A 16-MONTH search to find an elderly missing man has ended in tragic circumstances after police confirmed they had found his remains on the banks of a river.
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Forensic testing has confirmed skeletal remains discovered along the Mehi River in early-January are those of Moree man, William 'John' Torrens.
The 75-year-old disappeared on January 5, 2018, from Fairview Retirement Village where he was living in Victoria Terrace in Moree after walking out.
Despite public appeals from his devastated family and extensive land and air searches of nearby areas, there was no trace of the elderly man who was last seen walking out of the retirement village with a plastic bag.
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The bones were discovered almost a year to the day since he disappeared, after a walker made the gruesome find on the morning of January 1.
A crime scene was set-up which was combed by specialist forensic police.
Extra officers from across the Western Region, police rescue personnel along with a cadaver dog from Sydney, and SES and RFS volunteers were also deployed to scour the riverbank during a three-day search in a bid to shed more clues to the remains, or anything connected to them.
Police believed the remains were human but previously ruled out a connection to Mr Torrens. The remains were forwarded to a specialist laboratory in Newcastle for examination.
On Friday night, investigators said further DNA and forensic testing has confirmed the remains are that of Mr Torrens.
New England police said the death is not being treated as suspicious and a brief of evidence will now be prepared for the coroner.