Police reveal Gympie human remains are that of a woman

Police have confirmed a skeleton discovered in bushland south of Gympie is that of a small woman, after numerous pieces of clothing were found at the scene.

Items found at the scene of the discovery of human remains near Gympie last month, including shirt, pants, shoes and a hip bone plate. The mystery into the human remains found near Gympie deepens.

Police have today released more information into the human remains found off Keefton Road at Kybong, just south of Gympie on October 11, 2020.

A comprehensive search of the area adjacent to the Gold Nuggett by SES and police with shovels found a left femur and a jawbone which have been confirmed to belong to a human and most likely the same person with a "high probability" of being a smaller, shorter woman, police said today.

Clothes, shoes and a leg plate were found near the human remains off Keefton Road on the outskirts of Gympie. Detective Inspector Gary Pettifort holds the shirt up.

Detective Inspector Gary Pettifort told a press conference at the Gympie Police Station that no matches had been found with Queensland's 450 unsolved missing persons and that there were three possible scenarios which led to the woman's death: she had met with an unfortunate accident after wandering into the bush and perished, suicide or something more sinister.

The mystery into the human remains found near Gympie has deepened.

A vital clue is the 15cm long plate which had been screwed into the left femur down towards the knee. The plate has a serial number on it but they have not found any matches yet, they are reaching out to orthopedic surgeons.

The mystery into the human remains found near Gympie has deepened. A shoe, shirt and pants found during a search of the nearby area.

"This would have been a substantial fracture and a substantial surgery," Det Insp Pettifort said.

While police are not 100% certain the skeletal remains are a woman's, they are 85% certain. They have no idea of her age or ethnicity, but know she has been dead for at least two years and that she died of unknown causes.

A no entry zone off Keefton Road where the remains of what is now believed to be a woman have been found.

The woman had been about 150-165cm tall and wore size 6 shoes.

The plate is now in Brisbane being analysed.

Keefton Road

If anyone knows anyone who fits the descriptions given is asked to contact police.

There are about 450 active missing person cases in Queensland that have not been solved.

The remains were found by fauna experts documenting the dry area, in a "creekbed without an actual creek" - a run-off.

Some of the bones were visible on the surface and then other fragments were found under the first layer of soil. The main aim of police now is to return the remains to loved ones and determine the cause of death.

Originally published as Police reveal Gympie human remains are that of a woman