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National

Woman found dead in Bluewater bushland was in relationship with man arrested over her death, Queensland police say

A group of teenagers riding quad bikes found the body on a sandy track in Bluewater. (ABC News: Lily Nothling)

Detectives say a man arrested over the death of a woman in north Queensland, and separate drive-by shooting, had been in a relationship with the victim for several months.

Mother of four Tania Trickey, 44, was killed at Bluewater, near Townsville, some time on Saturday morning.

A group of teenagers riding quad bikes discovered the body on a sandy track in bushland that afternoon.

Police arrested a 38-year-old Deeragun man at a service station in Proserpine around 8:30pm on Sunday after his car was spotted by patrolling officers.

"Police were basically able to take him by surprise," Detective Inspector Jason Shepherd said.

Detective Inspector Shepherd alleged the man had spent the day driving "erratically" up and down the Bruce Highway between Bowen and Mackay and allegedly fired a gun at a passing car on Sunday morning.

"Both vehicles have been driving quite slow in the overtaking lane," he said.

"Our person of interest has allegedly pulled out a shotgun and fired a shot at the person's vehicle, which hit the back of the driver's side door and the roof.

"They were very shaken up but uninjured."

The man was also allegedly involved in a number of fuel drive-offs.

Police have seized the man's vehicle, which will be subject to forensic examination.

"We hope to obviously find evidence that will link our person of interest and the vehicle to the crime scene [at Bluewater]," Detective Inspector Shepherd said.

Police investigate domestic violence offences

Police said the man and Ms Trickey had been in a relationship for a few months.

The pair allegedly drove to the remote area at Bluewater together on Saturday where the woman was later found dead.

Detective Inspector Shepherd said they were able to identify the man after his vehicle was captured on dash-cam footage near the scene.

Police believe the woman died on Saturday. (ABC News: Lily Nothling)

"If he's charged, it would be linked to what we call a domestic violence offence," he said.

'But at this stage there was no current domestic and family violence orders between the person of interest and the victim and police had never attended any domestic and family violence incidents between the victim and the person of interest," he said.

Police would not confirm how Ms Trickey died but said an autopsy would be carried out on Tuesday.

Detective Inspector Shepherd said both she and the person of interest were known to police.

The man remains in custody in Mackay, where he will be questioned by detectives.

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