Police have found human remains believed to be missing Melbourne woman Isla Bell and have charged a man with murder.
Ms Bell was last seen six-and-a-half weeks ago, leaving her home address, just days before her 20th birthday at about 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 at Dandenong in Melbourne’s south-east on Tuesday evening and are yet to be formally identified.
A 53-year-old St Kilda man has since been charged with murder, while a 57-year-old Hampton man has been charged with assist offender (murder).
A 63-year-old Mulgrave man was released pending further enquiries.
The Missing Persons Squad formally took over the investigation in late October.
Isla’s family has been notified.
Two men have been charged after police found suspected human remains in their search for 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 was keen to talk about a recent night out and a new friend.
‘She was just about to tell me all about her night … she abruptly stopped replying before giving me any more details,’ the anonymous friend said.
‘She was very eager and excited to tell me all about it, then radio silence.’
Another friend said Ms Bell had struggled with mental health issues and did sometimes disappear for days at a time, but her recent disappearance was out of the ordinary.
They said: ‘The messages to her friend the night she disappeared were really sus, real dodgy crowd.’
‘The police have been pinging her and such but to not much immediate avail.’
Ms Bell’s mother, Justine Spokes, shared her worries online.
‘My girl is missing and dearly missed,’ she wrote on Facebook.
‘She leaves an impression, she’s hard to forget. She has a fighting spirit, sometimes it’s loud and sometimes it’s soft, always enduring.
‘We’re here for you bub. I love you my care bear.’
Isla Bell, 19, was last seen leaving her Brunswick home, in Melbourne’s inner city, about 6pm on October 4
Ms Spokes later revealed the family had been planning to visit the Great Barrier Reef for Ms Bell’s 20th birthday and became alarmed when they couldn’t reach her.
‘Hey bub. We’re looking forward to our reef trip for your birthday coming up,’ her mum Justine Spokes wrote in a public message after she vanished.
‘We’ve been trying to call you to book flights. Let us know your thoughts.
‘We love you my darling.’
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