After a three-month search, elementary school teacher Terrilyn Monette has most likely been located after police officials found a "heavily decomposed" body inside her car in Bayou St. John in New Orleans Saturday afternoon.

Monette was last seen leaving a New Orleans bar, Parlay's Dream Lounge, not far from the bayou on March 2, and she would have had to cross the waterway to drive home, reported Yahoo! News.

"I don't understand why it took them so long to find her car," bemoaned Monette's mother, Toni Enclade.

"This is supposedly one of the first places they would have checked. I'm just overwhelmed. It doesn't make sense."

According to NOLA Defender, the bayou and the area has been the target of police searches since her disappearance, with more than 15 cars pulled from the water in the process.

Her car was discovered by Slidell police officer Mark Michaud along with the decomposed body. The car was loaded onto a truck and driven to the coroner's office.

An autopsy will be conducted Monday to determine whether the body is that of the 26-year-old's.

With Monette's fate most likely to be determined on Monday, the investigation will now transition to homicide detectives to determine how the teacher went missing in March.

"The discovery of Ms. Monnette's car today was upsetting, not only to Terrilynn's family members, but to many members of the New Orleans community," said an official statement from state representative Austin Badon.

"It was touching that many residents drove to the bayou when they heard the news that the vehicle had been located. Miss Monette's story very obviously touched many of us."