如何使用PHP删除此字符

I am parsing through text and I came across this character: ... well, apparently I am not able to post a pic but the character is a small outlined box with two rows of very small numbers inside, 00 on the top line and 90 on the bottom. I am sorry I am not able to upload a pic.

However, when I try to insert the character in the following code I get:

$essay_result = str_replace("?", "", $essay_result);

Instead of:

$essay_result = str_replace("the little boxed character", "", $essay_result);

How can I write the expression to interpret the symbol so I can strip it from the text?

Here is a pic http://www.imageno.com/thumbs/20150608/jxhlpr476rbe.jpg

As far as the text being parsed, it is obviously a close quote:

Wilma states she “saw the whole thingâ€[the character I am referring to follows here]

That's a broken character you're showing. Don't just add something to remove the char, find the root cause.

  1. make sure all your files use the same encoding(UTF-8 or otherwise)
  2. make sure you're not overencoding to another charse
  3. make sure you're not outputting anything except where you actually intend to
  4. make sure the text you send the browser is actually in the encoding that whatever you are using for storage is in.

If all else fails, go for https://github.com/neitanod/forceutf8

Best of luck!