(credit: Arlington Police Department)

ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) – The family of a missing elderly woman has confirmed to CBS 11 News that a body found in east Arlington Thursday is that of the missing grandmother.

Maria Arrocha, who was showing signs of early onset Alzheimer’s, had been missing since December 18. Family members said Arrocha simple walked out the door, without shoes, one morning and wasn’t seen again.

The family was extremely worried, but became even more frightful when temperatures across North Texas fell near freezing. “Because we don’t know where she is. If she has a blanket to cover her or a jacket,” her daughter, San Juana Gutierrez, said last week.

Family members and volunteers had been searching for the grandmother for weeks, even scouring open fields and handing out fliers at local businesses.

Police found the body found of the 82-year-old woman on east Abram in Arlington. Authorities told the family that it appeared Arrocha just laid down and died –possibly from exposure. Police do not suspect foul play.

Officers went searching in the area after a homeless person reported seeing what appeared to be a body.