Source : Perth Now news
A volunteer search group which helped find remains of missing Belgian tourist Celine Cremer in rugged wilderness has made a breakthrough in another case.
Find Our Lost Loved Ones was set up after volunteer-led efforts uncovered the remains of Ms Cremer in Tasmania in January, more than two years after she vanished.
On Friday, the group located suspected human remains in George Town in the state’s north in their search for missing man Michael Vrankovic.
Mr Vrankovic, 58, has been missing since January 13.
While forensic testing is yet to be completed, the remains are believed to be an adult human, Tasmania Police said in a statement.
“Formal identification is yet to be conducted and that process will take time, which may be several weeks,” Inspector Melanie Groves said.
“Mr Vrankovic’s family has been notified, and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.”
The remains were located in recently burned bushland, close to homes and in an area previously searched by police.
The group, which works closely with police, started searching on Friday and were targeting a relatively contained area in George Town.
“It was more of a brute force approach where we got 60 people in a line and just started walking. It was slow and methodical,” group co-founder Alex Smith told reporters.
In May, the group found the remains of missing 76-year-old Peter Willoughby, who also went missing in northern Tasmania, using the same approach used in Ms Cremer’s case.
Ms Cremer went missing while bushwalking near Philosopher Falls in June 2023, prompting extensive police and SES searches.
A coroner ruled she died accidentally after becoming lost.
