The body of a Mount Airy woman who had been reported missing after visiting a Stokes County resident on May 31 has been found in Forsyth County.

On Tuesday the body of 24-year-old Ashley Denise Ward was discovered in the water in the 7200 block of NC Highway 65 in Belews Creek, although the identity of the body was not released until Friday.

Ward’s death has been ruled a homicide.

The body’s discovery came two days after Ward was reported missing by her mother, who lived with her daughter at 199 Lynnwood Drive in Mount Airy. The report was filed with the Stokes County Sheriff's Office because the last time the mother had spoken to Ward was on Saturday, May 30 at around 3-3:30 p.m. According to reports, Ward was visiting her boyfriend who resides in Walnut Cove.

The body’s discovery was reported to the sheriff’s office on Tuesday, around 2 p.m., when a call came in to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office about a possible body in the water just below White's Grocery near the Stokes County line.

Two fishermen had stumbled onto the corpse and reported it to a local store owner who subsequently made the call to Forsyth County authorities.

When deputies arrived at the site, which is a side arm of Belews Lake, they were forced to use all-terrain vehicles due to difficulty in gaining access to the remote location. They eventually found Ward’s body still in the water

At that time the sheriff’s office and rescue officials conducted an extensive recovery operation.

After removal from the water around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Ward’s remains were taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Chapel Hill for examination, where the positive identification was made.

Investigators from both the Forsyth and Stokes County Sheriff’s Offices, as well as officials from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation say they are aggressively following leads in this case.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office at 727-2112, Stokes County Sheriff’s Department at 593-8787 or Crimestoppers at 727-2800.