Deanna Villella has had a mission to find missing people ever since her brother disappeared in August 2014.

The fragmentary remains of Christopher Rossing, Villella’s 25-year-old brother, eventually were found in a fire pit on a farm near Hutchinson in October 2014. He died by homicide.

But even after a Hutchinson man was convicted and sentenced in that case, Villella has continued to be a searcher, quitting her job in Las Vegas and moving back to Minnesota to set up a nonprofit group, United Legacy, that organizes volunteers to do ground searches for people missing in Minnesota.

On Saturday, she had the heart-gulping experience of finding another lost person.

It happened as Villella and her husband were riding a snowmobile through a partially wooded field late Saturday morning near the southeast corner of the 1,600-acre Bunker Hills Regional Park in Blaine, just north of Blaine High School.

They and other volunteers were searching for Lisa Marie, 54, a vulnerable woman who had been last seen leaving her home in Blaine on foot about 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 5.

Villella said she and her husband, Ryan Schroeder, both spotted the body of an adult woman lying in the field at the same time. As of Sunday afternoon, police had not identified the body or the cause of death.

Villella said she would not comment on the identity of the body until police released the information. But she said the body was dressed in winter clothing and did not seem to be a victim of violence.

“The person we found was peaceful,” she said.

The area where the person was found was a mile or less from Marie’s home. Marie was described as possibly struggling with mental health problems.

Villella said her group became involved in the search for Marie on Jan. 9, beginning with a flier campaign. The woman’s disappearance also was advertised on nine digital billboards that had been donated to the group, Villella said.

On Friday, the organization coordinated about 55 volunteers to conduct a ground search of the area, including people walking through the woods and on horseback and using a drone.

It was too cold Saturday to ask volunteers to search on foot again, but the organization got permission to search Bunker Hills with ATVs and snowmobiles, which usually are not allowed in the park.

Villella said the experience of finding a body in a search is “surreal” and “bittersweet.”

“You provide closure to the family, but ultimately it’s not the answer they wanted,” Villella said. “You know the family is going to be delivered ultimately the worst news that can be given to them.”

But she said even if the answer is sad, “they’re thankful to have answers.”

“We realize that in a lot of cases, the person is not going to be alive. Our emotion is that we’re at least going to be able to bring that person home to their family,” said Sandie Adams-Bruins, president of Minnesota Canine Search Rescue and Tracking, another recently started nonprofit citizens group that uses trained tracking dogs to find missing persons.

Villella said her group has been involved in physical searches for about eight missing people in Minnesota since October, including the search for Joe Brunn. The body of the 23-year-old Monticello man, found to be the victim of an accidental drowning, was found in October after a five-day search by volunteers.

United Legacy volunteers also located Tyler Berg, a 24-year-old St. Cloud man who went missing in November. His body was found in a marsh near Monticello.

The group is also involved in the search for Martise Windom, a 38-year-old man from Savage missing since Nov. 7.

Coordinating with the missing person’s family and using donations and volunteers, the group employs ice divers, kayakers, sonar, ultralight aircraft and rented helicopters to find someone, Villella said.

“We pull in resources and we implement them,” she said.

Villella said she was working as a personal chef in Las Vegas when her brother disappeared. She said she now works as a full-time volunteer running the United Legacy organization.

She said her organization was originally called Christopher’s Legacy, but the name changed to United Legacy as relatives of other missing people the group helped joined in to assist in new cases.

Villella hopes the organization will expand outside Minnesota eventually, she said.

Information about participating in United Legacy can be found at its Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Unitedlegacy/?fref=ts.

Donations can be made at its GoFundMe site, gofundme.com/unitedlegacy, or to United Legacy, care of Deanna Villella, P.O. Box 111, Shakopee, MN 55379.

Information about Minnesota Canine Search Rescue and Tracking can be found at minnesotacanine searchrescueandtracking.com.

Richard Chin can be reached at 651-228-5560. Follow him at twitter.com/RRChin.