Remains found..........

This page will have news about all the human remains that have been located. I do my best to find out whether these remains are identified. If you can help identify any of them please phone Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 or some of the articles have individual Police station numbers listed.

To contact me - nicole@australianmissingpersonsregister.com  but if you have information on any missing person please call Police.

*NOTE - As this page is now getting very large, and sometimes a body may be found but not identified for several months I think I need to organise it better so you (and I!) can more easily find people. So I will be compiling a list at the top of this page that will be an index of the remains that have been found and when they are identified I will move them to another page HERE.

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JOHN DOE

This man was killed by a northbound train between Burswood and Victoria Park WA train stations 20 years ago — and his identity remains a mystery. Aged between 20 and 40, he was struck about 11.20pm on Saturday March 7, 1998. He had fair skin, a slim-to-medium build, was 170cm-175cm tall with hazel eyes and balding ginger-blond hair.

Tattoos from Poona man

The man was discovered by a workman near the eastern spillway of the Poona Dam near Nambour on September 9, 2008.

His death is not believed to be suspicious but police have never been able to link him to any known missing persons case

Investigators have today launched a fresh public appeal for information, after new scientific and DNA techniques gave them a better picture of the man’s heritage.

Detectives from the Missing Persons Unit have engaged scientific experts to narrow down his ancestry and facial characteristics through DNA phenotyping.

The results have shown the man, who is aged between 45 and 65, may have New Zealand ancestry and green or hazel eyes.

The results have also helped police come up with a new computer generated image.

Missing Persons Unit Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Dario Goriup said information from the public was still vital to solving the case.

“While we are keeping an open mind, current information indicates this man may have close family connections to the North Island of New Zealand, specifically the Tauranga, Bay of Plenty area,” he said.

“We would ask members of the public who are missing a loved one or perhaps have not spoken to a family member or friend since September 2008 to consider this information, take a good look at this image and if there is a resemblance, please contact police.

“All it could take is one person who recognises the image or details to come forward and this could help us identify this man and find an answer to this 12-year mystery.”

The man is described as having a solid build, approximately 185cm tall, balding with grey hair with an appendix scar and four tattoos.

The tattoos are of a shark and eagle on his left shoulder as well as on his right shoulder, a woman with an American Indian headdress and what appears to be a warrior or gnome figure.

The man was wearing a red ‘Bauhaus’ baseball cap, long sleeved ‘Duchamp’ brand black shirt, ‘Aus sport’ grey tracksuit pants, white orange and grey ‘Fila’ ankle socks and a pair of ‘Cougar’ white, navy, silver and orange sandshoes. A brown leather ‘Fox’ satchel was discovered next to his body.

Police thought they had solved the mystery three years ago - even sending away for DNA comparisons - after a relative of missing man Charlie Rawlins came forward to say he had not been seen since 2008.

But while investigators were waiting for the results, Mr Rawlins’ remains were discovered off a Mount Coot-tha walking track.

Acting Senior Sergeant Dario Goriup said it was “somewhat unique” to have a body but nobody claiming it over such a long period.

“It is not a common occurrence. This is somewhat unique there are there are currently a few cases like this,” he said this morning.

“So this is why we’re really looking at seeing how this technology works in the space in terms of providing us some additional leads.”

He said police would like to solve the long running case to give closure to the man’s family.

“This is what we endeavour to do every day,” he said.

The DNA technology has only just become available, he said.

“The technology’s at the stage where we thought it would benefit for us the most,” he said.

Skeletal remains found on Mackay riverbank likely to be human, Queensland police say

Police investigating the discovery of skeletal remains along a riverbank in north Queensland say they believe they are human bones.

A passer-by noticed the bones slightly submerged in sand along the Pioneer River, about 2 kilometres from the Mackay CBD on Friday afternoon.

Senior Sergeant Mark Sweetnam said while the bones were yet to undergo forensic testing, it appeared the remains were part of a human skull.

"They appear to be quite old," he said.

Police excavated around the site on Saturday.

"We began an investigation to try to determine firstly, are they human remains, and also the origin of those remains," Senior Sergeant Sweetnam said.

"At this stage it's a bit difficult to tell ... there's only bones that have been located, nothing more than that."

Senior Sergeant Sweetnam said forensic testing would be carried out to confirm the remains are human and to determine how long they have been there.

He said it was too early to connect the remains to missing persons cases.

"We'll find out how old they are and if they date back for some time there might not be any need for any further investigation."

He said the bones were unearthed as a result of recent high tides.

"A sand bank has collapsed and the bones have been exposed."

The crime scene will remain established overnight.

Officers have ceased further excavation while the age of the bones is being determined.

CORONERS COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES Inquest:

Inquest into the death of an unknown male person

Hearing dates: 7 November 2018

Date of findings: 7 November 2018

Place of findings: State Coroner’s Court, Glebe

Findings of: State Coroner Les Mabbutt

File number: 2018/114406

 Publication Pursuant to s 75 (5) of the Coroners Act 2009 I order that these findings may be published.

Introduction

1. On Wednesday morning 11 April 2018 at about 6.35am a member of the public walking on Fletcher Street Campsie noticed a man near the fence at the rear of 402 Beamish Street Campsie. Upon closer examination it was realised the person had a rope around his neck and was hanging from metal reinforcing mesh overhanging the fence from the adjoining property. A milk crate was observed under the man’s left leg. A call was made to 000 and an ambulance attended the location. Paramedics arrived at the scene and determined the man had been deceased for some hours.

2. Police established a coronial crime scene. After examination of the scene police located no evidence to suggest another person had been involved or any elements of foul play or suspicious circumstances were involved. Except for an opal card, no identifying documents, mobile phone or other material was located on the deceased or at the scene. Police recorded the following description of the deceased person:  Male  Asian appearance  Possibly 50-70 years of age  Medium build  About 170 cm tall  Clothing; long sleeved royal blue checked shirt, cream cargo pants with black slippers and socks.

Cause of death

3. A Post Mortem was conducted at the Department of Forensic Medicine at Glebe on 13 April 2018 by Forensic Pathologist Dr Rebecca Irvine. The cause of death was determined as hanging. Dr Irvine noted that “No suspicious or inconsistent findings were identified on external examination of the body.” The presence of bony lytic lesions (partial destruction or replacement of part of a bone) was noted. Dr Irvine stated they are “suspicious in particular for multiple myeloma” and added “a range of other malignancies are also associated with lytic bone metastases. Multiple other conditions may cause this presentation.” Dr Irvine concluded “The deceased is likely to have been in considerable discomfort because of his disease.” Toxicology tests revealed a nontoxic level of paracetamol, and a blood alcohol concentration of 0.023g/100mL.

Why was an inquest held?

4. The role of the Coroner pursuant to s 81 of the Coroners Act 2009 is to make findings regarding:  The identity of the deceased  The date and place of that person’s death  The cause and manner of that person’s death Under s 27 of the Act an inquest is mandatory where the identity of the deceased person has not been sufficiently disclosed.

5. Pursuant to s 82 of the Act, a Coroner has the power to make recommendations, including concerning any public health or safety issue arising out of the death in question.

The police investigation to identify the deceased person

6. The officer in charge, Senior Constable Ali Dirani from Campsie Police gave evidence at inquest and the brief of evidence was tendered. Senior Constable Dirani conducted an investigation into the death.

7. Police investigated the Opal card found on the deceased. The card was prepaid and had no bank card or personal details attached to it. The card had been used between 8 April 2018 and 10 April 2018. Each trip started or finished at Dan’s Corner Campsie, only two buildings from where the deceased was found. The last trip was made at 4.42pm on 10 April 2017, from Dan’s Corner Campsie to Beamish Street opposite Unara Street Campsie. This is a distance of about 250m. Police concluded it is likely the deceased lived in the area. Police are of the view there are many share houses and boarding houses in the area where “unlawful non-citizens” may reside.

8. Police conducted a canvass of 402 Beamish Street and other surrounding buildings on Fletcher and Marlowe Streets without success. No person reported to police seeing anything related to the death of the deceased person. No one was found who knew of a person matching the deceased’s description. Police were not able to locate any CCTV camera footage that showed the area where the deceased was found. Subsequent inquiries to obtain footage consistent with the use of the Opal card did not result in the recovery of any footage of the deceased person.

9. Police conducted checks through the Missing Persons Unit. No reports had been made of missing persons matching the deceased’s description.

10. Consideration was given to publicly releasing a photo of the deceased through the media. However, the only photo available for public release was the coronial crime scene photo of the deceased person. Police decided this photograph should not be publicly released. Having viewed the coronial scene photographs, I consider that decision appropriate in the circumstances.

11. On 4 July 2018, Campsie Police sent out a media release to a number of Chinese media outlets in Sydney asking for information regarding a person matching the description of the deceased. No information was received by police to assist with identifying the deceased.

12. The deceased’s fingerprints were taken at the Department of Forensic Medicine. No match was found in the Australian police fingerprint database. A DNA sample was also taken. No match was found on the NSW and National Criminal Investigation Databases.

Are there any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death?

13. Having considered all the evidence, oral and documentary received at inquest, I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities no other person/s were involved in the death. Post mortem examination did not reveal any indications of force or restraint being used. The toxicology results do not support a suggestion the deceased may have been incapacitated and placed in the position he was found.

14. The results of the Post Mortem, the examination of the coronial scene and all the circumstances satisfy me the death is not suspicious.

Was the death intentionally self inflicted?

15. The Post Mortem results reveal the deceased was most likely in considerable pain from bone deterioration and/or malignancy. A finding that a person has taken their own life intentionally should only be made if the evidence is clear, cogent and exact. Briginshaw v Briginshaw (1938) 60 CLR 336. Nothing is known of the deceased’s background or medical history.

16. Police suspect the deceased may be an unlawful non citizen. If that was the case, then accessing health care and other community support may have presented difficulties. That may be consistent with no identification being located on the deceased and that deceased has not been reported missing. Alternatively, the deceased may be estranged from his family who reside somewhere in Australia.

17. On all the evidence, I am unable to find conclusively the deceased was in the category of persons referred to as unlawful non citizens. There are a number of other possibilities. That a person is of Asian appearance is also consistent with that person being born in Australia or having lived in a number of different countries and/or having migrated to Australia (legally) at some point in their life. The evidence does not allow for a finding on the deceased’s country of origin.

18. On all the evidence, including the physical evidence of the coronial scene, the circumstances of the death and the medical condition revealed Post Mortem, I am satisfied the deceased intended to end his life. The exact reason for doing so remains unknown.

Conclusion

19. The inability to publish a photo of the deceased has impeded procedures that may assist in identifying the deceased. Forensic procedures have not identified the deceased. No one has reported the deceased missing.

 20. The deceased is somebody’s son, possibly somebody’s sibling and perhaps somebody’s father. Tragically, there is a possibility he has a family in Australia or overseas who do not know what has become of him. On all the evidence available I am unable to make a positive finding regarding the identity of the deceased. It can only be hoped that information may come to light in the future that may assist in identifying the deceased and reuniting him with those who knew him.

 21. I thank Coronial Advocate Mr Creagh for his assistance in this matter.

Findings pursuant to s 81 of the Coroners Act 2009

Identity

The identity of the deceased male person is unable to be ascertained

Place of death 402 Beamish Street Campsie

Date of death Between 4.42pm on 10 April and 6.35am on 11 April 2018

Cause of death Hanging

Manner of Death Intentionally self inflicted

Les Mabbutt

State Coroner

The bone fragments — which are still undergoing testing — were found by a group of tradies while renovating the building in Ramsgate Avenue last week.

Construction was halted yesterday as more than a dozen detectives combed through the site looking for clues after the bones were discovered in a cavity underneath a stairwell.

Bondi resident Duncan Graham, who lives opposite, said police had concentrated their search at a garage underneath the property.

Officers armed with shovels lifted concrete and carefully dug into the dirt below yesterday, their efforts documented by police photographers.

“They were sitting through some of the rubble and some of the dirt from where the bones were found,” Mr Graham said.

“There’s a lot of activity. All the neighbours are talking — we’re all wondering what the hell is going on.”

Police are expected to spend the next few days digging in the area, looking for evidence of further human remains.

A NSW Police spokesman said yesterday preliminary tests had confirmed the remains were human.

“Detectives are still awaiting the outcome of further forensic testing on the bones but we can confirm there was activity at the site today and there will be more activity tomorrow,” he said.

“It is forensic service group officers who are examining the scene as per protocols. We have no update at this stage.”

Senior police told The Daily Telegraph the tests would determine the age and gender of the person. It is not known how long the remains have been hidden at the block.

The bones were found in a 1930s building of four apartments which has been undergoing renovation for several months. “It was a foot, a f … king foot,” one of the builders told media after making the grisly discovery.

Another neighbour said the bones weren’t buried.

“The fellow found it under a bit of old carpet,” he said. “The forensics said it had been done it was an axe or a large knife because (the bone) was cut off just below the knee.”

All police are able to say at the moment is the jawbone belonged to an adolescent but the gender, ethnicity and vintage of the jawbone are yet to be determined.

It was found among kelp on the beach at 10am on Sunday, sparking a search by police of the beach and the water.

Northern Beaches crime manager Inspector Craig Wonders said the jawbone appeared to have been in the water for some time.

He said initial examination by police pathologists had determined only that it belonged to an adolescent human.

He said further examination of the jawbone later this week will be undertaken by anthropologists and DNA testing would also be undertaken.

Insp Wonders said police had been looking at missing person reports.

“That’s ongoing but we’ll have to wait for the forensic examination later this week before going any further with missing person inquiries,” Insp Wonders said.

“We’ll know more once the results of that examination are known and the DNA testing has been done.”

The most famous discovery of bones in recent times occurred in January 2005, when workers digging a ditch for electricity cables near the corners of Octavia St and Ocean St, Narrabeen, unearthed a number of bones just below the surface.

Radiocarbon dating of the bones suggested an age of around 4000 years for the skeleton and examination by scientists determined it belonged to an Aboriginal man who was not native to the northern beaches and had been ritually executed.

Narrabeen Man, as the skeleton came to be known, is the oldest Aboriginal skeleton found in Sydney.

Cult link in Nannup bones find

SANDY POWELL, Manjimup-Bridgetown Times March 7, 2012, 6:00 am

 

Human remains discovered in Nannup last week could be those of four cult members who went missing nearly five years ago.

Police are anxiously waiting on results of forensic tests on bones and clothing found in a paddock on February 28 while they investigate potential links to missing persons cases.

Det-Sen. Sgt Jon Munday said the cult members, who mysteriously disappeared in 2007, were a clear lead because of where the remains were found.

‘‘Obviously we’re looking for any link with any long term missing persons,’’ Sgt Munday said.

Chantelle McDougall, 28, when she went missing, her daughter Leela, 8, partner Gary Feldman, 46, and friend Tony Popic, 42, were last seen in Busselton.

The four were linked to a mysterious doomsday cult and investigations into their whereabouts were inconclusive.

Sgt Munday said the case was progressing slowly as forensic evidence was still being processed.

‘‘We’re hoping to have some answers by the end of the week as to the sex and age of the person, which will help in identification,’’ he said.

