Human remains discovered in wooded area in Barton-on-Sea are that of missing Highcliffe woman Isobel Munro

Officers set up a cordon on a large area of Long Meadow off Willow Walk in Barton-on-Sea following the discovery at around 10.10am on Tuesday morning.

Yesterday, following a post mortem examination, police confirmed the remains are that of Isobel Munro.

Isobel was reported missing in April 2016. Her family have been informed.

A section of Long Meadow remains cordoned off while specialist officers from Hampshire Constabulary’s Major Crime Team continue to carry out forensic enquiries.

Dorset Police are continuing to work with Hampshire Constabulary to ascertain the exact circumstances surrounding the death which is currently being treated as unexplained.

Five police cars and forensics vehicles were parked along Grove Road, which is located near to the meadow, on Thursday morning.

Police were manning the cordon with one police car parked on the grass.

A dog walker at the park claimed that he had found a human femur bone next to a bin by the Long Meadow car park on Tuesday morning.

He added: “That was at about 10am and I called the police, who were initially looking at the car park. When I came back to the park at about 3.30pm, the place was swarming with police.”

He claimed that police had subsequently found a body on Tuesday afternoon.

One man, who asked not to be named, said: “There have been police cars, vans and scenes of crime with police in Long Meadow for 24-hours a day since Tuesday.

"On Wednesday, there were around 12 police cars in Grove Road and they have spotlights on at night, as well as numbers being put down by the forensics officers.”

Joan Rumell, 92, who lives nearby, said: “At night there are still five police cars on the road.

“The police are going into the woods with cameras and there are people dressed in white forensic suits and masks.”

Her sister, Babs Stainer, aged in her eighties, said: “The police have shone the lights over the park through the night. But to find remains means that it must have been there for a while.”

Fellow resident, Liz Bedding, 69, said: “There has been masses of police. It’s normally such a safe area. I knew that it must be something serious because of the number of police cars.”