Human remains found during search for missing Victorian woman Isla Bell
Police have found human remains believed to be missing Melbourne woman Isla Bell and charged a man with her murder.
Mrs Bell was last seen six and a half weeks ago, leaving her home address just days before her twentieth birthday at around 6pm on October 4.
On Wednesday, detectives from the Missing Persons Squad arrested three men after executing search warrants at two properties in Bentleigh East and Mulgrave.
The remains were found in Dandenong in Melbourne’s south-east on Tuesday evening and have yet to be formally identified.
A 53-year-old man from St. Kilda has since been charged with murder, while a 57-year-old man from Hampton has been charged with accessory after the fact (murder).
A 63-year-old Mulgrave man was also released pending further inquiries.
The Missing Persons Squad formally took over the investigation in late October.
Isla’s family has been informed.
Two men have been charged after police found suspected human remains during their search of Isla Bell
Shortly after her disappearance, Ms Bell’s best friend revealed that their last conversation took place on October 7 – three days after Ms Bell was reportedly last seen.
During that conversation, she wanted to talk about a recent night out and a new boyfriend.
“She was about to tell me all about her night… she abruptly stopped answering before giving me more details,” the anonymous friend said.
“She really wanted to tell me all about it, then radio silence.”
Another friend said Ms Bell struggled with mental health problems and would sometimes disappear for days, but her recent disappearance was extraordinary.
They said: ‘The messages to her friend on the night she disappeared were really sus, a really unreliable audience.’
“The police pinged her and such, but without much immediate results.”
Ms Bell’s mother, Justine Spokes, shared her concerns online.
Isla Bell, 19, was last seen leaving her home in Brunswick, inner-city Melbourne, around 6pm on October 4.
“My girl is missing and dearly missed,” Ms. Spokes wrote on Facebook.
‘She leaves an impression, she is difficult to forget. She has a fighting spirit, sometimes loud and sometimes soft, always persistent.
“We’re here for you, buddy. I love you, my carebear.”
Mrs Spokes later revealed the family had planned to visit the Great Barrier Reef for Mrs Bell’s 20th birthday and became alarmed when they could not reach her.
“Hey rascal. We look forward to our reef trip for your birthday coming up,” her mother Justine Spokes wrote in a public post after she disappeared.
‘We tried calling you to book flights. Let us know your opinion.
“We love you, my love.”
