One of the last people to see teenage prostitute Jane Furlong alive says the discovery of her remains means her friend can finally be put to rest.
A homicide investigation is underway, after confirmation that a skeleton found at a Port Waikato Beach last month is that of Ms Furlong, who disappeared in 1993 from Auckland's red-light district.
Amanda Watt says she was working with Ms Furlong the day she disappeared and she had always held out hope her friend would still be alive.
"It's hard to let that hope go, I think I'm happy that she's found, I don't know if I'm covering up tears or what it is - but 19 years is a long time".
Amanda Watt says she met Ms Furlong when she was 15 at Penrose High School.