‘‘Actual identification might take a few weeks, as there is so little to go on. However, if pathology is able to match any missing person’s dental records that will significantly speed up the process.’’

The skeletal remains were uncovered by horses grazing in a Grange Road paddock and later discovered by the animals’ owner.

Forensics officer senior constable Tony Quest said the bones, which included a skull, were not previously buried but may have been submerged due to the swampy nature of the paddock, and this had hampered investigations.

Snr const Quest said this made it hard to determine how long the remains had been there, though the property owners told police the paddock had been cleared about 18 months ago.

Clothing found with the remains was also examined by forensics at the scene and sent to Perth for further testing, though Sgt. Munday said they were unlikely to provide answers.

‘‘We were hoping to find other items with the clothing, accessories, such as a watch or jewellery which would be ideal, but there was nothing of the sort,’’ he said.

Baffling case of man killed by train

Henrietta Cook

March 7, 2012

The mystery man who was killed by a train in Perth.

Police are urging the public to help them identify a man who died 14 years ago after being struck by a train in Perth.

The mystery man died instantly after he was hit by a train around 11.20 pm on March 7, 1998.

Despite lengthy investigations, including DNA and fingerprint checks with Interpol, the man's identity remains a mystery.

The man suffered extensive injuries when he was hit by a northbound train between Burswood and Victoria Park railway stations.

He is described as having fair skin, aged between 20 and 40, a slim to medium build, between 170 and 175 cm tall, with hazel eyes and balding blonde or ginger hair.

He was wearing a green/ blue business shirt, green trousers, a brown belt and black Rivers shoes at the time of the incident.

People with information are urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

 

Body located in Domain Park – Sydney

by NSW Police Force on Monday, 27 February 2012 at 21:33 ·

 

Police from The Rocks Local Area Command are investigating the circumstances surrounding the discovery of a man’s body in Domain Park today.

 About 1.20pm (Monday 27 February 2012), students from a local high school located the body outside the ranger station.

 Police were called and a crime scene was established. It appears the man may have suffered injuries to his head and neck.

 The man’s identity is at this stage unknown and routine pathology tests put his age between 30 and 40.

 Early investigations also suggest the man was homeless, possibly living in the Domain.

 A post-mortem is schedule for tomorrow.

 Detectives are treating the death as suspicious, and are asking anyone who may have information that could identify the man, or that could assist the investigation into his death, to contact The Rocks Police Station on 8220 6399, or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.  

 

Police wait on DNA test

14th February 2012 - The Northern Star

 

POLICE have yet to release the name of the person whose skeletal remains and remnants of clothing were found in scrubland north of Pottsville at 4.45pm on Thursday.

Police said a member of the public found the complete skeleton while walking in the scrub separating the beach and Tweed Coast Rd.

Tweed crime manager Acting Inspector Saul Wiseman said police believed they knew the identity of the body, but DNA tests were required to confirm.

"We think we know who it is and we hope to be able to confirm the identity soon," Act Insp Wiseman said.

Police will not identify the deceased until after family members have been notified.

They are not treating the death as suspicious.

 

Human remains found in Central Australia

By Emma Sleath - ABC

Updated November 25, 2011 17:37:54

Photo: Police found human remains at the old Ilparpa quarry on the outskirts of Alice Springs.

Alice Springs police have confirmed that skeletal remains found outside the town are human.

A woman walking her dog along a track in hills near Ilparpa Road made the discovery about 9:00am (ACST) yesterday.

Police say forensic testing will be conducted next week to determine the person's gender, age and cause of death.

Officers have set up a crime scene and the area will be under police guard until the tests are complete.

The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority has confirmed the area is not an Aboriginal burial site.

Human remains found in creek

Cameron Atfield

May 7, 2011 - 12:09AM

Police are investigating the discovery of a woman's body in a creek west of Brisbane.

A police spokeswoman said a walker discovered "items" in Bundamba Creek at Booval at about 3.30pm yesterday, but it was still unclear whether they were human remains.

"Preliminary investigations suggest the body is that of a woman," she said.

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The spokeswoman said it was too early to speculate on how the body, found in the creek at Jack Barkley Park under a railway bridge near the Booval Bunnings, came to be there.

Police investigations are continuing.

Public appeal: Mystery over bush bones

• Crime Reporter Emily Watkins
• From: Sunday Mail (SA)
• April 24, 2011 12:00AM

POLICE are appealing to the public to solve the mystery of a skeleton found in Mt Lofty last year.

IT was a chilly day in July when a group of scouts on expedition stumbled across a skull.

They had pushed through the thick scrub of an old Mt Lofty fire track.

It sat neatly on the ground, nestled among the leaf litter and long grass, waiting to finally be found.

In a riddle worthy of its own episode of CSI, police who have spent close to a year trying to determine the identity of the skeletal remains have now turned to the public to help solve the mystery.

"It was like something out of the movies," detective Brevet Sergeant Lucy Shiek said.

"It was definitely a human skull."

Elaborate forensic tests and searches - locally and internationally - have failed to shed light on the person's identity.

While the death is not thought to be suspicious, Sgt Shiek said police would like to return the person to their family for a proper burial.

This week, police took the Sunday Mail to the thick, scrubby slope where the bones were stumbled upon.

Sgt Shiek has been investigating the case since the teens found the skull, hip bone and part of the spine - later determined to be that of a young man.

Forensic bone and dental tests have revealed to police the body is that of an Asian male aged 25 to 35.

She said the man was found to have had a dental filling inserted in Japan, because it contained material that was only used in that country.

Sgt Shiek said police found the remains of a backpack at the site but could only identify some coins, with a date stamp of 2008.

She said the profile determined from the remains did not fit any missing person reports and there were no abandoned cars in the area.

Two CFS-controlled fires had gone through the area in the past three years, destroying most clues that were there, Sgt Shiek said.

Interpol, the Immigration Department and interstate police had helped try to identify the remains but Sgt Shiek said they had no luck.

"He was possibly an illegal immigrant," she said. "Depending on how he got to the country we may have no record of him being here, but it's just a theory."

She said he may have arrived with family members who were too scared to report him missing.

"The last thing we can do is put it out to the public," she said. Sgt Shiek said the man was probably familiar with walking tracks in the area because the site he was found at was rarely visited by the public.

Forensic scientist Ellie Simpson said if a whole skeleton was found, she could determine its standing height, sex and some aspects of the person's medical history. "We differ as much on the inside as we do on the outside and sometimes the details from the outside you can also see in the bones," Dr Simpson said.

She said the skull was mostly intact, and while she could not determine a "population background", the skull had Asian features. She could reach the approximate age from common patterns that bones age in.

Anyone with information can call CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000

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FYI: The clues

> From the stereotypical features of the skull, forensic scientists believe the man was of Asian origin

> Aged between 25 and 35

> Forensic scientists analyse how bones are ageing and can estimate the skeleton's age when the person died

> Died some time after 2008

> Coins found around the body were all date-stamped 2008 or earlier

> Had dental work done in Japan, fillings in the teeth contained an ingredient only used for fillings in Japan

> The person was familiar with the area

> Bones found in a picturesque spot away from regular bushwalkers and close to private property

> Possibly an illegal immigrant

> No missing persons report fits the profile

Bones found at Mount Lofty

Sunday, 24 April 2011 10:00am

SA Police are seeking the assistance of the public in attempting to identify skeletal remains that were located at Mount Lofty last year. 

On July 17 2010, police located the remains in woodland off an old disused fire track at Mount Lofty in the Adelaide Hills. 

Evidence at the scene suggests the person took their own life. No identification was located but coins dating between 2004 and 2008 were found amongst the remains.

The remains were examined by the Forensic Odontology Unit on 19 July 2010, who concluded that the remains are likely to be of a man aged between 25 and 35 years. 

The man is believed to be of an Asian background and had dental work performed overseas.

Enquiries have been conducted with SAPOL's Missing Person Investigation Section as well as Missing Persons Units in all Australian States and Territory. 

No matching missing person has been located.

In September 2010, police were advised by Forensic Science Centre a partial male DNA profile was obtained from a tooth and uploaded to the searchable DNA database in accordance with current legislation. 

Unfortunately there is no match on the current database.

Enquiries are currently being conducted with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and Interpol, with regards to the partial DNA and police hope to obtain a positive result from that line of enquiry.

Police ask anyone with information as to the possible identity of the man to contact BankSA Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.sa.crimestoppers.com.au. 

Bones found off Perth highway

• From: AAP
• March 17, 2011 10:16PM

REMAINS, believed to be human, have been found off a Perth highway.

A maintenance worker made the grisly discovery alongside the Mitchell Freeway today.

A police spokeswoman told AAP tonight they were awaiting test results to confirm the bones were human.

Police and forensic were investigating and more would be known tomorrow she said.

The maintenance contractor made the discovery while working on the southbound road reserve between Cedric Street and Karrinyup Road, PerthNow reports.

It is believed a tent was found nearby and that the remains could belong to a homeless man known to use the area, it said.

"Police are now looking through missing person cases to see if any links can be made to the discovery," it said.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/bones-found-off-perth-highway/story-e6frfku0-1226023555722#ixzz1GtKNpmll
 

Police uncover 48 bones from New South Wales dam

• From: AAP
• February 18, 2011 1:48PM

A TOTAL of 48 human bones have been recovered from a dam in New South Wales's far west.

The first bone, a femur, was discovered by a fisherman in the weir pool next to Little Menindee Creek Regulator, southeast of Broken Hill, on December 28.

A second bone was then uncovered in the same location in early January.

Police divers have since trawled the waterway, which is part of Kinchega National Park.

Barrier Local Area Command crime manager Detective Inspector Mick Stoltenberg said today that a total of 48 bones have now been found.

They have been sent to Newcastle for scientific analysis and to try to establish an identity of the deceased person.

Det Insp Stoltenberg said there was no indication as to when the results will be known.
 

Police have previously said it is likely the bones belong to a single corpse.

Interstate and NSW missing persons databases are being examined to try to identify the deceased person.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/police-uncover-48-bones-from-new-south-wales-dam/story-e6frfku0-1226008188579#ixzz1EIBGGzuk
 

Human remains investigation at Koorawatha

MEGAN PIGRAM - The Young Witness

02 Feb, 2011 08:58 AM

INVESTIGATIONS into the human remains discovered in a dry creek bed in Koorawatha in July are continuing with a search of the area being conducted.

Cootamundra Local Area Command (LAC) crime co-ordinator Sergeant David Cockram said the search that began yesterday is expected to take two days.

“Police from within the Southern Region, and members of the Operational Support Group, are assisting Cootamundra LAC Detectives in a search of the ground in the vicinity of where remains were found in Koorawatha some months ago,” Sergeant Cockram said.

The remains were found on July 25 by two men passing through bushland on Pipe Clay Road.

Human bones found in paddock

January 28, 2011 - 12:40PM - SMH

Human bones have been discovered in a paddock in NSW's central west.

A man discovered a collection of bones on Australia Day while digging in a paddock adjoining his house in Bridge Street at Perthville, near Bathurst.

Police said initial forensic examination by an anthropologist suggested the  remains belonged to a man. They are yet to determine the length of time since the bones were buried.

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Specialist officers are continuing to examine the bones and the area where they were located to clarify the age and origin of the person.

Police discover scores more human bones

Published Tuesday, 25th January, 2011 - Barrier Truth

Police have narrowed down the age of the man whose bones were found in a weir pool next to the Little Menindee Creek regulator.

They said yesterday that it appeared he was in his early 20s.

But the discovery of another 46 human bones by police divers on the weekend meant they were not ruling out the possibility that they were dealing with more than one body.

The bones were found in the same weir pool by members of the NSW Police Diving Unit, who returned to Sydney yesterday.

Barrier Local Area Command Crime Manager, Detective Inspector Mick Stoltenberg, said the four-member dive crew found 34 bones on Saturday and another 12 on Sunday.

Det. Inspt. Stoltenberg said finger, arm, leg, pelvis and rib bones were recovered by the divers, but no skull.

Asked if police believe all the bones belong to the same person, he said: "We can't say that.

"These bones are with our forensic staff and will be fast-tracked to Newcastle for further analysis this week."

He said the analysis would include a DNA profile.

Police have narrowed down the age of the leg bone that was found by a fisherman on December 28, following an initial anthropologist's report.

"We're looking (at someone) around the early 20s," Det Inspt Stoltenberg said. He said the remains were not those of an Aboriginal.

DI Stoltenberg said police expected to receive more information when further testing was carried out on the bones.

"We're hoping it will actually identify who the person actually is."

Police will compare the bones against a DNA database of missing people, including Bendigo man Daniel Rosewall who vanished in the district in January last year.

Mr Rosewall's car was found abandoned near Eldee Station north of Silverton.

DI Stoltenberg yesterday said that police were not ruling out who the bones might belong to, or how they came to be in the weir.

"Close liaisons between Barrier LAC Detectives, NSW Homicide Squad, NSW Missing Person Unit and interstate law enforcement continues."

But he said no-one had been reported missing from the Menindee area in recent years.

He also said it appeared unlikely the bones were washed down the river, given the "circumstances surrounding" their discovery.

DI Stoltenberg said the divers had worked under very difficult circumstances.

"We put in a request (for the diver unit) and we were allocated two days and obviously a lot depended on what they found (on the first day).

"We're happy with what they've achieved over the weekend."

Anyone with information about the bones are asked to contact local police or Crimestoppers on 1800 333000.

Police urge community to assist with investigation after second bone discovered - Broken Hill

Friday, 14 Jan 2011 09:34pm

Police have urged the community to come forward with information after the discovery of a second bone near Broken Hill over the weekend.

Initially a fisherman found a leg bone in the Little Menindee Creek Regulator on Tuesday 28 December 2010, and forensic examinations have revealed the bone is from a male.

Today, Broken Hill Police were provided with information that on Sunday, 9 January a second bone was located in almost the same location and left at the creek.

Investigators immediately went to the area and located what appears to be a second human bone.

The bone which appears to be a tibia was secured and has been taken away for further forensic and DNA testing.

Barrier Local Area Command Crime Manager, Detective Inspector Mick Stoltenberg, says that as a result of the second find police formed Strike Force ADJIN.

“We continue to investigate the discovery of these remains at this time and I reiterate we are accessing a database containing thousands of missing persons,” Det Insp Stoltenberg said.

“I urge anyone with information about these discoveries who has not yet spoken to police to come forward.

“All our lines of inquiry remain open and we are not following any particular investigation.

“I can assure anyone with information that if they come forward it will be treated in the strictest confidence and if they wish they can remain anonymous while speaking with Crime Stoppers.

Police reject misleading reports following discovery of human bone near Broken Hill

Friday, 14 Jan 2011 01:38pm


Police have rejected misleading reports which have arisen following the discovery of a human femur bone near Broken Hill last month.

A fisherman found the leg bone in the Little Menindee Creek Regulator on Tuesday 28 December 2010, and forensic examinations have revealed the bone is from a male.

Barrier Local Area Command Crime Manager, Detective Inspector Mick Stoltenberg, says further searches of the area are being conducted and inquiries are continuing.

“As part of our procedures, we access a database containing hundreds of thousands of missing persons and DNA details which we have obtained from their families,” Det Insp Stoltenberg said.

