New England police and emergency service volunteers will resume a search of the banks of the Mehi River on Friday after a local discovered the human bones on New Year’s Day.

On Thursday, a cadaver dog from Sydney as well as SES and RFS volunteers along with police rescue personnel scoured the area on foot, between Anne and Edward Streets.

New England Inspector Cheryl Day told the Leader it was too early to say whether the remains were that of an adult or a child.

“The items have been forwarded to Newcastle for forensic examination but we do suspect they are human remains,” she said.

“We’re not ruling anything in or anything out.

“We are keeping the next-of-kin of our missing persons informed of our investigation so far.”

Inspector Day said it was too early to link the remains to any particular missing person report but the homicide squad is not involved in the investigation.

“The initial remains were located by locals who reported it to police. The Forensic Services Group conducted a crime scene examination on New Year’s Day where the remains were located,” she said.

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“It is too early to suggest anything suspicious, we don’t believe there is anything suspicious but we are appealing for any information the community might have.”

Rescuers have been looking for anything that could be linked to the bones, with the area cordoned off and under police guard.

The results of the forensic examinations of the remains in Newcastle is expected to take sometime.

“At this stage, we are proposing to continue [on Friday] and reassess after [then],” Inspector Day said.

Anyone with information on the remains is urged to contact Moree police on 6757 0799.

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