Detective Senior Sergeant Damon Wells said a post-mortem examination confirmed it is Warrington, who has been missing since July 10. The body was found on Monday.
Warrington's death is not being treated as suspicious and police continue to make inquiries on behalf of the Coroner, he said.
"Police would like to thank those who assisted by providing information, or helped with both the formal and informal searches for Shirley."
The Coroner will release their findings in due course, said Wells.
Warrington was last seen on July 10, when she and her husband Wally left their home in Burwood. At 7.30pm the Warringtons were stopped in Rolleston by police, driving slowly on State Highway 1 towards Christchurch with their headlights on full beam, and well under the speed limit.
They were not doing anything wrong, but police would have been remiss not to pull them over in the circumstances.
After a quick chat, the Warringtons were back on the road.
At 8.34pm their car was captured on CCTV on Ferry Rd - Wally was driving and Shirley was in the front passenger seat.
At 10.19pm another camera picked the car up near the Ferrymead Bridge. This time, there was no Shirley.
In a cruel twist for the family, Wally died only two days before his wife's body was found.
He was deeply distressed over his wife’s disappearance. He died on Saturday and Shirley’s body was found on Monday.
Their granddaughter Aleisha Hofman said previously it has been a very difficult experience for her and the family.
