WARREN, Mass. -- Less than 24 hours after hearing the devastating news that their daughter's remains had been identified Molly Bish's father is speaking out.

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John Bish Reacts To Identification Share Your Thoughts, Prayers

The remains of his 16-year-old daughter were uncovered in Palmer and were positively identified Monday nearly three years after she vanished from a pond in nearby Warren.

John Bish spoke Tuesday morning to Newscenter 5's Jack Harper about the need to find peace and move on. He said he hopes the Bish family can ultimately reach that goal and move on; not forget, but move on. He spoke about the end to this terrible chapter that has become a three-year ordeal.

"We're grateful that Molly has been found by the state police and she's home, and we're able to bring her home once the investigation has been complete around her bones that have been discovered in the Palmer woods in the last few days," Bish said.

"The family has been together and benefiting from the support of our community, as well as our family and friends. It's not the ending we wanted, but we needed to bring and ending to this for our family so we can begin to experience some peace. For the past three-years we tried to be hopeful for Molly's recovery. Because of the ambiguity of her circumstances, we've gone from feeling hopeful to feeling hopeless and we've been frightened because we feared that she might have been hurt by someone or being held hostage. Now we know what happened to her and where she ended up and, although it's not the ending that we all desired, we do have some peace and we know she's not being hurt any more and we can just bring her home."

As Bish spoke, searchers were going back in the woods of the Whiskey Hill area combing another 3-acre target site still looking for clues. With the positive identification taking some of the pressure of the Bish family by answering some of their questions, it may be putting more on investigators who now know for certain that a killer has gotten away so far with murdering a 16-year-old.

While the investigation overall has been renewed, there is a chance that the physical search may be wrapped up in the woods. Worcester County District Attorney John Conte is expected to comment on that Tuesday afternoon.

The family, except for a few interviews, is spending most of its time in its home on South Street in Warren.