“The bone that has been located could be the remains of ANYONE on that database.”

“At this stage, with such little available information, to single out or specify a particular victim would be both irresponsible and premature.”

“It’s also heartless to raise the hopes of family members that the remains of a loved one have been located, when that has yet to be proven definitively.”

“This is not a time for jumping to conclusions – and it’s not the time for misreporting or agendas.”

“However, it is time for anyone with information about the discovery of the human leg bone late last month to assist us with our inquiry and contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000,” Det Insp Stoltenberg said.

Police appeal for information after human bone found near Broken Hill

Thursday, 13 Jan 2011 04:22pm

NSW Police are appealing for information following the discovery of a human femur bone near Broken Hill last month.

A fisherman found the leg bone in the Little Menindee Creek Regulator on Tuesday 28 December.

Forensic examinations have revealed the bone is from a male.

Although original examinations suggested the bone was from someone who has been dead for no more than 10 years, police now believe the time frame for death may be closer to one to six years.

Barrier Local Area Command detectives are conducting further searches in the area and inquiries with missing persons.

They are urging anyone with information about the discovery to contact them via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Albury police appeal for help on bones discovery

Posted January 5, 2011 09:46:00 - ABC

Albury police have not ruled out foul play over the discovery of a woman's skeletal remains in the upper Murray last month.

Inspector Brad Blanchard said the remains were found in the Murray River which is in New South Wales' jurisdiction, but police believe whatever has occurred happened in Victoria.

Inspector Blanchard said the bones were found in the very upper reaches of the Murray River.

"We can confirm through post mortem results to date, that they are that of a human, we believe, an adult female," he said.

"At this stage we haven't been able to give any range of age, or how long those bones may have been in the water, or in fact on the land there."

Inspector Blanchard said there is no indication yet of the cause of death.

"We're still waiting further examination," he said.

"And obviously we'll start conducting DNA testing and where we can getting dental records to try and identify the person."

"But at this stage we haven't ruled out foul play at all. We will continue to investigate it as suspicious until results tell us otherwise," said Inspector Blanchard.

Five bushwalkers from Melbourne discovered the bones in the Alpine National Park near the New South Wales, Victorian border on December the 15th.

Inspector Blanchard said police officers from both states will meet today to further investigate the case.

He said the bones are unlikely to belong to 18 year old missing Armidale girl, Niamh Maye who disappeared around Tumut in early 2002.

"We've ruled out a number of people purely just by age," he said.

"And when I say that, it's probably the amount of time they've been missing and the length of time these bones have been exposed to the climate and conditions."

"We can go back as far as 2003 and that's the last bushfire that was up in that area. The skeletal remains we've located indicate they could from that time because there's no char marks on the bones," said Inspector Blanchard.

He said police would like public help to identify the remains.

"Members of the public who may have knowledge of missing persons or anything else, particularly up in that Omeo, Bairnsdale, Benambra area, if anyone has seen anyone at all thre over the years, that's gone missing, or just seen people about... I know we're asking people to reflect back a number of years but look anything at all at the moment may be very very relevant to us," said Inspector Blanchard.

Investigations reveal skeletal remains belong to man – Fairfield

Thursday, 23 Dec 2010 02:40pm

Police investigating the discovery of skeletal remains found in bushland in Sydney’s south west earlier this week have confirmed them as belonging to a man however the identification process continues.

About 6pm, Tuesday 21 December police were called to bushland at a creek near Bell Crescent, Fairfield, following reports of skeletal remains being located by a resident.

Police attended the area where they located a large amount of bones and a skull and established a crime scene.

The area was guarded overnight before being examined by specialist forensic personnel and the skeleton was removed from the scene.

A preliminary post mortem examination conducted today has indicated the bones belong to an elderly or middle aged man and there is nothing to suggest his death is suspicious.

Detectives are however keeping an open mind in regards to the investigation and are scouring missing person’s reports in an attempt to identify the man.

Police have said while the man did have a titanium metal plate inserted on his leg this is of little assistance in the identification process and the matter will require an extensive forensic investigation to confirm who he is.

Bones found under Sydney fence 'are human'

December 22, 2010 - 9:04AM - SMH

AAP

Bones found buried beneath a fence in Sydney's west are human and probably quite old, the man who found them says.

Police have launched an investigation after the skeletal remains were discovered in Fairfield, about 6pm (AEDT) on Tuesday.

Mark Harland says he was digging up a fence on his property in Bell Crescent, which backs onto Prospect Creek, when he made the grisly discovery about a foot down.

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"What I found was leg bones, so that's what made me realise they were human," Mr Harland told Macquarie Radio Network.

"There was no flesh on it so they'd obviously been there for a while."

Police gave no indication about the origin of the bones and say a pathologist will examine them.

A crime scene has been established at the scene and further examinations of the area are due to take place on Wednesday.

Bones in creek may be missing farmer

Geesche Jacobsen - SMH

July 27, 2010

When Wayne Cooke disappeared in the middle of the shearing season in October 2001, the Koorawatha farmer left friends and relatives dumbfounded.

While many acknowledged he was depressed over his mother's death, problems in his marriage and a fire at his childhood home, some thought it was unlike him to leave his sheep unattended.

And if it had all become too much for him, why had he not left a note?

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Extensive searches of the farm and surrounding area using a helicopter, dogs and local volunteers failed to find any trace.

Various theories quickly took hold: if it was not suicide, could he have been murdered?

Nearly nine years on, the mystery that has puzzled the small town near Cowra, in the central west of NSW, might finally be about to be solved.

On Sunday morning the owner of a neighbouring property was walking through dense bush with a friend when they found human bones in a dry creek bed.

Police set up a crime scene, and seized the skeletal remains for forensic testing.

The property, about a kilometre from Mr Cooke's farm, had been searched at the time of his disappearance, said a friend of Mr Cooke, Alan D'Elboux.

Only last Friday Mr D'Elboux's brother Barry, who is Mr Cooke's brother-in-law, had suggested they should once again search for Mr Cooke's body, he said.

Alan D'Elboux said that while it was upsetting to think the bones might be Mr Cooke's, the find might finally provide closure.

''None of us expected him to be alive … He was very depressed. I couldn't do anything with him. I tried my hardest.''

A local farmer, Les Sutherland said: ''It'd be too much of a coincidence for it not to be him.'' Many locals thought Mr Cooke had met with foul play, Mr Sutherland said.

Alan Gruessing, who sheared for Mr Cooke and who led four substantial searches for him in the rugged terrain around Koorawatha, said: ''It was said at the time that he committed suicide but nobody really knows for sure. There are too many unanswered questions. I suppose a lot will depend on if they find a rifle next to the body or not.''

Police would not comment on ABC radio reports that clothing was found near the body.

The farmer who fell off the edge of the Earth

Wayne Cooke vanished in the middle of shearing his prized merinos, and his mates want to know why, writes Philip Cornford.

In a winter dusk, with cold shadows fingering down from Black Bull Hill, clutching the farm in the valley, Les Sutherland feels the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. "Something real bad happened here," he says softly, not wanting to intrude.

Mr Sutherland, 51, a farmer all his life, is not one to imagine things. But even the tranquillity of the dying day did not quell his unease. "I don't like being here when night's coming on." His sons won't stay, either.

This was Wayne Cooke's farm, and his father's before that. Cookey, as his friends call him, spent all his 51 years on 400-hectare Rockdale, seldom leaving - physically or in his thoughts. The farm set the boundaries of his life.

Then he vanished, leaving his two utilities in the garage and no trace or clues, and the searching began. Nearly two years later, his friends and neighbours are still looking for Cookey's body in the rough hill country around the village of Koorawatha (pop: 300) in the central west of NSW.

"It's a weird feeling; coming out here you get the shivers," says Alan "Bluey" D'Elboux, 65, who rides the ranges on horseback. "If I didn't think he was here, I wouldn't keep looking for him."

Others search on four-wheel trail vehicles, or on foot among the gullies and stunted hardwoods and pines. Whenever there's a break in the seasonal disciplines of farm work, they go looking, alone or in small groups. Crop-duster Fred Fahey searched from 500 feet.

Shearer Alan Gruessing and farmer Kevin Cameron led four searches of Crowther Hill, a 12-kilometre walk from the farm. Ray Wilson, for whom Mr Cooke share-farmed 60 hectares of wheat, can't drive past Rockdale without thinking: "Where are you, Cookey? You drive down a track, you're looking for signs of him."

The need to find Wayne Cooke has become almost a communal compulsion, and behind it lies troubling doubts. They believe that if they find his body - and no one doubts that he is dead - they will learn how he died.

Was it suicide? Or something else?

Police suspect suicide. "There is overwhelming evidence that he was deeply depressed," says Detective Senior Constable Michael Prescott, who prepared a brief of evidence for the coroner. "There is absolutely no evidence of foul play." It is rare, however, for a suicide not to involve a body or some evidence - a note, clothes left on a beach, for instance.

The NSW Coroner will investigate Mr Cooke's disappearance to determine if it is a "suspected death". Research by the Monash University national centre for coronial information reveals that of 18 missing persons whom NSW and Victorian coroners found to be suspected deaths in the past three years, only four were believed to involve foul play or homicide. None was a suspected suicide.

Within six months of Mr Cooke's disappearance, the farm had realised $450,000 from the wool clip, two wheat crops, 1800 sheep, machinery and vehicles, and $150,000 in fire insurance. It was leased for $15,000 a year.

The land is worth $450,000. The land titles are still in the name of Mr Cooke's father, Bernard, who died in 1972. Last March the Supreme Court rejected three applications by Wayne Cooke's wife, Margaret, to take over administration of Bernard Cooke's estate in her husband's absence.

None of Mr Cooke's friends dispute that he was very depressed after three personal tragedies in the three months before he disappeared in the spring of 2001.

At the end of June, Margaret, his wife of 20 years, left him, taking their 16-year-old daughter, Patricia, to live in Cowra, 25 kilometres away.

They had met when Mr Cooke was 31, tall, nice-looking and shy, and Margaret an attractive divorcee with a son aged eight. "Margaret was the only girlfriend that boy ever had," says Delma Cowley, 73, whom Mr Cooke knew as Auntie Del.

Margaret, a partner in the farm management company, ran the finances, as many farmers' wives do. When she left, she took the financial records, cheque books and mobile phones.

Then Mr Cooke's mother, Rita, whom he adored, died in a Cowra nursing home on July 6.

Five weeks later, on August 26, a Sunday night when Mr Cooke was in Cowra eating dinner with his estranged wife and daughter, the farmhouse in which his family had lived since the early 1940s burnt to the ground. He lost all his personal possessions. Police blamed an electric blanket.

In that brief span, the certainties that had shored up Mr Cooke's bucolic way of life were destroyed. He was shocked, miserable, confused, tearful. His friends tried, but he could not be comforted. They gave him clothes and cooked him meals.

Farmer Garry Lawrence hauled over a caravan. "Wayne never had any money in his wallet or pockets," Colonel Graham Stewart, a neighbour, said. "Margaret brought him out food from the supermarket, usually on Sundays. She controlled the finances."

But friends said Mr Cooke would not complain. He did not want to offend his wife.

"He was always at Margaret, begging her to come back," Mr Sutherland said. "He'd burst into tears when he talked about her. He'd walk around the yard, head down, mumbling: 'I don't know what I'm going to do without her. I'll do anything to get her back."'

Mr Cooke told his nephew Peter D'Elboux: "What's the use? I might just as well walk up into the hills and not come back."

Police suspect this might be what he did on the weekend of October 6-7, when he disappeared, explaining the absence of a body despite a five-day search, which involved the police helicopter Polair for two hours and a cadaver dog for a day.

Bluey D'Elboux suspects it, too, and keeps riding the hills. But at a recent gathering of 10 searchers on Rockdale only one other believed Mr Cooke had taken his own life. A third wasn't sure either way. Seven believed he had been "taken away".

They are critical of the police. "They had it set in their heads from the first day that it was suicide," several said.

When they complained that the farm should be treated as a crime scene, they were told his body would be found in a dam. It wasn't. Two shotguns, a rifle and rifle scope were, dumped by Mr Cooke a long time earlier.

They have a contrary view to police about the lack of evidence of foul play. It could equally suggest, they say, that Mr Cooke willingly left the caravan in which he had lived after the fire, expecting to return.

But most strongly of all, they argue that he disappeared in the middle of shearing 1800 fine wool merinos - and they can't believe he did it deliberately.

"Wayne lived for his damn sheep," says Mr Sutherland, who has an adjacent farm and who went to school with him. "He wouldn't leave the farm for even two days for worrying about them. If he was going to kill himself, there was no way it would be while he was shearing."

He also had two wheat crops, which were due to be stripped in another two months.

The Cowra coroner, Michael Wolters, read the police evidence and passed the brief to the State Coroner. Mr Wolters said: "There's no suspect."

If Mr Cooke took his life, he went to a lot of trouble to hide his body. If he was so distressed, friends ask, why bother?

To get well into the hills, he had to walk at least several kilometres over steep, broken terrain. He would have suffered considerable pain from a blood clot in his left leg, on which he wore a pressure bandage. He could not walk around the home paddock without stopping to rest.

In the week before he disappeared, Mr Cooke spoke by phone to Mrs Cowley, and her son, David, who was best man at his wedding, giving them the impression he was still depressed "but more positive, a lot more upbeat."

He told them in separate calls that he would start shearing on Thursday morning. It would take about two weeks, then he was going to Canberra to give money from his mother's estate to the five children of his late older sister, Frances D'Elboux. "He said it was his mother's wish and he wanted to make sure it was carried out," Mrs Cowley said.

Mr Cooke had already begun the legal process to make the disbursements - $38,000 and $4700 - but his disappearance stopped payment. The recipients' father, Barry D'Elboux, said Margaret Cooke told him in April that the money would be paid when released from Rita Cooke's estate.

Mrs Cowley and her son said Mr Cooke talked about his wife's long friendship with her cousin, John O'Brien, an RAN retiree from Canberra. David Cowley, 51, a high school teacher, said Mr Cooke was not happy about the friendship but did not want to make an issue of it.

When Margaret and Patricia came to the farm at 4pm on the second day of the search, Mr O'Brien accompanied them. Last April Margaret told friends and relatives: "John and I are together now."

In two days, Alan Gruessing and Peter McInerney sheared 460 sheep, with Mr Cooke doing the woolclassing. "I didn't think Wayne was too bad when we left on Friday," Mr McInerney said. "He wasn't as down as he had been."

About 7.30pm, Robyn Mood, a neighbour, rang Mr Cooke. "He said he was so stuffed he couldn't be bothered cooking. On Saturday he was going to get the stock ready for shearing on Monday. He was expecting Margaret and his daughter on Sunday."

From 8pm to 9pm Mr Cooke was on the phone to Alan Gruessing, discussing preparation for Monday's shearing, among other matters. "There was no doubt that he was going to get it done," Mr Gruessing said. "Otherwise, we couldn't shear."

Mr Cooke phoned Margaret, arranging for the roustabout to get an advance on the roustabout's wages. He picked up a cheque that night. Barry D'Elboux phoned. There was no answer. Records show the last call made on Mr Cooke's phone was on Friday night. He did not use it again.

