MEADVILLE — A skull found Monday morning by a hunter in the Homochitto National Forest was identified Tuesday as that of a Baton Rouge, La., woman missing for more than a year.

Marianne McLaughlin was last seen on June 11, 1998, and was reported missing a day later.

Her husband, Roy, was charged with her murder and jailed on June 24, 1998, by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office after inmates said he told them he killed his wife when he learned she was planning to divorce him, according to reports by WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge.

Franklin County Sheriff James Newman said Lt. Shane Evans of the Homicide Division of the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office contacted him when the case first began.

&uot;Apparently, Mr. McLaughlin hunted in this area,&uot;&160;Newman said.

But the sheriff’s officials did not have additional evidence until Monday.

A deer hunter found the skull at about 10 a.m. in the Homochitto National Forest in the southwest corner of Franklin County and called the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, said Franklin County Sheriff James Newman.

On Monday afternoon, dental records confirmed the skull was that of Marianne McLaughlin, according to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, which on Tuesday afternoon held a press conference to report the latest developments in the case.

As of Tuesday, detectives of the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, along with Franklin County sheriff’s deputies, were still searching the scene where the skull was found for more evidence.

&uot;We’re not giving out the exact location where the skull was found because we want to keep people out of there until we’re finished at the scene,&uot;&160;Newman said.