Police have discovered bones in Mt Brown bushland while searching for the remains of a man suspected of killing his de facto wife 36 years ago.Forensic officers will examine the bones today but Lake Illawarra Detective Senior Sergeant Darren Kelly, who led the weekend search, does not believe they are those of wanted man Noel Thomas Foster."Some bones were located but we believe they're of animal origin," Snr Sgt Kelly said.
Police search bush in unsolved murder caseNothing else was discovered in the thick lantana at the weekend.About 15 police officers and 22 Volunteer Rescue Association and State Emergency Service personnel scoured the thick vegetation around Mt Brown on Saturday and again yesterday morning for clues to the whereabouts of Foster, who is accused of shooting Marion Ramsay Calder Hamilton three times at point-blank range in 1973.Ms Hamilton collapsed at the front gate of her home in Hore St, Brownsville, with two gunshots to the head and one to the chest.Foster was seen fleeing the scene, still carrying the automatic .22 calibre rifle as he ran into the Mt Brown bushland.Police set up a stake-out of the area and maintained an overnight vigil but Foster has never been seen since.Two shots were heard from the area in the following days, leading police to suspect he had killed himself, but a full-scale search in 1973 failed to find any sign of him. A warrant for his arrest is still outstanding.Snr Sgt Kelly reignited the investigation into Foster's whereabouts in May, conducting inquiries interstate and overseas. The weekend's search was the final line of investigation into whether Foster is alive or dead."I'll put all the information we have before the coroner in the new year and he'll make a determination on that," Snr Sgt Kelly said. "I don't believe he's still alive but it's up to the coroner to make a ruling."There's a range of things that could have happened, but I'd say given the length of time since (the murder) ... that leads me to believe he's dead."
