wednesday.

The Bexar County Medical Examiner has not officially identified the remains or determined the cause and manner of death as of Wednesday morning.

However, Mendoza's family was notified by authorities Tuesday night that the remains belonged to her, according to Mandy Albritton with Texas EquuSearch, a nonprofit search and rescue organization that assisted the family with their search.

A joint team of Bexar County deputies and FBI agents discovered the body and a firearm around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday in a field a few hundred yards from Mendoza's home in the 11000 block of Caspian Spring.

She was last seen the morning of Dec. 24 at the home, where she lived with her mother. She was studying at Northwest Vista College in hopes of becoming an orthodontist, according to her father, who is separated from her mother but also lives in the neighborhood.

The search team had already canvassed the nearby field early in the six-day search, but decided to search it again because of tall grass and heavy brush, the sheriff said.

Deputies had been searching for a family member's firearm that had been reported missing from the home, according to the sheriff. Authorities have not confirmed whether the firearm found at the scene is the one that was reportedly missing.

Clothes found at the scene match the description of what she was wearing when she disappeared on Christmas Eve, according to reports from Albritton and the Youth Peace and Justice Foundation, which assisted in the search and offered a reward for information on Mendoza's whereabouts.

Salazar told the media Tuesday that investigators did not suspect foul play, but were processing evidence at the scene in accordance with homicide protocols.

Authorities had learned of “suicidal ideations on Camila's part” during the search, and Salazar previously said that she had struggled with depression and self-harm. She was in the midst romantic breakup and hardship at work and school, according to the sheriff.

Missing on Christmas Eve

Mendoza was last seen around 6:58 a.m. on Dec. 24 at her home. Security video showed a woman believed to be Mendoza rummaging through her car, apparently searching for an unidentified item.

The teen was passionate about fitness and often went for walks in the morning, according to her father, who is separated from her mother but also lives in the neighborhood. Her mother grew concerned when she did not return home that day, in addition to the fact that she left her phone at home.

A driver’s dashboard camera footage, later turned in to the sheriff's office, captured a person authorities believe to be Mendoza walking in the dark along Wildhorse Parkway around 7 a.m. that morning.

During the search, the sheriff's office set up a mobile command center at Krueger Elementary School, about a quarter-mile from where the remains were later found. They also used drones and cadaver dogs during the search.

Hundreds of volunteers also gathered to look for Mendoza in the days following her disappearance. Texas EquuSearch founder Tim Miller arrived in San Antonio from Houston on Tuesday and had planned to launch organized searches early Wednesday morning.

Her father, Alfonso Mendoza, made a desperate plea for help finding his daughter just hours before the remains were found: “Daddy’s waiting for her.”

He described his daughter as a caring and humble young woman. He recalled fond memories of taking her swimming, biking and roller skating in the neighborhood where they lived.

She was born in Mexico and held dual citizenship in Mexico and the United States. She lived in California until about 6, when her family moved to San Antonio.

Alfonso Mendoza said Tuesday he believed his daughter didn't leave on her own.

“I know she would never have done this,” he said.

Mental heath support

The sheriff encouraged anyone struggling with a mental health crisis to reach out to the Specialized Multidisciplinary Alternate Response Team (S.M.A.R.T.) by calling 210-223-7233.

“Check on your loved ones, check on your kids, check on your friends, especially those that have been going through tough times,” Salazar said in his video message.

The Youth Peace and Justice Foundation is also offering mental health and crisis support services for anyone in the San Antonio area. The organization operates a 24-hour peer and professional support team at 254-499-8027.

Founder Daniel Chapin is urging city and county leaders to implement a permanent system to educate young people and their guardians about mental health, including the warning sides of suicide.

“This is not a request for temporary funding; it is a demand for a long-term political mandate to make these programs a permanent pillar of youth well being,” he said in a release. “We need a system that intervenes and empowers communities and families, before a young person reaches a breaking point.”