A crime scene has been set up at the foot of Kangaroo Point cliffs in Brisbane's inner city after a bag of bones was discovered on Monday morning.
A local resident reported the gruesome discovery to police.
Officers since cordoned off the area, which is a popular jogging and picnic spot on the banks of the Brisbane River.
What appeared to be a woman's black dress was also being examined at the scene by officers.
A police drone was also deployed to survey the area from above.
Police are expected to remain at the crime scene overnight as forensic investigations continue.
In a statement, police said they believed the remains to be human and that forensics tests were underway.
Passers-by expressed shock at the grisly scene.
Local resident Francis Ran said it was surreal.
"If found in a bag that is pretty suspicious, no-one is just going to fall off a cliff in a bag."
Kangaroo Point resident Rose Cavanagh said she was shocked to come across the crime scene on her afternoon walk.
"This is a really busy area, there's always people coming and going — we walk around here most nights so it's a bit of a shock," she said.
"It's a great spot, we've always felt pretty safe and it's quite well lit.
"To hear that this has happened — crikey."
A tent has been set up where the bones were found, and on Monday afternoon police were continuing to search the areas for clues.
