Two people charged with the murder and torture of a missing toddler in Chinchilla on Queensland's Western Downs have been remanded in custody.
Tane Saul Destage, 40, and Sinitta Tammy Dawita, 28, were arrested overnight over the death of Kaydence Dawita Mills, who would have been five this year.
The pair was charged with murder, torture and interfering with a corpse but did not appear in the Dalby Magistrate's Court.
Yesterday, police searched the banks of the Condamine River at Chinchilla as part of their investigation into Kaydence's disappearance.
That search came after a police team excavated the backyard of a house in Chinchilla in December.
A crime scene was also declared at Chinchilla Weir.
Ashleigh Wicks, who drove to Chinchilla Weir this morning with her two daughters to put flowers at a makeshift memorial, said news of the arrests had devastated Chinchilla locals.
"It's a very small community," Ms Wicks said.
"It's just grim … you come here all the time, there's families here, there's caravans set up, there are people camping and it's just different to see police tape up and police searching."
Investigators returned to Chinchilla Weir on Monday and were keeping media well away from the crime scene.
Kaydence was born in September 2014 and police said she had not been seen since 2016.
Police said the two people charged were known to Kaydence.
.png?w=600)
