HOMICIDE detectives have said skeletal remains found in Belanglo State Forest are probably those of a teenage girl.
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Detective superintendent Peter Cotter told reporters outside Parramatta Police Station today the girl was aged between 15-25 but was most likely a teenager.
She is yet to be formally identified.
The bones, found by a group of trail bike riders at Dalys Waterhole on August 29, are up to 12 years old but a T-shirt found at the scene was sold in NSW in the mid 2000s.
This indicates the girl went missing sometime between four to seven years ago. But police still do not have a cause of death and there were no signs of gunshot or knife trauma on the girl.
If the girl did go missing sometime after 2003 it all but rules out backpacker murderer Ivan Milat who was arrested in 1994 and sentenced to seven-life terms in 1996 for the killing of seven backpackers.
Milat to this day protests his innocence.
The size 10 T-shirt is described as being short sleeved, with a distinct motif featuring the word “Angelic” in pink text, a rose and a heart with angel wings.
It was found within two metres of the remains, which included a skull, pelvis and spine.
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.
The teenage girl could be one of 30 missing young women that fit the profile in NSW, Mr Cotter said.
“There's a whole lot of potential people nationally and perhaps even internationally,” he said.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact detectives via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