On Saturday a neighbour drove onto the farm. He was surprised to find the five dogs, led by a big red bitch, waiting halfway along the 1000-metre access road, watching the front gate, as if they were waiting for Mr Cooke to return. He wondered why they were not tied up. Mr Cooke was not around, so he left.

Around lunchtime on Sunday, Graham Stewart took over a casserole his wife had cooked. Mr Cooke was not at the caravan, so he took the food home.

Margaret and Patricia also brought supermarket food, which they left in the caravan, with a note saying they had been there, and asking him to phone. It said they waited until 4pm.

At 7.15am on Monday, when Alan Gruessing came to shear, Mr Cooke was missing. None of the work had been done. "Everything was exactly as we left it on Friday." He raised the alarm.

Graham Stewart said: "You knew where Wayne was by that red dog. If Wayne had gone for a walk, the dogs would have followed him. If he was dead on the farm, the red dog would have led us to him. We think they were watching the front gate because that's where they last saw him."

Soon after Mr Cooke's disappearance, the insurance company settled the fire claim for $150,000. The wool clip sold for $69,000, the sheep for about $60,000, the wheat for about $42,000. The farm was leased.

In March 2001, five months after her husband disappeared, Mrs Cooke bought a house in Cowra. Two weeks later she auctioned all the farm plant for about $100,000.

A month after Mr Cooke disappeared, Mrs Cooke held a service of hope at the local church, attended by 140. They prayed that if Mr Cooke was alive that he was happy and well; if he was dead, that his body be found; and they prayed for his friends and family.

"It was difficult for everyone," said the Reverend Betty Stroud. "There was all that unknown stuff. It's an awful situation. Finding his body would reveal how he died and help bring closure."

The searchers are still seeking Cookey.

Closing in on the killers

• Mark Morri, Crime Editor
• From: The Daily Telegraph
• September 06, 2010 12:00AM

VETERAN homicide investigators will tell you there is no such thing as an unsolved murder.

There are just murders for which there has not been enough evidence to prove who did it.

"Most detectives believe they know who the killer is, and there is an old adage, 'you end up speaking to the killer even though you may not know it within about 48 hours of the murder'," retired homicide detective Michael McGann said.

Mr McGann said every homicide cop had at least one case which sticks in their craw - one they could never prove, but knew who did it.

"Mine was a little five-year-old girl called Renee Aitkin," he said.

"Over a few beers my partner and I discussed the idea of grabbing him, tying him to tree, putting a gun down his throat and asking him what he did with Renee's body."

But sanity and reason prevailed instead of justice and Renee's murder is still considered unsolved.

Renee was five when she was abducted from her Narooma home on the South Coast in February, 1984. Her body has never been found and she is still listed by NSW police as a missing person.

"My partner and I knew who did it. We needed to find her body," Mr McGann said.

Fast forward to 2009 and the horrific mass murder of the five Lin family members is another example of detectives having a good idea of the killer but biding their time until the evidence is there to pounce.

A source within Strike Force Norburn, set up to investigate the brutal murder of Min and Lily Lin, their sons Henry and Terry and Mrs Lin's sister Irene, said detectives had always been confident they knew who was responsible for the killing on July 18 last year, but they had to be strategic.

"You only get one go, it's not something you rush for the sake of it," the police source said.

Similarly, officers working to solve the execution-style killing of North Shore businessman Michael McGurk have always been confident they knew who was behind his murder.

What makes it more difficult for homicide officers is when no body is ever found.

But every time human bones are found, there is a group of detectives - retired or still serving - who take a very keen interest in their discovery.

They are the cops who have an unsolved case on their books, and they hope the bones belong to "their" case'.

"When I hear about bones being found, my ears prick up," Detective-Sergeant Damien Loone said.

Thirteen years ago, Sgt Loone was handed the cold case file of missing Sydney mother Lynette Dawson, 34, who vanished from her Northern Beaches home on January 9, 1982. "At that stage it was a missing person's case, and was 15 years old then.

"Even after 28 years, you hope the bones turn up and provide the last pieces in the jigsaw," Sgt Loone said.

When trail bike riders stumbled across a human skeleton in the Belanglo State Forest last Sunday, cold case detectives across NSW braced for the possibility it could be the last piece of the puzzle and solve their case.

"You never know. Lynette's sibling's DNA is on a data base and if they believe these bones are of a female aged 30 to 40 it's a possibility," Sgt Loone said.

Frustration of not being able to get the killer leads to fantasies of breaking the case and creative "ways" of getting the evidence.

Another "bones" case still being investigated by police is the remains of a male and female unearthed by workmen clearing land for the desalination plant at Kurnell about three years ago.

A shin bone was found by the workers in October, 2007, and days later, about 300m away, ribs and other smaller bones were found in sandy scrubland off Sir Joseph Banks Drive.

Then, a pelvis and foot bones, eerily still wearing a sock, were found.

Forensic tests carried out revealed the bones belonged to two people who died less than 50 years ago.

Just as the bones in Belanglo raised the spectre of a new- found victim of Ivan Milat, the discovery at Kurnell had many speculating they could be the victims of convicted killer Arthur "Neddy" Smith.

Smith was known to favour the dunes south of Sydney as a dumping ground for murders he committed in the '70s and '80s of unwanted underworld associates. Rubbish found with some of the bones indicates they were probably from some time after the 1970s but tests offer no clue to whether the pair were murdered, died accidentally, or even died together.

Body recovered from rocks – La Perouse

Wednesday, 03 Nov 2010 10:50pm

A body has been recovered from rocks at La Perouse, in Sydney’s south-east, this afternoon.

Police were called after a member of the public spotted the badly-decomposed body of a male aged between 20-30 old, on a rock shelf near Cape Banks, in the Botany Bay National Park.

A rescue helicopter was brought in to remove the body.

It will undergo a post mortem examination in coming days in a bid to identify the deceased and establish a cause of death.

Detectives from Eastern Beaches Local Area Command have commenced an investigation.

A report will be prepared for the information of the NSW Coroner.

Detectives release image of T-shirt located near skeletal remains at Belanglo – Homicide Squad

Wednesday, 15 Sep 2010 01:16pm

Homicide Squad detectives have today issued images depicting an artist’s impression of a T-shirt located near skeletal remains at Belanglo State Forest.

A group of trail bike riders alerted police to the remains in dense bushland near Dalys Waterhole on Sunday 29 August, 2010.

A ground search of the forest was completed by police and during the search officers located the T-shirt near the skeletal remains.

The T-shirt is described and being short sleeved, with a distinct motif featuring the word ‘Angelic’ in pink text, a rose and a heart with angel wings.

The brand, “Chain Reaction for Girls” is no longer in operation in NSW, however police believe the brand was available in the mid-2000s and are appealing to anyone who has any information about the T-shirt or anyone who may have worn one similar.

During the search police also located a white anklet sock, a sleeper earring, a shoe lace, and a number of teeth. These items are undergoing further forensic analysis.

Investigations are continuing and at this stage police are yet to identify the remains. In light of tests completed to date, police can reveal the remains are that of a female, aged between 15-25 years at the time of death, and the bones are believed to have been in the area up to 10-12 years.

A post mortem examination has been completed however a cause of death is yet to be determined.

Strike Force Hixson comprises detectives from the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad and has been established to conduct investigations following the discovery of the remains.

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact detectives via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000

Belanglo bones appear to be female: police

Updated Wed Sep 1, 2010 1:33pm AEST

Police say it looks like bones found in the New South Wales southern highlands belong to a woman.

It is the fourth day of the search of Belanglo State Forest, where human remains were found on Sunday afternoon.

The forest is infamous for being the site where backpacker murderer Ivan Milat dumped seven bodies in the 1990s.

The bones, which include a skull, are at the Glebe Morgue undergoing a post-mortem examination.

Acting Superintendent Evan Quarmby says the results should shed some light on who the remains could belong to.

"The early indications are that they are possibly female," he said.

"We won't be able to confirm that until after the result of the scientific examination."

The Homicide Squad has taken over the investigation.

Acting Superintendent Quarmby says police are combing through the soil to make sure they have collected all the evidence.

He says it is still too early to narrow down the missing persons list to identify the remains.

Skeletal remains located – Belanglo State Forest

Sunday, 29 Aug 2010 09:12pm

Goulburn police are investigating the discovery of skeletal remains found in the Belanglo State Forest this afternoon in the Southern Highlands.

About 3.15pm (Sunday 29 August) a group of trail bike riders discovered a number of bones in the Belanglo State Forest.

Police were immediately called and secured a crime scene.

Goulburn detectives along with Wollongong Crime Scene attended and investigations are continuing.

A search of the area was suspended due to poor lighting and will continue tomorrow morning.

*As I am not sure which is the most accurate I will include both photos I have.

New lead on dead man's identity

By Nikole Jacobi - ABC

Posted Wed Aug 4, 2010 10:03am AEST

Police say they have received new information as part of an investigation into the identity of a man who was found dead near Nambour on Queensland's Sunshine Coast almost two years ago.

The man, believed to have been aged between 45 and 60, was found dead at Poona Dam in September 2008.

His death is not suspicious.

Police have tried unsuccessfully to identify him by his fingerprints, DNA and tattoos and through an international investigation.

Detective Senior Sergeant Damien Powell from the Missing Persons Unit says police have been told a couple of people from Kingaroy in the South Burnett may know the man.

"We are currently conducting further inquiries at Kingaroy which is a good thing because he did have a Kingaroy video card, a very old one, in his wallet. It was about the only piece of identification," he said.

Unidentified deceased male located – Poona Dam Sunshine Coast

QLD Police continue their investigations to identify a deceased man located by a workman on the eastern spillway of Poona Dam near Nambour on September 9, 2008. Police believe the man may have been at the location for a few days and extensive enquiries have failed to assist in the identification process. Recently police released a facial image reconstruction (see left) of the man in a bid to help with the process, however no information was received. While the death is considered non-suspicious, it is important police identify him. The man was located wearing a red ‘Bauhaus’ baseball cap, long sleeved “Duchamp” brand black shirt, “Aus sport” grey tracksuit pants, white orange and grey “Fila” ankle socks and a pair of “Cougar” white, navy, silver and orange sandshoes. It is estimated the deceased was approximately 178cm tall, with short straight grey hair and heavy build. The deceased also had four distinct tattoos on his body, one of a Native American woman in headdress and a warrior style image (on his right shoulder), a shark and what appears to be a buzzard (both on the left shoulder).

Search continues to identify body found almost 2 yrs ago

By Nikole Jacobi - ABC

Posted Thu Jun 17, 2010 8:40am AEST

Police say they have been unable to identify a man who was found dead almost two years ago at Poona Dam near Nambour on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, despite an extensive international investigation.

The man, who is believed to be aged between 45 and 60, was found dead on the eastern spillway of the dam by a workman in September 2008.

Police say they have tried unsuccessfully to identify the man in various ways including by his fingerprints, DNA and tattoos.

He will feature in a missing persons display at this year's Sunshine Coast Show.

Detective Senior Sergeant Damien Powell says he hopes someone recognises him.

"This gentleman is somebody's son, he's somebody's mate," he said.

"He could be somebody's brother and we need to get in touch with the family and let them know what's happened to him.

"Somebody must be missing him - he's an unidentified deceased person who obviously someone must care about."

The man's death is not considered to be suspicious.

Remains found on Tas beach

Updated Sat Apr 3, 2010 1:02pm AEDT  - ABC

Tasmanian police say human remains found on an east coast beach will not be identified for weeks.

The remains were discovered washed ashore on Friday morning near the Esplanade at Triabunna.

A full scale forensic examination of the beach was done.

Police say the remains will need to undergo further forensic examinations.

Police say there is a possibility the find could be linked to a missing persons case.

New Zealand fisherman Basil Alexander Lee went missing off the Triabunna wharf in mid January.

A land and sea search at the time failed to find any trace of the 40 year old.

Detectives appeal for information after body found in house fire

Wednesday, 31 Mar 2010 12:37pm

Tweed Heads and Homicide Squad detectives have formed a strike force to investigate the death of a man whose charred remains were found in a house fire last week.

The severely burnt body of a man – who has yet to be formally identified – was found by police who attended a house fire in Urliup Rd, Tweed Heads, early last Friday (March 26). The house was completely destroyed by the fire and it has yet to be determined whether the fire was accidental or deliberately lit.

When police and fire brigades attended the scene at 6.30am, the house was well alight. It was not until the fire was extinguished that the charred remains were found. Due to the extent of the fire, the remains have been sent for forensic testing in Newcastle to identify the man.

Detectives from Strike Force Daruk are appealing for any information from the public, particularly between the hours 2am and 5am Friday (March 26).

“While we have spoken to a number of witnesses, it’s important we receive information from any members of the public who may have seen or heard something in or near the house in the early hours of Friday morning,” said Tweed/Byron LAC Crime Manager Detective Inspector Shane Diehm.

“As the body has not been formally identified, we can’t determine if the deceased lived at the house or was just visiting.

“We are also looking for a motorcycle that belongs to one of the occupants of the house. It was last seen on Golam Drive, about five minutes from the house fire, between 2 and 5am. However it is now missing.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact detectives either on Crimestoppers 1800 333 000 or Tweed Heads Police Station on 07 55360999.

Texas lab joins effort to solve our cold cases

LES KENNEDY - SMH

July 19, 2009

DNA experts in the United States are providing NSW Police with new clues on some of the state's most baffling missing persons cases and unidentified human remains.

The cases include bones from at least two people found in sand dunes on Sydney's Kurnell peninsula in 2007 and remains located near Ballina on the north coast.

Unsolved homicide squad police believe the north coast bones, found at an undisclosed site, may be those of missing 31-year-old Lennox Head mother-of-two Bronwyn Joy Winfield, last seen at her home in 1993.

Scientists at Orchid Cellmark in Dallas, Texas, have spent the past two months examining 31 exhibits of bone and tissue specimens, and a further 15 saliva swabs taken from relatives of missing persons.

The samples were delivered to them by Detective Sergeant Damian Loone, of The Rocks station, who has spent the past 12 years investigating the disappearance and suspected murder of northern beaches woman Lynette Dawson.

The only possible clue about the fate of the 34-year-old Bayview mother, who went missing in January 1982, is a pale-pink cardigan found near a hole that was dug for a swimming pool on her property.

Detective Sergeant Loone took the cardigan to the US to try to match Mrs Dawson's DNA with a sample from one of her daughters.

The detective is expected to return to the US in the next month to reclaim the exhibits and DNA results, which will be screened against those from relatives of other missing persons.

Saliva swabs taken from Mrs Winfield's daughters will be compared with DNA from bone fragments found on the north coast amid renewed inquiries by police in the past three months.

Mrs Winfield, who a coronial inquest declared dead in 2002, was reported missing by her estranged husband 11 days after she was last seen at her home.

The US tests could also reveal the sex of at least two people from three separate sets of bone fragments found in dunes in 2007 during land clearing preparation for the construction of the Sydney desalination plant at Kurnell.

Man’s body located – Eugowra

Monday, 10 Aug 2009 05:16am

NSW Police are conducting inquiries after the discovery of a man’s body in the state’s west.

