Chicago ? Authorities said Friday that a badly decomposed body is that of a Chicago woman whose family spent nine days exhaustively searching for her.

Dental records confirmed that the unclothed, decomposing body found Thursday behind several vacant businesses in Calumet City was that of 28-year-old Nailah Franklin.

“This is a tragic loss. They’re trying to cope with it as best as possible,” the Rev. Michael Sykes said after emerging from Franklin’s sister’s apartment building on Friday afternoon.

Franklin, a sales representative for Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly, was reported missing Sept. 19 after she didn’t show up for a work meeting. Days before her body was found, her car and some personal items were found near an abandoned building in Hammond, Ind., three miles from Calumet City.

The cause of death has not been determined, though forensic evidence was still being processed, Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond said.