NSW Police have confirmed the discovery of skeletal remains in bushland around the Byron Bay region during a two-day search for Thea Liddle, who was last seen in October 2019.
Detective Chief Inspector Brendon Cullen confirmed the discovery outside Byron Bay police station today, telling media that officers located skeletal remains in dense bushland off Tallow Beach Road in Byron Bay yesterday afternoon at around 1.20pm while searching for 42-year-old Liddle, as part of Strike Force Holby.
An investigation into the remains has been launched, and a crime scene has been established, which forensic police will examine for the next couple of days.
The skeletal remains were unable to be determined as being male or female at the scene, and will now go under forensic examination to determine more identifying information, which will likely take a number of weeks to complete.
Det. Cullen said that the area where the remains were found appeared to have been a campsite at some point in time, and there were many items there that will also go under examination.
He also said that the police are “keeping their minds open” about the uncovered remains, but believe it’s highly unlikely that the bones belong to missing Belgian teenager Theo Hayez, who was reported missing in June 2019. It is also too early to determine whether the remains are also those of missing NSW woman Thea Liddle.
