Body found by police in New Zealand believed to be murdered Briton
A BODY believed to be that of British backpacker Grace Millane has been found near a beauty spot on the outskirts of Auckland, New Zealand.
Detective Inspector Scott Beard of Auckland City Police said yesterday that formal identification was yet to take place, although he added that “based on the evidence we have gathered over the past few days we expect that this is Grace”.
A 26-year-old man has been charged with the 22-year-old’s murder and is due to appear at Auckland District Court today.
Detectives investigating Ms Millane’s disappearance said they had identified a “location of interest” after the investigation led them to a spot on Scenic Drive, a country road around 12 miles west of the city centre, on Saturday night.
Speaking at the scene yesterday afternoon, Det Insp Beard said investigators had “located a body which we believe to be Grace” around 10m from the roadside.
Victim: Grace Millane
“The formal identification process will now take place however, based on the evidence we have gathered over the past few days, we expect that this is Grace,” he said.
“Obviously this brings the search for Grace to an end. It is an unbearable time for the Millane family and our hearts go out to them.”
A stretch of the road was closed yesterday afternoon while forensics officers scoured the area.
Scenic Drive snakes through dense rainforest in the Waitakere Ranges, west of Auckland. The spot where police found the body is in the vicinity of the Waitakere Reservoir and dam, a beauty spot with hiking trails.
Det Insp Beard revealed that investigators are analysing a hire car as part of the probe. The red Toyota Corolla hatchback was hired from a central Auckland rental firm just before lunchtime on December 2, the day after Ms Millane was last seen alive.
The last confirmed sighting of Ms Millane was at 9.41pm on December 1, the day before her birthday, at the Citylife Hotel in central Auckland, when she was seen with a “male companion”.
Since arriving in New Zealand from Peru on November 20 she had been in near-daily contact with her family.
Police received a missing person report last Wednesday and commenced a major search and public campaign that saw dozens of calls made to a helpline.
Ms Millane’s father, David Millane, flew to Auckland and made a public appeal for help in finding his daughter, who he described as “lovely, outgoing, fun-loving (and) family-orientated”.