Update – 4pm:
Police have stated that they found skeletal remains in bushland off Tallow Beach Road, Byron Bay, about 1.20pm yesterday (Wednesday, 15 July, 2020). They were conducting an ongoing operation in relation to a missing woman, Thea Liddle, from Northern NSW.
‘A crime scene has been established and an investigation has been launched, with the assistance of the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad and Missing Persons Registry,’ said a police spokesperson.
‘It is too early to determine if the remains are male or female; they will undergo forensic examination which could take a number of weeks to complete.
It is also too early to say whether the remains are linked to the ongoing search for the missing Northern NSW woman.’
Original story – Thursday, 16 July, 2020 8.30am
A crime scene has been established following the discovery of skeletal remains in bushland near Byron Bay.
The area was being searched as part of the investigation into the disappearance of 42-year-old Thea Liddle. Police had appealed to the public for assistance in the investigation on Tuesday, 15 July following her disappearance in late 2019.
Officers from the Tweed Byron police district with the assistance of the Melbourne regional operation support group, the public order and riot squad, dog unit, and police rescue were searching the area near Byron Bay when they found the remains at about 1.20pm yesterday (Wednesday, 15 July, 2020).
‘It is too early to determine if the remains are male or female,’ said a police spokesperson.
‘The scene will be processed by forensic officers which will take a significant amount of time, with police expecting to maintain the crime scene into Thursday, 16 July.’