Sinister twist in case of missing mum Tayla Spies as grim theory emerges about ‘person of interest’ who could hold key to mystery – after human remains were found 1km from her abandoned ute

A retired top detective who has solved some of the country’s most gruesome and baffling murders has put forward the theory that a missing mum may have been killed by a backpacker.

Former Victoria Police homicide detective Charlie Bezzina told Daily Mail Australia investigators probing the disappearance of young Queensland mum Tayla Spies would already be honing in on murder suspects.

Mr Bezzina’s insight comes after police searching for Ms Spies discovered human remains on Friday, 1km from where the 29-year-old’s 2017 Toyota Hilux was found the day before.

Officers ‘suspect’ the remains may be that of Ms Spies, but cannot confirm until a forensic examination has been completed.

The mother-of-three was seen driving on the Carnarvon Highway after she had earlier been captured on CCTV at a service station in the small town of Surat on February 2. 

Two months later, investigators found her abandoned vehicle near Noorindoo, a town 460km west of Brisbane, about 3pm on Thursday.

The Hilux was discovered at a Yuleba-Surat Road private property about a five minutes’ drive from where the young mum was last seen.

Mr Bezzina, who helped capture Melbourne serial killer Paul Denyer, said Ms Spies’ disappearance appeared to be ‘sinister’.

Queensland mum-of-three Tayla Spies has been missing for more than two months

Ms Spies’ Hilux was discovered at a Yuleba-Surat Road private property about five minutes’ drive from where the young mum was last seen

‘It’s a missing persons case but with a mystery like this you start to look at all aspects of this person’s life you ask yourself, “Why would a 29-year-old mum want to disappear?”,’ he said.

‘Anyone connected to this case in anyway is a person of interest.’

Mr Bezzina, who retired from Victoria Police in 2009 with several commendations, said police will almost certainly be focusing on how the ute arrived at the location it was found.

‘If someone drove the ute there then how did they leave? Is there a second vehicle that was driven away?’ he said.

‘How did the ute get to where it was found, was she with someone else, did she pick up someone? Did she pick up a backpacker? 

‘It’s definitely sinister, if she did pick up a backpacker then where did that person go? Did they do something to her and drive the vehicle to its location or did she drive the vehicle?

‘How did they leave area? Did they walk way? Was there another vehicle? Police would be trying to answer all these questions.’ 

Queensland Police detective Chief Inspector Garry Watts told a press conference on Friday that a landowner contacted police after coming across the vehicle on their land.

Ms Spies stopped at a service station in Surat where she was captured on CCTV

Ms Spies stayed at motel in Dalby before driving towards her hometown of Roma

‘He does not believe it has been there over two weeks, however, we are making inquiries just to ascertain the veracity of that,’ he said.

‘The vehicle was locked and an amount of property that we believe belongs to Tayla was located in the vehicle.

‘It was not in a good condition, put it that way.’

Det Insp Watts said investigators also found the pink shirt Ms Spies was seen wearing in CCTV footage on the day she went missing.

He said investigators are yet to find a connection between Ms Spies and the property.

Police had been searching a 9,000sq kilometre area of bushland around the towns of Surat, Yuleba, Meandarra and Glenmorgan before they found Ms Spies’ ute.

Investigators have also accessed her social media accounts and were monitoring her bank accounts.

Officers have set up a search and recovery base at the landholder’s address and, along with the SES, they are conducting a grid search to locate any items of interest.

Officers ‘suspect’ they may be the remains of Ms Spies but cannot confirm until a forensic examination has been completed

Mr Bezzina described it as a ‘hard missing persons case’ as ‘Queensland is a big state’. 

‘They have a 9,000sq kilometre search radius in bushland, they would have the helicopters out for sure, they’ll be looking into flights,’ he said.

‘But its not as if police have nothing, they have the motel she stayed at in Dalby, was she with anyone? They have the CCTV, there’s no one in the ute but maybe she picked up someone (to divert her off to the backroad); they have the ute, they have human remains.

‘The public is very important, police will use the public to get as much information as they can, like any investigation police would work backwards.’

Det Insp Watts admitted the case was proving to be one of the more difficult missing persons investigations due to the vast area police are looking at.

‘Now that we’ve got a location of the motor vehicle, we can hone our resources into that area and conduct a full and thorough foot search,’ he said.

The location of the vehicle is a backroad deviation from the more direct route to Ms Spies’ hometown of Roma on the Carnarvon Hwy.

Ms Spies was captured on CCTV in Surat before she was last seen driving on the Carnarvon Highway

Ms Spies – pronounced ‘Speez’ – had spent the night at the Windsor Hotel in Dalby before she disappeared.

The next day the mother-of-three drove west and stopped at a service station in Surat, where she was captured on CCTV.

She was later observed north of Surat, driving on the Carnarvon Highway – this was the last time she was seen. 

On Saturday, shortly after police announced they had found human remains, Ms Spies’ sister Rebecca Spies vowed she will ‘bring her home’.

Rebecca Spies shared a TikTok video addressing the gruesome discovery and shared a powerful message to her missing sister.

‘I’m not done fighting for you sissy, your story is far from over!’ she said.

‘I really have tried my hardest to find her and bring her home where she belongs, and I’m not done yet.’

A friend of the Spies family had offered a $5,000 reward for information that could lead to her discovery.

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