POLICE are investigating whether a skeleton discovered in a dried-up creek in rural NSW belongs to sheep farmer Wayne Cooke, who vanished in mysterious circumstances nine years ago.
Bushwalkers found the human remains yesterday, sparking an investigation by detectives who are treating the find as suspicious.
A search of the surrounding area on Monday found several more bones, all thought to be part of the same set of remains.
Items of footwear were also found, Detective Inspector Dean Smith said.
He said the disappearance of Mr Cooke, 51, a sheep farmer, who vanished on October 5, 2001 was among several lines of inquiry and that police were now speaking to his family.
"Obviously there is an unsolved missing persons case and people are going to talk about that. We'll be working with the family in the next few days to try and establish more," Det Insp Smith said.
"It's in the same sort of area where he disappeared."
Other lines of inquiry were also open and more would become clear once DNA samples and dental records had been checked, he added.
The bones are now being examined by forensics experts.
So far, no age, sex or cause of death has been established.
The bones were found about 9am yesterday in a creek near Pipe Clay Road, Koorawatha, southwest of Cowra.
Det Insp Smith said he was confident most of the skeleton had been recovered following today's search and described the bones as being in "reasonable condition".
Locals believe they belong to Mr Cooke.
"It'd be too much of a coincidence for it not to be him," Koorawatha farmer Les Sutherland said.
"The bones were found very near his land. It'd be too much of a coincidence."
Police said at the time of his disappearance they believed Mr Cooke probably committed suicide.
There was significant evidence to support the theory.
Mr Cooke's childhood home burned down about six weeks before he vanished.
Friends also say he had lost a number of close relatives, including his mother, in the months before his disappearance and that he was finding life as a farmer tough going.
But not everyone was convinced.
"Not the locals, some of us think there was foul play," Mr Sutherland said.
"Until the police do their work we won't know for sure.
"But whatever happened, if it is Wayne it will bring a little bit of closure for everyone to know what happened to him."
Alan Gruessing used to shear Mr Cooke's sheep and led four substantial searches for him on the rugged terrain around Koorawatha.
He remains open minded about the find but admits agrees will bring some closure to the community.
"Where the body was found, it was searched twice by the State Emergency Service at the time and they didn't find anything," Mr Gruessing said.
"If it is him it's not where you'd expect to find him."