About 11am yesterday (Sunday 9 August), a male bushwalker located the body of a man in the Nangar National Park near Eugowra, east of Forbes.

The man contacted police from Canobolas Local Area Command who attended and established a crime scene.

Inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the man’s death continue; however, police are not currently treating the death as suspicious.

Police are checking records of local missing people to assist with determining the identity of the man.
A report will be prepared for the information of the coroner.
 

Police conduct inquiries following discovery of human skull - Gooloogong

2009-06-11 05:51:19

NSW Detectives in the state's Central West are conducting inquiries following the discovery of a human skull on a Gooloogong property.
 
The owner of a property on Kangarooby Road found the skull about 11.45am last Friday (5 June).
 
As a result, detectives from Canobolas Local Area Command and the Forensic Services Group at Bathurst attended the scene and conducted inquiries.
 
Initial inquiries suggest the skull was from a person of white/European appearance and had been there for some time.
 
State Crime Command's Homicide Squad has been briefed about the discovery.
 
Local police conducted a line search of the property yesterday in a bid to locate any evidence that might assist their inquiries.
 
Anyone who has information that might assist investigating officers is urged to contact Orange Police Station via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
 
Police will today update the media on their investigation.

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Location of human remains, Westlake: Last updated 25/04/2009

QLD Police have located human remains on the edge of the Brisbane River at Westlake late this afternoon. A member of the public discovered the remains at low tide around 5.40pm. Scenes of Crime Officers have seized the remains, which will be subject to an examination. The remains are believed to be that of an adult. Investigations are continuing.

Skull found in Qld bush

Posted Thu Mar 19, 2009 3:38pm AEDT
 

Queensland police are searching bushland outside Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, after finding a fragment of what they believe is a human skull.

Officers say the piece of bone was found by a bushwalker in Glen Lomond Gully in January and is about 10 years old.

Forensics are testing the remains but the age or sex of the remains is yet to be determined.

Police say they have ruled out the possibility that the skull belonged to a pre-European settlement Indigenous person.

They are preparing a report for the coroner.

Location of human skull fragment in Toowoomba

Last updated 19/03/2009

QLD Police are investigating the location of a human skull fragment in rugged bushland at Glen Lamond Gully, near Toowoomba on January 13.

An extensive land search has been conducted of the area however no further human remains have been located.

Initial investigations suggest that the skull fragment may have been exposed to the elements for at least 10 years and further investigations regarding possible carbon dating are being conducted.

The skull fragment is being examined by scientists at the John Tonge Centre in Brisbane and no suspicious circumstances have been revealed in the examination so far. 

Police have ruled out the possibility that the fragment comes from an ancient indigenous skull however investigations have not yet confirmed the age and sex of the individual.

Police are continuing their investigations and a report is being compiled for referral to the Coroner.

Border Ranges body may have drug link

2nd February 2009 - The Northern Star

POLICE have not ruled out the possibility that the body of a man found near Kyogle is one of two missing men linked to a $3 million Condong drug raid.

Police found the body in the Border Ranges National Park, near the NSW and Queensland border, about 2pm last Friday and then issued a call for public help to identify him.

It is understood investigations are under way as to whether the body is that of Barry Grant, 52, or Jethro Matheson, 30, who have been missing since last month.

Police said the men were connected to a Condong property where, on January 16, officers from the Tweed/Byron command uncovered 1549 cannabis plants in an elaborate hydroponic set-up with an estimated street value of $3 million.

They also found $65,000 worth of cannabis leaf.

It is not known what connection the men have to each other, or to the Eviron Road property, as police have been unable to provide any further details.

The men, Grant, from Murwillumbah, and Matheson, from Brisbane, have not been seen or heard from since before the January 16 raid.

Friends and family members of the pair have told police it is unusual for them not to make contact.

Meanwhile, a crime scene was established following the discovery of the body in the Border Ranges National Park, with officers from the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad assisting Tweed Heads police.

Police would not say how long the body had been there, or who made the grisly discovery.

While police would not provide any further details on either investigation yesterday, Inspector Jim Kain would not rule out the possibility the two were connected.

“That would just be speculation at this stage, because no identification has been found (with the body),” Insp Kain said.

“We can’t say any more at this stage.”

Insp Kain could not say whether police believed Grant or Matheson had met with foul play, but he said detectives were following a specific line of inquiry into the case.

A NSW Police spokeswoman could not confirm any link between Matheson and Grant and the unidentified body yesterday because, she said, it might hamper police investigations.

However, she said police were likely to release further details on the discovery of the body and its identity today.

Body found in bushland - NSW / Queensland border

Friday, 30 Jan 2009 06:24pm


NSW Police are appealing for public assistance following the discovery of a man's body in bushland near the NSW - Queensland border.

About 2pm today (Friday 30 January 2009), police located the body of an unidentified male in the Border Ranges National Park near Kyogle.

A crime scene has been established and investigators from Tweed Heads Police, assisted by officers from the State Crime Command's Homicide Squad, are examining the circumstances surrounding the man's death.

Anyone with information concerning the man's identity or death is asked to contact Tweed Heads Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
 

Human foot located - Evans Head

Wednesday, 21 Jan 2009 03:27pm
 

A partially decomposed human foot has been located on the State’s north coast yesterday.

About 6.15pm a man was walking along the coastline south of Goanna Headland at Evans Head when he entered a sea cave and discovered a partially decomposed foot.

Police were notified and attended the scene. The foot was taken for examination and verified to be human. Police suspect the foot is possibly that of a 27-year-old motorcyclist who went missing shortly after 12am on Saturday 10 January.

The missing man set off on a short motorbike ride along Airforce Beach and when he hadn’t returned by daylight, his family contacted police.

Officers from the Richmond Local Area Command located the man’s damaged motorbike, submerged among rocks leading to the beach.

Tyre marks suggest the motorcycle entered the rock formation at high speed and crashed.

Police fear the man suffered serious injuries in the crash, only to be washed out to sea by a king tide.

The missing man is described as white/European in appearance, 178cm tall, with a medium build and very short, sandy coloured hair.

He was last seen wearing a chequered black and grey shirt, denim jeans and shoes.

Anyone with information about the matter is urged to contact Evans Head Police on (02) 6682 4202 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Police appeal for public assistance to identify deceased woman – Lurnea

Wednesday, 07 Jan 2009 05:14am

Liverpool (NSW) detectives are appealing for public assistance to identify a woman who is believed to have died in Sydney’s south west this week.

About 10.15pm on Sunday (4 January) police and Fire Brigade personnel attended a grass fire at a park in Reilly Street, Lurnea.

Fire Brigade officers extinguished the blaze and located a burnt body in grass more than two metres high.

A crime scene was established and fire and police investigators attended the scene.

The post mortem examination at Glebe has concluded; however, the identity of the deceased has not yet been established.

Liverpool Local Area Command detectives are continuing their inquiries to establish the circumstances surrounding the death, as well as the identity.

The forensic pathologist has indicated to police that the deceased is a female, aged in her mid to late 20s, and of Asian origin.

Inquiries are in their early stages, but police are investigating the possibility the death is not suspicious.

Investigators have released images (above) of a woman believed to be the deceased at Liverpool Train Station and are appealing for public assistance to identify her.

She is described as Asian in appearance, with black hair and wearing a red and blue poncho over a white top and black pants.

Anyone who can identify the woman is urged to contact Liverpool Police on 9821 8444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Human remains uncovered in storm-ravaged Brisbane

November 29th 2008 - ABC

QLD Police have found what appears to be human remains near the storm-ravaged suburb of The Gap in Brisbane's north-west.

Foresic officers are examining what appears to be a human skull.

It is believed the remains, which were discovered next to a popular mountain bike trail near Gap Creek Park, could have become uncovered by flash flooding during wild storms which recently hit Brisbane.

Police say the remains do not appear to be of someone who died recently.

Bones identified, Beerburrum State Forest:

QLD Police have identified the human remains located at Beerburrum State Forest on November 9 as belonging to a woman missing since 2000. Through scientific and dental analysis, police today identified the bones as belonging to Bokarina woman Gail Jones. Ms Jones, who was aged 48 at the time of her disappearance, was last seen around June 10. Her death is being considered as non-suspicious.

Bushland bones there for years: police

Posted Wed Nov 12, 2008 3:32pm AEDT  - ABC

Police say human bones found in bushland last Sunday at Glenview, on the Sunshine Coast, appear to have been there for a number of years.

The bones of a 50 to 60-year-old man were found by a man walking his dog.

Superintendent Ben Hanbidge says old missing person files are being examined.

"We have SES [State Emergency Service] volunteers down there scouring the nearby vicinity to where the skeleton was located, just looking for any other pieces of evidence that might give us a clue as to the identification of this body," he said.

Bones located near Caloundra

Last updated 10/11/2008

QLD Police are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding human bones that were found yesterday afternoon near Caloundra.

The bones were located around 1.30pm near a walking track by a man who was walking through the bushland.

On information available at this stage, the bones do not appear to be linked to any ongoing missing person’s case.

Scientific officers will continue examining the area and updates will be issued as more information becomes available.
 

Body of missing man found on Crescent Head property

Thursday, 30 Oct 2008 08:13pm

The body of a man reported missing to police has been located this afternoon following a land and air search of a property on the State’s mid north coast.

The 56-year-old man was reported missing to police on Sunday by his landlord as he had not been heard from since earlier this month.

Shortly after 9.30am today an air and ground search was launched of the property, more than 600 acres in size, at Crescent Head.

The search involved police from the Mid North Coast Local Area Command, supported by PolAir and State Emergency Service volunteers.

At 1.45pm today a man’s body was located in rugged bushland. The man’s death is not being treated as suspicious and information will be included in a report for the Coroner.

While the body is yet to be formally identified, it is believed to be the 56-year-old missing man.  

Oatley Bay body in the water at least a week

Josephine Tovey - SMH
November 3, 2008 - 7:01AM

- with Arjun Ramachandran

A BODY found wrapped in plastic, wire and an extension cord and floating in the Georges River by two young boys at the weekend could have been there more than a week, police said yesterday.

The two boys, aged nine and 14, made the gruesome discovery while canoeing in Oatley Bay on Saturday evening and immediately told their parents.

Police retrieved the body - which had still not been identified this morning - from the river later that night and yesterday revealed some details from the preliminary post-mortem examination.

"We went over and [it] smelt a little bit and it had an extension cord wrapped around it," one of the boys, Hayden Wright told reporters yesterday.

"Some water came out of it and some blood came out of it."

His friend, Matt Langham, said: "We went home and told our dads and they came over."

Detective Inspector Terry O'Neill, from the Hurstville police, said the body was a male of Asian appearance, 176cm tall and aged in his late 20s to early 30s.

"We're going through the missing persons records across the state to determine if this man has already been reported missing," he said.

The corpse was found wrapped in a "rug-like material" near Morshead Drive in Connells Point. The body was also clothed, but police would not describe the type of clothing for "operational reasons".

Police said a number of items were also taken away from the area where the body was found, but would not elaborate on what they were.
 

Police are treating the death as suspicious and have established Strike Force Renfree to investigate the case, together with the Homicide Squad and the Marine Area Command.

"Today detectives attached to Strike Force Renfree canvassed water users and residents in the Oatley Bay area," Inspector O"Neill said. "The canvass was aimed at finding anyone who might have witnessed any unusual activity or seen any vehicles or vessels not usually in the area … we're asking people to think back … if they remember anything suspicious in the area ."

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800333000.

Human remains thought to be those of suspected killer

2008-10-15 11:45:08

 
NSW Police believe human remains, found on the Central Coast last night, could be those of missing murder suspect, Stanley Francis Maguire.
 
Around 6pm, a man walking through bushland discovered the skeletal remains, east of the Pacific Highway, near Mount White.
 
Police from Brisbane Water Local Area Command were alerted and a crime scene established.
 
A forensic pathologist and investigators from Strike Force Alpita and the Homicide Squad were also notified as an overnight guard was placed at the site.
 
Investigators have returned to the scene today to search for evidence and retrieve the remains.
 
Police issued an arrest warrant for 59-year-old Maguire in relation to the shotgun murder of father-of-four, Stephen Holmes, at Woonona near Wollongong on November 24, last year.
 
Maguire's car was found abandoned near the F3 freeway near Mount White, several days after the killing.
 
He was also placed on the state's Most Wanted list.
 
A post-mortem examination will be carried out on the remains to confirm the dead man's identity.
 
Anyone with information about Stanley Maguire's last known movements is urged to contact Wollongong or Gosford Police; or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000

Human remains undiscovered for up to 12 years

2008-08-21 05:32:22

 
NSW Police are seeking public assistance to identify a human skeleton, thought to have remained undiscovered for up 12 years in Sydney's south west.
 
The remains were hidden from view in a small area of scrubland, 120m off the Bellbird walking track leading to Casula Railway Station.
 
A passer-by made the discovery early last month.
 
Investigators from Liverpool Local Area Command, in consultation with the Coroner and a pathologist, suspect the man was not a victim of foul play.
 
Police hope a number of items found at the scene will lead to the dead man's identification.
 
He'd been in possession of a silver ring, bearing a unique marijuana leaf emblem; and a metal flip-top lighter, also featuring a cannabis leaf design.
 
Police also located a "Tazo" disc, commonly found in snack food packets, which dated back to 1996.
 
Officers believe the remains are that of a white/European male, who was aged between 20 and 30 when he died. He was between 170 and 175 centimetres tall and had a small build.
 
Investigators believe the dead man may have been a heavy cannabis user.
 
Inquiries are continuing and anyone with information about the matter is urged to contact Liverpool Police on (02) 9821 8444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

'Tazo' disc the clue to human skeleton

Arjun Ramachandran - SMH
August 21, 2008 - 7:22AM
 

A chip-packet "Tazo" disc and a silver ring bearing a marijuana leaf emblem could hold clues to the identity of human skeletal remains found in Sydney's south-west last month, police say.

The items were found beside bones in thick bush about 120 metres from the Bellbird walking track in Leacock Regional Park, near Casula railway station, police said.

The bones, found by a member of the public on July 2, were believed to have been undiscovered for up to 12 years, Senior Constable Philip Daenell, from Liverpool police, said.

Police have checked dental records and missing persons databases but have been unable to identify the man, Senior Constable Daenell said.

Forensic analysis shows he was a white or European man aged between 20 and 30. He was between 170 and 175 centimetres tall and had a small build, Senior Constable Daenell said.

"We would think he was a habitual substance user given he had a ring with a marijuana leaf and had a bit of foil in his pocket, and there was a lighter also with a marijuana leaf logo," he said.

A "Tazo" disc, believed to be from a chip packet and found in the man's possession, was from 1996, police said.

Police do not believe the man was a victim of foul play. They found some rope attached to a tree where the bones were located.

The bones were not believed to be buried, and were found in a park used by members of the public to walk to and from Casula railway station.

"We suspect [the man] was someone with a bit of local knowledge of the area," Senior Constable Daenell said.

"It's not really in the way of anything and you wouldn't go there unless you had a reason to go there.

"There's a track that goes through the park that gives people access to the station, but the bushland is [quite far] from the track and is really dense scrub, so it's not surprising [that no one discovered the bones by accident].

