Patcharee Punthong's long search for her daughter, who was murdered three years ago and the body found only this month, has finally come to an end.
Mrs Patcharee went to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Police General Hospital on Friday to collect the bones of Ploynarin Pilopol for a religious ceremony.
"I have come to take you home, my dear," she said with tears in her eyes .
Forensic police released the bones after DNA tests of Mrs Patcharee and her husband, Vicha Palipol, turned out to match the remains.
Mrs Patcharee had searched tirelessly, travelling to several locations and posting pictures of her daughter on social media after Ploynarin, 22, did not return home in Tha Rua district in Ayutthaya on May 21, 2014.
She lodged a complaint with the Tha Rua police station the following day but no new information emerged until three years later, after she sought help from Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha through the Damrongtham complaint centre on Aug 1.
Two weeks later, Sgt Polkrit Wiset was arrested on Aug 13 and now is facing murder charges. (Story continues below)
Patcharee Punthong is bringing the bones of her daughter, Ploynarin Palipol, back to Ayutthaya for religious rites. (Photo by Patipat Janthong)
The bones had been found in Kaeng Khoi district in Saraburi in 2014 but authorities never knew the identity until the murder case came to light.
The location where the bones were found is the site where the sergeant was said to have burned and buried his victim. Police said he confessed to killing Ploynarin in a fit of jealousy on learning that she wanted to break up with him after she discovered he already had a family.
Mrs Patcharee said she would travel to the site where the bones were discovered and then go back to her home in Tha Rua district for a religious ceremony for her daughter.
A chanting rite will be performed at Wat Klang from Friday to Sunday and the cremation is scheduled for Monday, she added.
That will be the last farewell to her daughter after she embarked on her search three years ago. "I have been waiting for her for three years," she said.