The body of a beloved California teacher who went missing more than a month ago has been found just feet from her home. 

Loretta 'Kay' Colwell Pilitsis, 55, vanished after she left her Piñon Hills residence on foot on May 25.

Her disappearance sparked an extensive police search involving K-9s and an aviation unit.

Her whereabouts baffled investigators until last month when they received a report of a body found in the desert.

Officers were called to a section of Oasis Road at around 8pm on June 30. 

They discovered her body less than five minutes' walk from her home. Her cause of death has not been released yet. 

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Specialized Investigations Division is now leading the investigation.

Colwell Pilitsis' cousin, Jon Fenton, announced her death on Facebook, writing: 'We as a family are devastated, but are relieved that she has been found after having been missing for almost six weeks. 

'I am grateful to all the people who helped in finding her. A lasting legacy from Kay is how even in death she pulled together so many of her friends and relatives closer together.' 

Colwell Pilitsis was a teacher with Lancaster School District and had been with her partner Christoforos Pilitsis for more than a decade.

Her friend, Tanya Quaife, also posted a tribute to the school teacher, writing on Facebook: 'My heart is utterly broken that she is gone.

'Today, I keep thinking of her laugh. How it erupted readily, suddenly, and loudly, and was followed by lilting staccato beats, filled with mirth. 

'Like her, it was singular. And no longer having her or her laughter on this side of eternity is devastating.

'I trust that Kay is at peace. But those of us left behind are not.' 

No one has been arrested for her death as of Tuesday morning. 

Police have not released any further information on her case. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Colwell Pilitsis' family and the police for comment.