"However it is a bit ironic that hundreds of people walk past it every day and no one had located the remains."

Anyone with information is asked to phone Liverpool police on 9821 8444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Body found in St Albans

Release date: Sat 19 July 2008

Victorian Homicide Squad detectives are investigating the discovery of a partially burnt body of a man in St Albans today.

Police were called to parkland at the intersection of Furlong and Persini roads after two local boys discovered the body in a creek.

The boys went home and told their mothers about the body who went down to the creek before calling police at 3.20pm.

Police are at the scene awaiting the arrival of the Homicide Squad.

Anyone who may have information surrounding the death is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 33 000 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.au

*Believed to be an Asian male in his 40's.

Help needed to identify mystery skeleton

Posted Thu Jul 3, 2008 1:35pm AEST  - ABC

Police have asked for public help after finding skeletal remains in bushland at Casula in Sydney's west.

Police from Liverpool Local Area Command were told about the human remains by someone who had been walking through Leacock Regional Park around 2:15pm (AEST) yesterday.

Forensic investigators say the remains are believed to be that of a man aged between 20 and 30, and have been at the location for more than two years.

The skeleton will continue to be examined in the hope of identifying the man and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

Police are asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Human remains found at Essendon

Release date: Sun 13 April 2008

Victorian Homicide detectives are investigating the discovery on Saturday of human bones at Essendon.

Police said the owner of an unoccupied house in McCarron Parade which was being renovated was removing a shed in the back yard when the bones were found.

Police said that two of the bones found yesterday had been identified by forensic specialists as human leg bones.

Police continued to dig up a section of yard where the bones were found today.

The area being excavated measures about 4metres by 4 metres.

Further bone fragments were found today but it thought that the fragments were unlikely to be human; however forensic tests will be carried out to determine this.

A pathologist has been working with police to help identify the remains.

Police believe the bones had been there for over 30 years.

Police have spoken to a former owner of the house who had owned the premises for that time, but the former owner was unable to assist police with any information in relation to the matter.

Police have finished searching the location where the bones were found.

 This is the design that would have been printed on the front of the t shirt, only in white or possibly silver?

The remains were found in 2003 but could have been there for at least 12 months prior to that. Are you missing a young man from approx. 2002 onwards? Do these clothes look familiar? He might have come from any state, not just NSW.

He wore size 35/89cm jeans and we believe he was wearing the shorts under the jeans - does that ring a bell? Plus an Ecko Unlimited shirt. Note - this wasn't an official shirt, he may have bought it at the markets?

New clues to help ID mystery skeleton

April 03, 2008 - The Daily Examiner

POLICE have not given up on their search to identify the bones of a mystery man found in Iluka five years ago. Detectives from Grafton have renewed their appeal for information by releasing photos of the clothing found on the body.

"All local inquiries and those involving the Missing Person Unit to date, have been exhausted and we hope this appeal will lead to new information and possibly provide closure for the family and friends of a missing person," Detective Senior Constable Grahame Burke said. When the body was found the man was wearing a pair of Levis stonewash denim jeans (size 35), blue Quiksilver shorts, and an 'Ecko Unlimited' brand shirt.

"It's a pretty identifiable shirt so I'm hoping it might jog a person's memory," Detective Burke said.

Police do not suspect the mystery man was from this area, so they have released the photos nationally in the hope that friends or relatives of a missing person may recognise the clothing.

"There are one or two internet sites dedicated to missing persons and I'm hoping they will also publish the photos," he said.

The bones were discovered by Landcare workers inside the Iluka Rainforest Nature Reserve in August, 2003. Detective Burke said since then the bones had been sent to the United States where forensic testing determined the remains to be that of a male aged somewhere between 18 and 50 years. DNA samples have also been taken.

Detective Burke said if a family member of the missing man does identify the clothing they can use the DNA sample to confirm a match.

"We've got to use every means at our disposal to give closure to a family out there who is missing a loved one," he said.

Anyone with information that might assist investigating officers should contact Coffs/Clarence Local Area Command on 02 6642 0222 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Grampians bones remain a mystery

Posted Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:36pm AEDT  - ABC

Police say human remains found by Bendigo students three years ago in the Grampians, in south-west Victoria, might not be as old as first thought.

Police had believed the remains might be those of missing Melbourne photographer Rex Sutherland, who disappeared in the 1970s, or Ballarat bushwalker Peter White, who disappeared in the 1980s.

But Senior Detective John Bongiorno says a sports shoe found with the body was made in Australia in 1992.

He says no missing persons reported in the Grampians from that date are unaccounted for and detectives are seeking more help from the public.

He says with no missing persons reported in the Grampians from that date, detectives have little other information to go on.

"All we've got basically through the DNA or examination of the bones, is that basically we are looking at a Caucasian male, probably around late 20s to 30s," he said.

Human bones in bush: new clues

22 February 2008 - 5:00AM  The Advertiser - Bendigo

COLD case police have released key photographs they hope will solve one of regional Victoria's great mysteries of human bones found in the Grampians by Bendigo schoolgirls.

New information on the human bones found in September, 2004, by a group of Girton Grammar schoolgirls on a school hike indicates they are not as old as first thought.

Stawell CIU's Senior-Detective John Bongiourno, who has led the investigation since the discovery, said the major breakthrough had been specialist information on the age of a pair of shoes discovered with the bones.

Sen-Det. Bongiourno said consultation between the Cold Case Taskforce and Adidas had established the shoes were manufactured in Australia in 1992, which eliminated the possibility of the most likely missing person, Melbourne photographer Rex Sutherland, who disappeared on Mt William in 1978.

"This answers some questions, but raises quite a few more," Sen-Det. Bongiourno said.

"One of the biggest problems was that the remains weren't in very good condition, so forensic scientists weren't confident about accurately estimating how long they had been there."

Sen-Det. Bongiourno said the bones were distributed over several hundred metres and possibly scattered by animals or by water flows in the rugged terrain.

He said to further complicate the mystery there were no unsolved missing person cases from the Grampians region from the period 1992 to 2004.

DNA testing of the brother of Ballarat bushwalker Peter White who disappeared in the 1980s has already ruled out another possible identity.

Police are now hoping pictures of the shoes and watch found with the body will help trigger memories of some knowledge of what they estimate to be a male Caucasian probably aged in his 20s or 30s.

He said the latest discovery came after the 2006 fires, when changes to vegetation and soil at the spot turned up another bone.

Unfortunately, repeated searches of the area have not yielded any teeth.

"The first thing we were hoping we would find were some teeth and go straight to dental records and make an identification that way," he said.

But Sen-Det. Bongiourno said the absence of the jawbone and lower part of the skull did not necessarily indicate anything suspicious, as the time the bones had been exposed and the disturbance of animals could have contributed to the condition.

Forensic scientists still have not been able to establish the cause of death.

"Everything has to be canvassed," Sen-Det. Bongiourno said.

"It could have been a body dumped there, it could have been somebody who had grown tired of life and decided to end it in a remote spot."

Girton Grammar schoolgirls made the grisly discovery while on a school hike on Mt William in September, 2004, after taking a wrong turn near the summit car park.

Editor's note - March 2008 - I requested a copy of the photographs of the clothing worn by the Grampians unidentified body, as mentioned in the article above. Victoria Police have refused my request.

I am well aware that the families of the missing visit my website every day, and check this page to see if they might possibly be able to idenify their missing loved one.

When both Victoria and NSW Police missing persons unit having recently been criticized by Coroners for failing to identify bodies and inform families, the decision not to allow me to publish a photograph of clothing that may be recognised by a family member is completely baffling to me. You will note in the second article this statement -

Police are now hoping pictures of the shoes and watch found with the body will help trigger memories of some knowledge of what they estimate to be a male Caucasian probably aged in his 20s or 30s.

Exactly how will these photographs trigger memories if no one is allowed to see them?!?!?!

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Appeal to identify body - Bateau Bay

2008-03-02 13:56:34

NSW Police from Tuggerah Lakes Local Area Command are appealing for public assistance to identify a man whose body was found in seas off Bateau Bay last night.
 
A member of the public called police about 5.45pm after the body was spotted near an exposed rock platform between Shelley Beach and Bateau Bay Beach.
 
A rescue helicopter was despatched to assist in the retrieval of the man's body.
 
Police believe the man may have been in the water for several days. The man is believed to be of white / European appearance, possibly aged in his 30s or 40s, and was wearing blue board shorts.
 
At this time there have been no reports of missing men who match the description.
 
Anyone with information about the identity of the man is urged to contact The Entrance police on 4333 2999 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
 

 Decomposed body found under bridge

Article from: AAP

February 21, 2008 04:54pm

THE badly decomposed body of a man has been discovered under a bridge in Melbourne's southeast.

The body was found by a passerby beneath the Cheltenham Road EastLink overpass in Dandenong about 7.45am (AEDT) today, police said.

Homicide detectives have not yet detailed the man's injuries, but say they are not self-inflicted and are suspicious.

They have not identified the victim, but believe he is a middle aged Caucasian.

The victim had long, greying hair.

He was wearing black tracksuit pants with white flashings on the outside of the legs, a shirt and a slipper.

The body has been taken for an autopsy, likely to be completed late this afternoon.
 

Jawbone at Kurnell desal site

Article from:

By Kara Lawrence

December 12, 2007 12:40pm

A JAWBONE believed to be human has been discovered at the Kurnell desalination plant work site this morning.

Construction workers noticed the bone, which had been dredged up from the sand by recent storms at about 11am today.

Police have been contacted about the bones, which follows the unearthing of several other human bones at the site last month.

Bones previously found include a human shin bone as well as foot bones in a sock and a pelvis.

Those bones have been sent overseas for carbon testing to New Zealand and to the US for DNA analysis, and are believed to be less than 50 years old.

It is believed that the bones previously discovered belonged to two people, one from a man and the other is suspected to be from a woman.

It is unknown if the jawbone discovered today came from either of those two bodies.

More human remains discovered - Kurnell

2007-12-12 15:02:27 - NSW Police Media Unit

A human jawbone has been discovered at a Kurnell construction site today.
 
Police from Miranda Local Area Command were called to the site on St Josephs Road after construction workers discovered the jawbone, believed to be human, at 11am. 
 
A crime scene has been established and the exhibit taken away for forensic examination.
 
On Tuesday 2 October 2007, a tibia bone was located in sand dunes by construction workers.
 
A crime scene was established and a cadaver dog was used to search the immediate area.
 
No further bones were located at that time.
 
On Monday 8 October 2007, several ribs and small bones were located by police in an area about
300 metres from the original location.
 
A forensic pathologist and an anthropologist have examined the bones and confirmed that they are human and unrelated.
 
Further analysis, including carbon dating and DNA testing, will be conducted to determine the age
and origin of the bones.
 
Test results are not yet available.

 

Identity of Deceased Male

At about 7.00am on Saturday 3 November 2007 the body of a male was discovered on the footpath of Glendenning Road, Tarcoola Beach WA.

It appears that the man had been jogging before collapsing and dying. There were no items of identification found on or near the body and as yet police have not been able to establish the identity of the deceased.

Deceased is described as male, approximately 60-65 years of age, 173cm, slim-toned build, bald and wearing a blue/white running vest, black jogging shorts and Asics shoes.

Below is a photo composite of the deceased and police are requesting assistance from members from the public in identifying the deceased.

All information can be supplied to the Geraldton Police Station on 9923 4555 or to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Skeleton exposed in excavations - Portsea

Release date: Sat 3 November 2007

The remains of what is believed to be a man of unknown age have been discovered during excavations at a worksite earlier this afternoon.

Homicide detectives, forensic officers and pathologists are processing the area this evening located on Point Nepean Road.

Upon initial investigations, police believe the bones, discovered shortly before 5pm, are that of a man which do not appear to be indigenous and may have been buried for 50 years or more.

If anyone has any information which may assist detectives in identifying the remains they are urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.au

Description released of unidentified deceased man, Sandgate

Last updated 28/02/2007

QLD Police investigating the death of a man whose body was located in Bramble Bay off Sandgate this morning have released a description of him and the clothing he was wearing.

About 6.30am today some people on a morning walk located the man’s body in the water opposite First Avenue. The man has not yet been identified and investigations into his death are continuing.

The deceased man is described as being of Asian appearance, aged in his 30s, 162cm tall and of slim build.

He was wearing a grey/blue Sands Point brand spray jacket which was made in Bangladesh, a grey Next brand t-shirt and blue Nike training shorts with a white stripe down the side.  

Police are keen to speak to anyone who may know the identity of the man and are urging them to contact Crime Stoppers or Sandgate Police Station. 

Three water police vessels are currently conducting searches of the area around Luggage Point in an effort to locate anything which may assist with the investigation into the man’s death.

Anyone who may know the identity of the man or who has any information which could assist in the investigation is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Sandgate Police on 3631 8044.

Human jawbone discovered - Hawks Nest
7 August 2007

Police from Lower Hunter Local Area Command have confirmed a human jawbone was discovered in Northern NSW on Sunday (5 August).

About 11am, a woman was bushwalking with her husband and son along Jimmy’s Beach at Hawks Nest, when her son located a bone on the rocks. The family searched the surrounding area, however nothing else was found.

The family handed the bone to Hawks Nest Ambulance Station who notified police.

Forensic officers’ initial opinion is that the jawbone is very old from an adult male, 18-25 years of age. The filling found in the tooth has been available in Australia for over 80 years.

Inquires are continuing.

Bones found, Bundaberg:

QLD Police are currently investigating the discovery of what are believed to be bones under the Elliot River Bridge on the Isis Highway, Bundaberg. They were located at 11am this morning by a local resident. Police investigations are continuing into this matter. Scientific examinations will be conducted tomorrow to determine their nature and origin.

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Skeleton may be missing man, say police - The Australian
December 13, 2006

POLICE believe skeletal remains found in central Queensland on Monday may belong to a man who went missing in the area more than a year ago.
Detectives are investigating whether the remains are those of 50-year-old Geoffrey Blakey, who left Bundaberg to travel to Childers on November 28, 2005.

Detectives believe Mr Blakey may have hitchhiked from Childers on or about November 30, and could have been dropped near the Elliott River Bridge on the Isis Highway about 20km west of Bundaberg.

The skeletal remains have been sent to the John Tonge Centre for scientific examination and positive identification.

Mr Blakey is described as caucasian, 170cm tall, of thin build, fair complexion and with blue eyes.

He was carrying two large suitcases and a sports-style overnight bag.

Police are appealing to anyone who may have seen Mr Blakey or given him a lift to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
 

Police appeal for assistance in identifying human torso Sunshine Coast
Last updated 27/08/2007

QLD Police are appealing for assistance in identifying a man whose torso washed up onto a Sunshine Coast beach last week.

Around 9am on August 24 a badly decomposed human torso was located at Warana beach by a member of the public. Sunshine Coast detectives and forensic officers attended the scene and the remains were transported to Nambour Hospital for further investigation.

A post mortem conducted today established some identifying features.

The torso belonged to a man, possibly Caucasian, aged approximately 45 years or older, large build, approximately 178 to 186cms in height and evidence of double bypass surgery for a heart condition.

