BONES NOT MISSING MAN’S
ACTING Detective Senior Sergeant Christopher Knight has moved to clear up any suspicion that bones found in a search for the body of missing Brisbane man Sam Price-Purcell did not belong to a human.
“I want to be very clear about that. They are definitely not human remains,” Snr-Sgt Knight said.
Images of animal bones uncovered in the dig were televised on Channel 7 News on Wednesday night, but Snr-Sgt Knight said it was important the public understood they were not Sam Price-Purcell’s.
“If that was left unresolved that could be very upsetting to the owners of the property,” he said.
Snr-Sgt Knight said the property owners were not suspects in the investigation.
“Given the size of the property and the number of people have had access to the property of a period of time, it is not automatic that the (current owners) own everything on the property,” he said.
He said Sam Price-Purcell had not lived at the residence in the past.
In a foot search of the area on Tuesday, police uncovered firearms, rifle cartridges and drug paraphernalia.
“There will be further investigation into the items that were found.”
Snr-Sgt Knight said the digging would continue today.
“They are still digging and sieving ... they got through one area and it was easier to process because of consistency of the soil and have now moved on to other areas.”
Police detectives and SES volunteers will continue to church the earth around the 70-hectare property five minutes South of Leyburn.
Work is expected to continue for the next day, but Snr-Sgt Knight said he was confident they were looking in the right place.
“We have come here for a very good reason because we truly believe there is or has been evidence at this property and we won’t leave until we’re satisfied we’ve done everything humanly possible.”
Snr-Sgt Knight said the investigation was in its early stages and no charges had been laid.