Fairfax County police announced Monday they have found the body of a missing Virginia woman in Maryland and are offering a reward for helping locate the ex-boyfriend who has been charged with second-degree murder in her slaying.

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       The remains of Hannah Choi, 35, were found in Piscataway Park in Charles County by a passerby on March 24, police said at a news conference. Choi was reported missing March 6, and authorities said they had searched 800 acres of the park for her.

       Police also announced Monday they are offering a $40,000 reward for helping locate Joel Mosso Merino, 27, who they suspect in Choi’s slaying and is believed to have fled Virginia. Police said he was last seen in the Atlanta area but could be anywhere.

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       “Joel Merino is Fairfax County’s most wanted and he is on the run,” Maj. Ed O’Carroll of Fairfax County police said at the news conference.

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       Choi was last seen at the home she shared with Merino in the Kingstowne area of Fairfax County on March 5, police said. The next day, friends went to Choi’s home, but she did not answer the door and she missed several appointments, police said.

       Friends contacted police, who searched Choi’s home, police said. Choi’s home appeared to be in order, they said, except sheets were missing from a bedroom. Choi and Merino were seen together on video on the evening of March 5 and detectives determined that they may have argued, police said.

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       Investigators think Merino may have struck Choi and killed her inside their Fairfax County home. They think he then took Choi’s body to Piscataway Park on the Potomac River.

       On March 7, police located a vehicle in D.C. that Merino was said to be driving on the night of Choi’s disappearance. Inside, they said, they found evidence that Choi had been harmed. Police declined to describe what they uncovered.

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       Choi was an operations manager at a real estate firm, her employer said. Choi also was an avid pool player. A friend said she had broken up with Merino several weeks before her slaying.

       Police said they later determined that Merino spent a significant amount of time at Piscataway Park in Prince George’s County on the night that Choi disappeared, prompting searches there.

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       Minna Choi, Hannah’s sister, said at the news conference Monday that the discovery of her sister’s body brought some closure to the family, but she pleaded with the public to help find her killer.

       “I always knew my sister was a social butterfly. She had so many friends and connections. Really, the past couple weeks have shown us particularly the impact she had on people’s lives,” Minna Choi said. “We will always remember her as someone who was brave, strong and independent.”