Police found human remains off a bush track near Sorrento following a tip off from a member of the public, homicide detectives have revealed.
A crime scene has been established next to Diamond Bay where a body was found at 12.15pm on Friday, about 200 metres from a beach car park.
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Body discovered in Sorrento bushland
A body has been found at Sorrento on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula after police received a tip-off from the public. Video courtesy Network 10.
The body was found in thick scrub, about 3 metres from a bush track.
The discovery follows last week's plea from police for information about missing Rosebud woman Joanne Martell. About two years ago, Ms Martell left the house where she was staying, her small dog, and her few possessions, and never returned.
![Police and SES near Diamond Bay Road in Sorrento.](/web/20170114045538im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/r/5/i/2/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtqxp7.png/1484317571465.jpg)
"Since we did media recently in relation to a missing person, we've had a variety of information come in - this is one aspect of the investigation," homicide squad Detective Inspector Michael Hughes told reporters at the scene on Friday.
"I'm very restricted in what IÂ can say about the information, we were told that we should look at this location."
Inspector Hughes said the remains were "in quite a bad shape" and had likely been there for a long time.
"Homicide squad received information in relation to a possible body at this location," he said. "We grid mapped the search and commenced the search just after 10am, and we've located some remains.
![Humain remains were found in bushland at Sorrento on Friday afternoon.](/web/20170114045538im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/q/y/r/j/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtqxp7.png/1484317571465.jpg)
"It's too early to say whether [they belong to] a male or female ... we'll do our usual crime scene examination. The human remains will be taken to the forensic science [laboratory] in the hope to determine their sex, in the next couple of days. It's very very early days."
Inspector Hughes said investigators were hoping to find more human remains before the search was called off.
![SES volunteers scouring bushland at Sorrento.](/web/20170114045538im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/q/y/g/f/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtqxp7.png/1484317571465.jpg)
"I think we've got what's probably almost a complete body, for want of a better word, but we don't know what else is in that scene," he said.
"What we found this morning is a number of things. People often get their belongings stolen from the beach here and they're dumped, we found a bit of that this morning, none of that is connected to our investigation this morning."
He was hopeful nearby residents or holidaymakers may know something more.
Last week, Inspector Hughes said the nature of Ms Martell's lifestyle meant there was a delay in her being reported missing, and it had taken longer for police to determine she had actually gone.
Ms Martell, 45, is the mother of a teenage daughter, and an adult son, who both live interstate.
She lived with friends, regularly moving from house to house, but never leaving the Mornington Peninsula, where she lived for most of her life.
Holidaymaker Celia Hirsh, whose beach house is opposite the dense-bushland where the remains were found, said she noticed a horse float, SES vehicles and a cordoned off area when she went swimming on Friday morning.
"It is creepy, but it's a wild, untouched area and it's not well-travelled. People walk on the path but they don't tend to move off the path," Ms Hirsh said.
Jennie Hoyle and her husband Trevor have lived on Diamond Bay Road for about 30 years.
Mrs Hoyle said in November dogs were banned from walking on the tracks around the beach, to protect Mornington Peninsula National Park's vulnerable wildlife.
"You would think dogs would have found it earlier.
"It's sad, we never used to have this happening here, people just go out and think they can do anything."
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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