Skeletal remains found in Lorn yesterday morning may belong to missing Bolwarra Heights man Pip Manley, police say, though the remains have not been formally identified.
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A large scale search was conducted on Wednesday after police discovered new information about the missing 21-year-old that put his last known sighting in the Lorn area in the early hours of November 22.
A police operation support group and dog unit found the human remains less than 10 metres from the edge of Belmore Road, near Marcellin Park, about 10.15am.
Central Hunter local area commander Superintendent Garry O’Dell said the remains had not been formally identified, but early indications led police to believe they could belong to Mr Manley.
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Superintendent O’Dell said Mr Manley’s family had been notified of the discovery.
“At this stage we’re treating the location as a crime scene as it’s in suspicious circumstances,” he said. “Our officers have spoken to the family and obviously they’re distraught with the information.
“We obviously have a number of inquiries to make and a lot of work to do in relation to this investigation.”
Police confirmed that a Sydney Roosters rugby league jersey was found with the remains.
The jersey matched a description of what Mr Manley was reportedly wearing when he was last seen.
Superintendent O’Dell said detectives gained access to Facebook accounts, which played a key role in the investigation’s progress. It gave investigators information about when Mr Manley was last seen and who he had been speaking with.
“As of last week we became aware of certain information that has led us to locations out here [Lorn]. As a result of that information and our search today, we’ve been able to find these skeletal remains.”
Superintendent O’Dell said police did not know whether the remains were the result of foul play, but they had not ruled it out.
Mr Manley has been missing since November, last year.
Until recently, the last known sighting of the 21-year-old was when his mother dropped him off at Telarah railway station to meet a friend on November 21.
Mr Manley’s father, Jonathon, launched a public appeal for information about his son’s whereabouts on January 6, as the search entered its second month.
Jonathon Manley had agreed to speak in front of a media conference yesterday morning but news of the discovery came to hand as the conference was due to begin, so he left to be with family.
Superintendent O’Dell said anyone with information that could help with the ongoing investigation should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