Remnants of clothing found on the torso indicate that the man’s underwear was size 122cms and his shorts or trousers were a ‘Cargo’ brand.

The post mortem indicated that the man may have been in the water for two months or longer.

Sunshine Coast CIB is conducting investigations to identify the man.

Police are appealing for public assistance in identifying the man and request anyone with information that could assist them with their inquiries to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Torso found on Sunshine Coast - ABC
Posted Sat Aug 25, 2007 10:29am AEST

Police say they will not be able to identify a human torso found yesterday at Kawana Waters on the Sunshine Coast until a post mortem examination on Monday.

A spokeswoman says it is not known whether the death is suspicious or related to the floods on the coast.

The torso was uncovered after rough seas eroded sand from the beach, and it may have been buried for some time.

Police investigate discovery of man's body - Mid North Coast
30 August 2007

NSW Police are conducting inquiries following the discovery of a man’s body at Nabiac, on the state’s mid north coast.

A local property owner was slashing grass on the western side of the Pacific Highway, near the Gloucester/Krambach overpass, when they discovered the decomposed body about 3.45pm yesterday (Wednesday 29 August).

Police from Manning/Great Lakes LAC were called to the scene and conducted inquiries. Forensic Services Group officers also examined the area.

The body was taken to Newcastle Morgue for post mortem examination in an attempt to identify the man and determine a cause of death.

The man’s been described as being about 50-years-old, with large to obese build and short cropped grey hair and beard. He was wearing a dark blue bomber style jacket, black T-shirt with red motif on the front, black tracksuit pants and brown King Gee work boots.

Anyone who knows the man’s identity or has any other information that might assist investigating officers is urged to contact Taree Police Station on (02) 6552 0399 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Police will prepare a report for the information of the NSW Coroner.

Skeletal remains located, Darra: 30/06/2007

QLD Police are investigating the cause of death after human skeletal remains were located on vacant land at Darra this afternoon. A member of the public discovered the remains while walking on Acanthus Street about 3.30pm. The identity of the person is unknown at this stage.

Anyone with information which could assist police with their investigations should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Police appeal for information - Skeletal remains, Darra
Last updated 04/07/2007

Police are appealing for assistance from the public in identifying a man whose skeletal remains were found at Darra last week.

A member of the public found the remains in a vacant block of land on Acanthus Street on June 30.

Following a post-mortem examination, it was found the deceased was aged between 30 and 55 years, about 175-185cm tall and of mixed race.

It is believed the man has been deceased for approximately six to 12 months.

The man was wearing medium-sized ‘Bad Boys’ brown-check, knee length shorts; a ‘Mango Surf’ material belt; black sunglasses; a large-sized ‘Tribute’ brown t-shirt with blue pin-stripes; and white Nike running shoes with a red motif and heel.

Anyone with information that may assist police should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

March 17, 2006 - ISSUED AT 7:05PM

Human remains located near Brisbane Airport

A human skull was discovered in bushland this afternoon near the airport. Private contractors made the discovery shortly before 4pm while searching for fire ants off Banksia Drive. The area was declared a crime scene and will be guarded overnight. Scenes of Crime officers will attend tomorrow morning. The skull will then be taken to the JTC for forensic analysis.

March 17, 2006

A HUMAN skull has been found in bushland near the Brisbane airport.

Private contractors discovered the skull about 4pm (AEST) today while searching for fire ants off Banksia Place, between the
national and international air terminals in Brisbane's north, police said.
"The skull is believed to belong to a vagrant who disappeared in the area 10 years ago," a police spokeswoman said.

"Forensic analysis will be done tomorrow to establish the skull's identity," she said.

No other bones have been located at the scene.

The area has been declared a crime scene and will be guarded overnight with police officers attending tomorrow morning, the
spokeswoman said.

Jewellery, boots only clue to skeleton

For almost four months, police investigating cases of women who have disappeared in suspicious circumstances have been calling Gosford police station.

In each case, they want to know if the skeletal remains of a woman found on June 1 in bush several kilometres north of the small Hawkesbury River community of Mooney Mooney are those of their missing woman.

Distinctive jewellery found with the body has ruled out Brent MacKay's wife, Kylie, 36, who went missing on July 25, 2002, after she failed to pick up their two young sons from school.

Police have also spoken to Margaret Bromfield, whose daughter, Elizabeth, 27, vanished in 1984. Two men were charged with Elizabeth's murder, but were subsequently acquitted. The pair were alleged to have disposed of her body in bush at Mooney Mooney.

Other cases include those of Rose Rain Howell, 19, who disappeared on April 11 while hitchhiking on the Pacific Highway near Coffs Harbour; Niamh Maye, 18, who went missing on the outskirts of Tumut on March 30, 2002, while on the way from Batlow to her sister's home in Sydney; Carmel Giannasca, 32, who disappeared from Gladesville on January 14, 2002; and Maria Scott, 28, a prostitute and heroin addict who disappeared from Port Kembla in March.All these woman have been ruled out, and now the small team of Gosford detectives investigating the remains is looking at expanding its missing persons inquiries interstate.

The case officer, Detective Sergeant Darren Deamer, said the search to identify the remains was the flip side of a missing persons investigation: having a body, but with no name to put to it.

Until that can be established, police cannot begin working on establishing how the well-dressed woman came to be in such an isolated spot.

Sergeant Deamer said there was nothing to indicate how the woman died, although the location suggests her body was hastily dumped. Fire trail access roads half a kilometre either side of the Pacific Highway near where the body was found are littered with burned-out cars and household rubbish.

Forensic tests have placed the woman's age between 30 and 55, and her body may have been at the site for between three months and more than two years.

Police believe the woman is Caucasian, with light brown hair and a slight build, and is between 160 and 170 centimetres tall.

They hope someone may recognise her clothes, especially the distinctive jewellery she was wearing - a gold bracelet, a silver ring and a gold chain with a single pearl -

- which alsosuggests robbery was not a motive for her killer or killers.

The high heels on her shin-high EasyStep boots also indicate she was not a bush walker. The boots were made in 2001, and police have asked for a list of distribution outlets. The woman was also wearing a light colored top and green pants.

"We are conducting inquiries of missing women in NSW and interstate," Sergeant Deamer said. "We are also trying to identify her through dental records and DNA."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Gosford police on 4323 5599 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

The Doe Network:
Case File 85UMNSW

Reconstruction of Victim

Unidentified White Male

·  Located in August 11, 1994 in Sydney's Hawkesbury River, New South Wales, Australia.

·  He was a victim of homicide.

·  The victim is most likely to have died between 2 and 5 years before he was found.  

Vital Statistics
 

• Estimated age: 25 - 45 years old
• Approximate Height and Weight: 160-166 cm.
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Possibly of Italian, Austrian. Dark brown hair. Possibly of Mediterranean or Central to East European origin.
• Clothing: He was wearing a pair of large black No Sweat brand tracksuit paints, a medium size black polo neck Everything Australian T-shirt and medium blue & white striped Sparrow brand underpants.
• Dentals: Available, straight teeth with no fillings, and with only one missing.
• DNA: Available

Case History
The victim's body was wrapped in plastic and tied to a metal frame that was custom made for his size and dumped into the river. In the press he is known as The man on the rack or Man in iron cage.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Homicide Squad Detectives
02-94110940
or
02-94110948

Agency Case #: E48293

Jewellery, boots only clue to skeleton

For almost four months, police investigating cases of women who have disappeared in suspicious circumstances have been calling Gosford police station.

In each case, they want to know if the skeletal remains of a woman found on June 1 in bush several kilometres north of the small Hawkesbury River community of Mooney Mooney are those of their missing woman.

Distinctive jewellery found with the body has ruled out Brent MacKay's wife, Kylie, 36, who went missing on July 25, 2002, after she failed to pick up their two young sons from school.

Police have also spoken to Margaret Bromfield, whose daughter, Elizabeth, 27, vanished in 1984. Two men were charged with Elizabeth's murder, but were subsequently acquitted. The pair were alleged to have disposed of her body in bush at Mooney Mooney.

Other cases include those of Rose Rain Howell, 19, who disappeared on April 11 while hitchhiking on the Pacific Highway near Coffs Harbour; Niamh Maye, 18, who went missing on the outskirts of Tumut on March 30, 2002, while on the way from Batlow to her sister's home in Sydney; Carmel Giannasca, 32, who disappeared from Gladesville on January 14, 2002; and Maria Scott, 28, a prostitute and heroin addict who disappeared from Port Kembla in March.
 

All these woman have been ruled out, and now the small team of Gosford detectives investigating the remains is looking at expanding its missing persons inquiries interstate.

The case officer, Detective Sergeant Darren Deamer, said the search to identify the remains was the flip side of a missing persons investigation: having a body, but with no name to put to it.

Until that can be established, police cannot begin working on establishing how the well-dressed woman came to be in such an isolated spot.

Sergeant Deamer said there was nothing to indicate how the woman died, although the location suggests her body was hastily dumped. Fire trail access roads half a kilometre either side of the Pacific Highway near where the body was found are littered with burned-out cars and household rubbish.

Forensic tests have placed the woman's age between 30 and 55, and her body may have been at the site for between three months and more than two years.

Police believe the woman is Caucasian, with light brown hair and a slight build, and is between 160 and 170 centimetres tall.

They hope someone may recognise her clothes, especially the distinctive jewellery she was wearing - a gold bracelet, a silver ring and a gold chain with a single pearl -

- which alsosuggests robbery was not a motive for her killer or killers.

The high heels on her shin-high EasyStep boots also indicate she was not a bush walker. The boots were made in 2001, and police have asked for a list of distribution outlets. The woman was also wearing a light colored top and green pants.

"We are conducting inquiries of missing women in NSW and interstate," Sergeant Deamer said. "We are also trying to identify her through dental records and DNA."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Gosford police on 4323 5599 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Most Anonymous

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday July 19, 1996

JENNIFER COOKE

Nine surgical screws, a steel plate and a plain gold ring are the clues to the identity of a man garotted and dumped near Botany Bay last year. JENNIFER COOKE reports on an apparent underworld execution with links to eastern Europe's murky underworld.

EARLY one Saturday in February last year, the body of a superbly fit young man was found off a narrow access road to the NSW Golf Club at La Perouse.

He had been garotted, an unusual form of murder in Australia. He had also been sliced across the neck with a sharp instrument, which left him almost beheaded. Homicide police have no doubt it was a quick and professional hit.

But long after the discovery, and despite investigations involving anthropologists and orthopedic surgeons, as well as inquiries by the Australian Federal Police, Interpol and the FBI, the man is still unidentified - a John Doe.

Unlike other cases in which missing limbs and heads have prevented quick identification, this John Doe was what police term "fresh". He had been found within 12 hours of being dumped. He hadn't decomposed. He was not merely a pile of bones. His fingerprints were intact. So were his teeth.

And he was clothed - in casual wear made in several European countries. On top of that, a surgical steel plate in his leg looked like being a cinch to trace where his operation took place. Instead, that steel plate has deepened the mystery surrounding the "La Perouse case" or "garotte man", whom all police involved believe was probably a visitor in Australia when he was ambushed and murdered.

GAROTTE man, who for a while joined an elite club of four in a refrigerator at the morgue at Glebe, has been buried at the Coroner's direction as an unknown man.

The officer in charge of the South Region homicide unit, Detective Inspector Ian Kennedy, said it is "rare to have a murder victim remain unidentified for such a long time - especially one that has not been mutilated beyond recognition or bones in a grave but is in fact a recognisable, intact body".

NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics figures record four long-term, unidentified murder victims, including the garotted man, in the past six years.

Best known is the "headless, legless, armless torso", Kennedy said, found just off the Princes Highway near Kiama in October 1992.

Twelve days days later the matching right leg, complete with sock and shoe, washed up at low tide in Woolooware. Eight days after that the left arm - minus the hand - was found floating in a creek at Kogarah.

It has been dubbed variously "the torso", "Elle, the body" (a pun on Elle Macpherson's nickname) and "the jigsaw man". Despite investigations in the past four years by Task Force Avon, now disbanded, the man's identity remains a mystery.

In August 1994, a skeleton, gruesomely wired to an iron rack, was dredged from the mouth of the Hawkesbury River. All possible inquiries, including the taking of DNA samples for future comparison, have failed to identify the remains, believed to have been dumped near Broken Bay about three years ago. This John Doe is known as "the rack man".

Almost three months old, and again clueless, is the discovery on April 27 this year of the skeletal remains of a ginger-bearded man aged between 35 and 45, of slight to medium build, with brown hair and tinges of grey around the lip of his beard. The hallmarks of this John Doe, for whom police are about to request a facial reconstruction, are his expensive dental bridge work and the fact that he was wearing four sets of clothing when found off the New England Highway in the Hunter Valley.

Most baffling - and much older - is the case of "Mr Universe" and his fabulous teeth.

Despite unique dental work and a T-shirt which was one of only 60 made especially for a 1979 body-building competition, the identity of a male skeleton, aged about 25, remains a mystery. It was found by two schoolboys in bushland off the Princes Highway, Heathcote, in September 1982. The T-shirt stated "Cenovis Health Foods MR UNIVERSE Sydney Opera House Australia". Despite repeated media publicity, inquiries have come to nothing.

A consultant forensic dentist to the NSW Institute of Forensic Medicine at Glebe, Dr Chris Griffiths , said the man had about $20,000 of "beautifully done and very high-class" gold and porcelain crown and bridge work on 10 of his teeth.

And both hinge joints on his lower jaw had been removed - usually a last resort remedy for chronic tempora mandibular joint pain. That sort of dental operation is rarely performed in Australia but checks with dentists overseas proved fruitless.

"With that combination of surgery and bridgework he is unique in the world," Griffiths said.

IN the case of the garotted man, apart from the clear fact that his leg had been broken in the recent past, the only distinguishing physical feature was that he was uncircumcised.

Routine checks by homicide police that usually have a body identified within days, if not hours, came to nothing. The victim was not reported missing.

And no-one already in missing persons files matched the man's physical characteristics. Height, weight, sex, eye colour, hair, and estimated time of disappearance are fed into a computer base to produce a range of possible matches.

Acting Sergeant Jeff Emery , leader of the NSW Missing Persons Unit, said the continuing non-identification of the garotte man was "pretty rare".

Normally the unit has a 98 per cent success rate, locating about 5,800 missing persons reported each year. But unidentified murder victims - such as this man - are not missing persons.

The garotted man was big - 186cm tall - and weighed 102 kilograms. He was broad-shouldered, thick-necked and extremely muscular, with no excess body fat - a very fit person of almost professional athletic standard.

From the shape of his eyes and nose, he could have been of Slavic descent. His black hair and grey/green eyes may have made an attractive combination. But in death, after facial muscles relax and the personality has gone from the face, he may look different.

Dr Griffiths, who examined the man's mouth, said he had three porcelain fillings in his front teeth. He had no doubt paid a substantial amount for two root canal fillings, and might soon have had trouble from two impacted lower wisdom teeth revealed on x-rays.

Another consultant to the institute, Denise Donlon , an anthropologist and lecturer at Sydney University's department of anatomy and histology, determined from samples of his shoulder and pelvic bones and several ribs that he was between 25 and 28 years old.

