LATEESHA Nolan went missing in 2005. Malcolm Naden was convicted of her murder in 2012 after one of NSW’s biggest ever manhunts caught the fugitive near Gloucester.
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Today, police will resume the search for Ms Nolan’s body after a bone found near an area excavated in 2012 was confirmed to belong to Ms Nolan.
A member of the public found the bone, which police said was forensically examined.
DNA testing confirmed the bone belonged to Lateesha, who went missing in 2005.
Malcolm Naden was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders of Ms Nolan and Kristy Scholes, as well as the attempted murder of a police officer he shot while on the run near Nowendoc, and child sex assault charges.
The State Crime Command Homicide Squad’s Strike Force Durkin will run a coordinated search of a riverbank near Butlers Falls on Tuesday in the hopes they can locate Ms Nolan’s remains.
The search is expected to take several days.
Lateesha's father Mick Peet said he received a call on Monday from the homicide squad about the discovery and DNA confirmation.
"It is a pretty big shock,'' Mr Peet said.
"I always had in the back of my mind about whether [Naden] was telling the truth [about where he told investigators he buried Lateesha].
"I guess he was. I didn't think she would ever be found although there was always hope.''
Mr Peet will travel from Bunderberg to Dubbo to watch as the dig along the banks of the Macquarie River unfolds.
Homicide Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Mick Willing said detectives are determined to find Lateesha’s remains.
“We now know we are looking at the right spot, which is near the 2012 excavation, but changes to the terrain have meant this area was unexposed at that time,” Detective Superintendent Willing said.
“The loss of a loved one is never easy to deal with, but the grief can be even harder to overcome when you can’t lay them to rest.”
“For more than a decade investigators have been following every line of inquiry in hope of ending the family’s search for answers.
“We hope we will soon be able allow them to properly – and respectfully – say goodbye.”