Human remains have been discovered in an old underground water tank at a special education facility in Brisbane during a routine plumbing inspection.
The bones and clothing of what appeared to be a deceased male were discovered at Autism Queensland’s Brighton premises in the city’s north and have triggered the involvement of homicide detectives.
Acting superintendent Mick Dowie said the largely decomposed body, found in the disused tank at the back of an administration building, appeared on first examination to have been in place for “a number of years”.
Homicide detectives had already begun combing through cold case murder files for possible links, Dowie said.
The investigation would for now focus on scientific examination of the crime scene and the prospects of recovering DNA, Dowie said.
Dowie said police were called at about 11am on Tuesday after a plumber on a routine inspection lifted the lid and “a body of a deceased person was found”.
The age of the person when he died was not clear, Dowie said.
“There are some suspicious aspects to the deceased at this stage and we’ll have to conduct further inquires to see what we can establish in relation to that, bearing in mind the time delay,” he said.
Dowie appealed for public information about missing persons in the Brighton area whose disappearance may stretch back years.
