South Australian forensic scientists have confirmed that the remains found at a Malaysian construction site belong to Adelaide grandmother Anna Jenkins.
The result comes more than four years after Ms Jenkins' mysterious death, but test results could not confirm how she died.
Her son Greg Jenkins found her remains in 2020 and was forced to carry her bones home to Adelaide in a cardboard box last April, after an inquest into her death was adjourned due to a "poor'' police investigation in Malaysia.
The family wanted to confirm the remains belonged to their mother through Forensic Science SA because of a lack of confidence in Malaysian authorities.
Mr Jenkins said the confirmation provided him solace but it was still hard to accept.
"But in the same breath we always lived in hope that mum would just miraculously walk through the front door again."
Family still seeking answers
Anna Jenkins — also known as Annapuranee — went missing in Penang in December 2017 while on a trip with her husband, Frank Jenkins, to visit her mother.
Ms Jenkins, then 65, was last seen getting into an Uber from a dental appointment in Penang, heading to her mother's nursing home in George Town, but she never made it.
The quest to find out what happened to Anna has been led almost entirely by her family, with her son making more than 20 trips to Malaysia.
Her family believe she was murdered.
Mr Jenkins said the investigation should continue.
"Only 18 of her bones have been found – there's 206 bones in a human body," he said.
A coronial inquest into Ms Jenkins' death was adjourned after just three days in April due to a lack of evidence from local police.
Her son will return to Malaysia when the inquest resumes in July to push the coroner to open another investigation.
"We know finding the cause of her death is just a shot in the dark just because of how bad the investigations have gone," Mr Jenkins said.
"But we have to keep trying."
MLC Frank Pangallo has also requested Attorney-General Kyam Maher to hold a separate inquest in South Australia.
