Najah Ferrell, of Avon, Indiana, was last seen at 3 a.m. March 15 at her residence, Avon police said.
"I miss her and she should be here," said her mother. "And her boys, they have never been without their mother."
Late Monday afternoon, more than 130 miles from Farrell's last known location, police say a fisherman pulled what appeared to be a human foot from a pond in Crown Point.
Dozens of investigators from Crown Point and Avon swarmed the banks of the pond, just steps from I-65, searching for more clues.
On Tuesday, Avon police tweeted that Crown Point police found remains that have been "preliminarily identified" as Ferrell.
Police and the Lake County coroner were able to identify a tattoo on the body's foot that read "Najah," Crown point police said in a statement. Confirmation of her identity is awaiting a DNA test, police said.
"My heart I can't even tell you," her mother said. "I don't want any other mother to ever, ever deal with anything like this with any other family."
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.