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Hair and human tissue found by a mushroom hunter in the Applegate have provided a fresh break into the disappearance of Stephanie Anne Warner, an Applegate woman who vanished 10 years ago in a case that has baffled law enforcement.

The discovery Monday afternoon was reported to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.

“I just believe this case is solvable,” said Jackson County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jesse Ainsworth.

Ainsworth said that over the past three years he has been watching old interviews and reviewing other evidence from a decade ago, contacting people and conducting new interviews and using new forensic technology as it becomes available. He was particularly optimistic about geofencing warrants, information obtained from cellphone towers.

“It’s like historical cellphone data. Oftentimes as you’re traveling, Google pays attention, and some of the information is recoverable,” he said.

He has been working recently to put together the information necessary to obtain a geofencing warrant. Laptops and phones related to the case were also recently transferred to the Southern Oregon High-Tech Crimes Task Force, he said.

The hair and tissue found this week is considered presumptive until the Oregon State Police Forensics Laboratory is finished analyzing the new evidence, Ainsworth said, but the remains were found near Warner’s residence in the 9000 block of Highway 238.

Warner disappeared in 2013. She was last seen leaving the Ashland Fourth of July parade around 4:30 p.m., with her boyfriend, Lennie Ames, according to media and police reports at the time. She was last seen wearing black pants and a beige or pink top with black lace-up boots. She and Ames left together in her green 2003 Nissan Xterra. It is believed Warner was driving to her home in Ruch.

Detectives believe Warner was the victim of homicide and her body was left in the Applegate, but previous searches of the area near her home turned up no evidence. Ames and his son, Jared Fournier, are believed to know something about her disappearance, but according to the release, they have been uncooperative with the investigation.

In July 2013, Warner’s family and friends worked with investigators and search teams in an attempt to find Warner or her remains.

On July 10, 2013, seven searchers using trained scent hounds and cadaver dogs searched the area near her home, according to news reports at the time. On July 11, 2013, another group of 16 searchers performed a grid search in different locations in the Applegate valley. A third search of the area was conducted with the help of a helicopter. All three turned up no signs of Warner.

Following this week’s discovery, detectives are conducting a new search with search-and-rescue personnel in the area of China Gulch Road near Warner’s home, according to the sheriff’s office.

“We’re approaching 10 years with this case, obviously that’s a milestone for someone to be missing. I find it hard to believe that in those 10 years, the person responsible for Stephanie’s disappearance hasn’t talked to somebody. We’re asking the public to come forward, anyone who knows something. They can remain anonymous,” Ainsworth said.

“I’ve remained in touch with her family. There’s not a day that goes by that they don’t think about her. We need to get some closure for the family, some justice for Stephanie,” he said.

Warner’s sister, Sharon Lambert, made a renewed plea for anyone with information to come forward.

“It’s like a big open gap — anyone who’s had someone missing will tell you not knowing is the hardest thing,” she said in an interview.

Her sister is her mother’s youngest daughter, she said, and as the years have gone by, every day the family still misses their lost loved one. They have never lost hope or faith, she said. This latest discovery has buoyed their hopes again.

“We have always kept our faith in God. We want to thank everyone who’s been praying these last 10 years, they’ve helped keep us going. We always want to thank the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. They’ve always let us know that Stephanie was never forgotten,” she said.

Anyone with information about Warner’s disappearance should call Ainsworth at 541-774-6816.

“I’ve always said if anybody knows anything, even the tiniest thing, to come forward and share it. You never know what will lead to something,” Lambert said.