Police will return to rugged bushland in Tasmania’s north-west this weekend after earlier locating human remains and clothing believed to belong to missing Belgian tourist Celine Cremer.
A team of six search-and-rescue officers and two wilderness paramedics will be winched by helicopter into a remote section of the Arthur River near Waratah on Sunday for the two-day operation.
Western district commander Nathan Johnston said the search would concentrate on a 350-metre stretch of riverbed between two locations where items were previously found.
“Specialised equipment will be used to clear natural log jams in case relevant materials have become trapped,” he said.
The suspected remains of Cremer, 31, are believed to have been carried downstream from Philosopher Falls.
Johnston said volunteers and SES members had been ruled out because of the dangerous conditions.
“The environment requires specialist training and equipment and the associated safety and liability risks mean this aspect of the search must be undertaken by police specialists,” he said.
“Our priority is to recover as much as we can, to build a complete picture of what has occurred and to help provide answers for Celine’s family.”
“That remains at the heart of this operation.”
Human remains, along with a polar fleece jacket and thermal top, were discovered in late January about two and a half kilometres from the falls.
Forensic testing to confirm the identity is expected to take several weeks.
Cremer was last seen in the small town of Waratah on June 17, 2023.
Her car was found in the Philosopher Falls car park nine days later, but an extensive search failed to find any trace of her.
Sub-zero temperatures, snow and rain followed in the days after her disappearance.
The case was reignited in December when a private search party organised by Cremer’s family discovered her phone less than 100 metres from its last GPS location.
A volunteer searcher located the human remains believed to belong to Cremer last month.