Dental charts and DNA fingerprinting are useless as identification tools without someone to compare them with, so records can be matched, said the director of the NSW Institute of Forensic Medicine, Associate Professor John Hilton.

Dental work, however, varied in different parts of the world and might provide clues as to where it was carried out. To "a limited extent", DNA sequencing could be used to identify race, he said.

A forensic pathologist, Dr Chris Lawrence , said skeletal remains usually showed whether the victim was Caucasian, Aboriginal, Asian or negroid through the shape of the skull and other features, including height proportions.

"Bones can last hundreds of years provided they are not eaten by termites, or have been left in a dry place."

But for DNA sampling "you have to have a fair idea of who you are trying to identify", Lawrence said.

"Nuclear DNA" testing is the best option. However, it is necessary for both parents to give blood to see if there is a match with the DNA found in each cell of the victim who may be their child.

Less reliable but easier to implement is "mitochondrial " DNA. This blood test needs only a comparison with the presumed mother or any sibling of the victim, all of which have the same mitochondrial DNA - passed on to every developing foetus by its mother - which provides energy to each cell.

DNA from the garotte man, rack man and "Elle" is frozen in test tubes and kept in the molecular biology laboratory of the institute for any future such comparison.

Facial reconstruction, Dr Hilton said, can help in some cases (see box, right), but is resorted to only in "exceptional circumstances".

Human remains - whether bodies or bones - of unidentified murder victims remain in the morgue until they are either identified or the State Coroner decides to bury them.

"There is no magical figure on how long the Coroner will keep full remains," Hilton said.

"This is where DNA is such a great boon with intact bodies. You take the DNA sample, bury the body and keep the sample - for ever, if necessary - and if some clue comes along in years to come you can grab a relative and take a blood sample, if they are willing, and try and match the DNA profile to see if they came from the same family."

Bones are kept for much longer. "Depending on their age and the conditions under which they had been interred, such as scattered in the bush, it can be more tricky extracting DNA (from bones)," Hilton said.

Recent police research has found that more than 900 unidentified skeletal remains have passed through the morgue since 1970.

Two of these, Lawrence said, are femur bones believed to belong to a Canadian man who went missing in the late 1970s off a boat near Lord Howe Island.

The one suspect in the case is dead and he points out it is expensive to trace relatives in Canada to match DNA.

THERE are several speculative theories concerning the murder of garotte man: that he was involved in the drug trade; that he was executed to send a menacing message after a betrayal; that he was involved in a spy ring from eastern Europe; and even that he was part of one of the biggest growth industries around today - Russian organised crime.

Strangely for such a large man there were no defence wounds, such as cuts on his hands, to indicate he had struggled with his attacker. A small bruise which highlighted a tiny nick on his middle left finger became apparent after the murder, but that was it.

Police point to several features of the case that defy logic. Despite the horrific neck wound, there was only one spot of blood on his T-shirt. Was he executed while hung upside down? Or was he killed, cleaned and dressed in fresh clothing - successfully avoiding seepage from the gaping wound - before being dumped?

Pathologists estimated he was killed around midnight on Friday, February 17 . Blood would have pumped out of the severed carotid artery, leaving splashes and pools. Clearly, he was removed from the murder site, taken by a vehicle and dumped where he was found by a Phillip Bay resident walking a dog about 8.30 the next morning.

And if he was cleaned up first, why leave him only four metres from the roadside where he was easily spotted, and within only 12 hours of the murder?

Police believe he was meant to be found.

Detective Senior Constable Colin Taylor, formerly of the south region homicide unit who investigated the murder, said: "It was a clean and professional job. We are looking for more than one person."

Without the victim's identity, however, it's hard to find a motive - or the killers.

GAROTTING was a Spanish mode of capital punishment. It is a form of quick death used by some military personnel and those involved in guerilla warfare to throttle the target quickly and silently.

Interpol inquiries to date have been made in Bonn, Frankfurt and Prague.

The garotte man's maroon T-shirt with grey piping on the sleeves and neck had a "Budmil" logo in the centre of the chest and a label with Hungarian markings. The tags on his dark blue knee-length shorts are believed to be German and carried the logo "Reflax" on the left thigh. The "Newboat" brand of leather laced-up boating shoes are believed to have been European-made. His underpants, completing the cosmopolitan ensemble, were made in the United Kingdom.

A police canvass of hotels, motels and hostels from Newcastle south to Wollongong and east to the Blue Mountains has yet to reveal a guest who left suddenly without paying the bill.

Toxicology tests found no drugs in his system and his stomach was empty. No wallet or personal effects were found on him apart from a Benetton watch with a sky-blue band and a gold ring on his left hand. The pockets of his shorts had been turned inside out.

The watch is mass-produced and the venetian blind cord that was used as the garotte - and left around his neck - can be bought anywhere.

Senior Constable Taylor said the man must have possessions somewhere. Checks with the Port Botany authorities revealed no sailors on foreign vessels had jumped ship. For a while attention switched to gay bars around Oxford Street in the belief that the man may have been visiting for the Gay Mardi Gras held that very wet Saturday, March 4, last year. But police now believe this man's presence in Australia might have been more sinister.

WHAT is most intriguing about this case is that in a reversal of the norm, police are trying to identify him from the feet up. This is because it was inside his body that the biggest clue was found.

A forensic pathologist, Dr Alan Cala , on his initial inspection found a relatively new scar on the man's lower right leg. Underneath was a 16cm-long stainless steel plate with nine screws inserted to correct a bad break of the tibia some time in the year before the man's murder.

In fact, three sutures remained in the wound. They had been left there so long they had putrefied and appeared as three green dots on his shin.

He may have limped or favoured his right leg and was either unable or had neglected to get to a doctor to have them removed. Dr Cala told police that the orthopedic operation was "not real good".

The dynamic compression steel surgical plate carried a manufacturer's symbol that looks like the rounded letters HFD followed by a number. It was not manufactured in Australia and police were told by orthopedic specialists that this particular plate is neither imported nor used by local surgeons.

All Australian stainless steel surgical plate importers were contacted by police but none could identify its origin or make. However, four of the screws used to fix the plate in place were identified for police by Danny Cohen , the managing director of Synthes Australia, one of the larger distributors of surgical plates to hospitals nationally.

From tiny laser etchings of the company logo on each screw and by tracing through lot numbers, it was discovered they were made by Synthes's Swiss-based parent company.

These screws were not sold locally, "which tells us that the victim was not operated on in Australia", Cohen said.

The four Synthes screws came from several different batches of 1,000 each made in Switzerland in 1993. From one batch, 300 had been sent to London, and 300 from another batch were sent to Germany. The remaining screws could not be traced.

Detective Acting Superintendent Roger Thorpe, acting head of the international division of the Australian Federal Police, knows it would be a "very good piece of police work - collectively and internationally" to identify this particular John Doe.

Through the AFP's Rome office, from where liaison trips are conducted throughout eastern European countries, the case background and photographs of the metal plate have been referred to local authorities.

It's a "long shot", Thorpe admits, but better than nothing and maybe a doctor or an orthopedic specialist might recognise his handiwork.

The Russian organised crime theory - that this John Doe was killed in Australia after a deal went wrong - is "very interesting", he concedes, and at present "as good as any of the myriad permutations" available.

The man's plain gold ring - not thought to be a wedding ring and found on the left little finger - was the strongest lead for a while but now there are none.

"To go to so much trouble and then not throw him over the continental shelf (out at sea) where the sharks could have him seems to me to be a message," Taylor insists. "But even though indications are that he is from eastern Europe, he might also be from Parramatta."

On Monday, the Deputy State Coroner, John Abernethy, will hear evidence from Detective Taylor and a pathologist as part of an inquiry into the murder.

* Anyone with any information should contact the Homicide Unit, Major Crime Squad South on 384 6669.

JOHN DOE: THE CLUES

The physical appearance of the unidentified victim in the case of the "garotte man" (pictured):

*Male, aged 25-28

*186 cm tall

*102 kg

*solid muscular build

*grey/green eyes

*clean-shaven

*straight, black collar-length hair

*evidence of facial acne

When found, he was wearing:

*yellow underpants;

*blue shorts with "Reflax" logo;

*maroon T-shirt, with grey piping on sleeves and collar, "Budmil" logo on chest and flower and vine design in white on the back;

*"Newboat" brand brown leather boating shoes;

*plain gold ring on left little finger;

*Benetton watch with sky-blue band and yellow face.

A NAME TO A FACE

UNIDENTIFIED bodies do not usually remain mysteries for long, although it took some time for the names of the victims in these cases to come to light.

MARGARET HARDY

In 1990 the remains of a woman who had been brutally raped, murdered and dumped in bush in the Blue Mountains 14 years before were confirmed as those of Margaret Rose Hardy.

She had never returned after leaving her St Mary's home on February 26, 1976, to go shopping.

While the badly decomposed body of the 18-year-old had long since been buried, the police had kept a print taken from a sliver of skin from one fingertip and fingernail which had been found near her body.

Not knowing which finger the sliver came from, police spent three years checking every finger of the 750,000 women on police files. That was 7.5 million fingers. Computerised comparisons, when they were introduced in 1985, also failed to find a match.

In March 1990, a photograph of a facial reconstruction of Hardy's skull, published over the years to no avail, was again printed in a newspaper. It was recognised by a relative.

Finally, with police able to gain access to Hardy's belongings, a fingerprint from the front of a single photo in her album matched the print from the skin fragment on record.

Her dental records also matched. The mystery now is her killer's identity.

VIVIANNE RUIZ

Facial reconstruction was the key to the identity of Vivianne Ruiz , the Kings Cross prostitute whose bashed and decomposed body was found wrapped in garbage bags at Arncliffe in December 1991.

She was dubbed "Jane Doe" for the four months it took before a friend to identified her from a newspaper photograph of the reconstruction.

She had changed the style and colour of her hair and looked different in death than she did while alive.

Her boyfriend, Richard George Hugh White, was charged with the murder after returning from England.

After twice being found unfit to be tried, he was last week found guilty of the murder by Justice Peter Hidden .

STEPHEN DEMPSEY

When Stephen Reginald Dempsey failed to meet a friend for dinner on August 2, 1994, and then did not turn up for work the next day, he was reported missing.

At least seven newspaper articles followed, hinting at foul play. Police and family fears were correct.

But before the search had even begun Stephen Dempsey's body had been hacked into pieces. According to a statement of facts tendered in court last year, for the next four months it was allegedly kept in a refrigerator.

In November 1994 Dempsey's torso - minus his head, arms and legs - was wrapped in chicken wire, weighted with rocks and dumped in Pittwater.

The body became known as the "chicken wire torso" after it was washed ashore at Towler's Bay a month later. In January last year, nuclear DNA tests established the identity of the gay, New Zealand-born landscape gardener.

After his sister reported him missing, connections between missing men and tissue from the torso were finally matched with blood from Dempsey's estranged parents.

At first his murder was thought to be a gay hate killing. But inquiries soon shifted from Oxford Street to the northern beaches and on to archery clubs when an arrow head was found embedded in his heart.

In May last year, Richard William Leonard, a 22-year-old Balgowlah security guard, was charged with the murder.

At his first court appearance, the magistrate heard that Leonard allegedly told police he had killed Dempsey with an arrow fired from his crossbow.

The court was told the killing allegedly followed Dempsey making a homosexual advance to Leonard, who was shooting for fish at Deep Creek Reserve.

Leonard's de facto wife, Denise Shipley, 19, also appeared in court, charged with being an accessory after the fact after allegedly helping Leonard dispose of the body. They have been committed for trial at a date to be fixed.

JENNIFER COOKE

Central Coast Herald

Wednesday July 2, 2003

By ALICE KELLY

POLICE hope unique jewellery will hold the key to identifying the woman whose remains were found in bush 20 metres from the Pacific Highway at Mooney Mooney last month.

They have appealed to the public after extensive forensic, crime scene and missing person investigations into the suspected murder have failed to unearth the mystery woman's identity or determine how she died.

Police said investigations showed it was unlikely the remains were those of a Central Coast woman.

A Brisbane Water police spokeswoman said yesterday that the woman's bones had been hidden in dense bush for between four months and 21/2 years before bushwalkers discovered them on June 1.

The woman was thought to have been between 30 and 55 years old when she died.

She was wearing green cotton stirrup pants, a light cotton top and plain brown leather Easy Steps Astrid boots.

An unusual antique marcasite ring and an expensive, 18-carat gold chain with a single natural pearl found on the body could be important clues as to who the woman was and how she died.

The marcasite ring is not a style commonly available in shops and could be a family heirloom.

Brisbane Water acting crime manager acting Chief Inspector Julie Hill has not ruled out the possibility the remains are of Green Point resident Kylie McKay, missing since June last year, but said it was unlikely.

The remains are too recent to be North Wyong resident Elizabeth Bromfield, who vanished in 1984.

Police believe she could be from anywhere in Australia and might not have been registered as a missing person.

``This person might not have been reported to police as being missing, but could be someone the public has not seen for some months," acting Chief Inspector Hill said.

Continued on Page 2

Dead woman's jewellery

could hold murder clue

From Page 1

Brisbane Water police have appealed to the public across Australia to come forward if they recognise the jewellery or have noticed anything suspicious in bushland east of the Pacific Highway near Mooney Mooney since the beginning of 2001.

The grim discovery is being treated as a murder investigation, however, the cause of death and how the body came to be hidden is not known.

Acting Chief Inspector Hill said the walking track near where the body was found was not well-known outside the Mooney Mooney area.

``It is possible she was thrown out of a car," she said.

``I can't comment but she wasn't too far from the Pacific Highway."

Acting Chief Inspector Hill said investigators hoped that identifying the body would help to solve how the woman died.

``Identifying the body is always a priority, because the family can put a family member to bed," she said.

``When we find out who she is, we could work out how she might have found her death."

Anyone with relevant information should contact Gosford police station on 4323 5599 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Homicide - Unidentified Male - Chidlow WA - 27 AUG 1979

 Tragically, after 30 years the body of an unknown adult male is still yet to be identified despite the efforts of an extensive investigation. 

 His decomposed body was found partly concealed in bushland off Great Eastern Highway, Chidlow on the 27^th of August, 1979 at around 4.50pm.  It appears the victim was dragged to his final resting place. 

The grisly discovery was made by a family bush walking near the Chidlow Rifle Range. 

When found the victim was dressed in the following:

1.       Red socks;

2.       Bone coloured ‘Yakka’ brand jeans with brown beading on the pockets;

3.       A brown belt with silver buckle;

4.       A grey cardigan with green/grey and off white stripes;

5.       A grey/blue roll neck jumper;

6.       A Seiko Actus, kinetic action model watch; and

7.       A yellow long sleeved ‘Nile’ brand skivvy.

Additionally, a pair of “Palermo” brown leather slip on shoes and a “Malabones” pig skin money belt were found in close proximity to the victim.

Considering his attire it appears that he is out of place in the area located. Surely someone has missed him or may know information about his identity.

A Post Mortem examination revealed the victim had been murdered.

If you have any information about the unidentified male make a report online or call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, where all calls are strictly confidential, and rewards are offered. Quote Reference Number 5312.