A shocking discovery in a rural area of Australia has turned into the spotlight of the mysterious disappearance of a 73-year-old woman whose family had been seeking answers for eight months.
Yvonne Whaar, from Northern Rivers region to Australian state New South Wales was last seen on February 19, traveling in its vehicle near the town of Murwellumb.
For months, research did not work. Family members kept hoping that she could be found alive.
But on October 5, some who were traveling by motorcycle to a forest area near Terragon discovered a body in a pit used to treat pesticide livestock.
According to the Australian Associated Press, body remains were partially buried in the pit, about 16 miles [16 km] southwest of Murwilumbah.
On October 13th, police confirmed that the remains belonged to Yvonne Warren.
Investigators announced that death is being treated as murder, turning the case from a mysterious disappearance into a criminal investigation.
Another detail raised doubts even before the body was discovered.
On September 12, the woman's vehicle, a gold Ford Escape, was found on a riverbed near Rous River, away from where she was last seen.
However, the police did not disclose whether the vehicle was abandoned there by another person or how it ended up in that country.
Speaking to Australian media, Super-Intendent Commander Matt Zimmer said the family was destroyed by the news.
He called on people who may have information about their wife's movements or about the circumstances of extinction to contact the police.
The victim's daughter, Gillian Hallac, had earlier sought public help, stressing that her family and grandchildren needed to know what had happened to her.
Authorities have not announced arrests and have not published a final cause of death.
For residents of the small community, the discovery has brought shock and uncertainty, while investigators try to rebuild events that led from the disappearance of 73 years to finding her body eight months later.
