Barbara Reeley said she had a "restless night" after police find "non-adult" skeleton in Troy preserve that was once the focus of a search for the missing Greenwich boy

TROY -- When skeletal remains belonging to a "non-adult human" who had been in their mid-to-late teens were discovered in the city Sunday and Monday, Barbara Reeley's first impulse was to drive from her home in Florida to the search area at the Burden Pond Preserve where police had descended to search.

Reeley, the adoptive grandmother of Jaliek Rainwalker, the 12-year-old Greenwich boy who disappeared in 2007, has held onto a shred of hope he might still be alive nearly 17 years after he was last seen. But she said news that recovered remains could be Jaliek's would help "put him to rest."

"All I wanted to do was pack up and start driving north," Reeley said Tuesday. "I had an urge to be there and talk to people."

Police removed the remains on Monday and are awaiting lab tests to identify the person found buried in a wood area near the pond.

She said she had had a "very restless night" since police first contacted her Monday to tell her about the discovery of skeletal remains found buried in an area near the pond. The location is near where police, acting on a tip, searched for Jaliek in mid-2022. Investigators have never explained what prompted that search.

"Now it's just waiting," Reeley said. "There's the adrenaline rush of the find and then put on the brakes and wait." She said she had since spoken with a State Police investigator and while they could not provide a timeline on when the remains could be conclusively identified, they had a measure of confidence an identification could be made at some point.

"They seem a bit optimistic -- not about who it is -- but they feel like they can get DNA," Reeley said. "They're hopeful of knowing who it is."

For now, she waits over a thousand miles away. She left upstate for Florida four years ago to be closer to family. It was not an easy move.

"It was hard to do not knowing about Jaliek," Reeley said.

Details remain limited as police work to learn the identity of the deceased, how long the remains have been in the area, how the individual may have died, and if any crime occurred.

"It's hard to be put in neutral," Reeley said. "It's hard one way or the other."

The discovery of a skull sent city police into the preserve of Campbell Road on Sunday.

Troy detectives slowly worked their way through a wet, mucky 100-square-foot area that is near where police, acting on a tip, searched in June 2022 for Jaliek, who was 12 when he was last seen on Nov. 1, 2007.

Investigators are moving ahead methodically as they attempt to find clothing and other items that might help with identification.

Around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, police officers were sent to a wooded area near Burden Falls in South Troy where a caller reported having discovered bones while on a walk. Officers secured the area and on Monday police confirmed the remains to be human.

Investigators were back at the scene early Monday, examining the area for further clues. Authorities could be seen carrying shovels and sieves into the search area. A tent had been put in place. The canopy was set up on the north side of the pond near the preserve's entrance. The search area is visible from Campbell Avenue.