Aime, of Lehi, was 17 when she went missing on Halloween night in 1976, and her body was found on Nov. 27 in Timpanogos Canyon.

Sheriff Mike Smith said that although Bundy claimed to have committed the murder, the confession was not sufficient evidence to close the case and rule out other parties. A renewed effort to solve the cold case came from Det. Sgt. Mike Reynolds and Det. Jacob Hall.

Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said the detectives worked with agency partners to extract forensic evidence from the case and confirm that the DNA matched Bundy’s.

“With that evidence and the full support of the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, we bring this case to a closure, and most importantly, we bring closure, hopefully, to the Aime family, who have endured over 50 years of the loss of their loved one,” Smith said.

Smith said if Bundy were still alive today, the sheriff’s office would have pursued the case to the “fullest extent” and pushed for capital punishment.

This story will be updated.