Searchers shocked by rapid find

AFTER eight long years, all it took was a couple of hours.

Police believe skeletal remains which likely belong to missing Innisfail woman Leeann Lapham were found at the exact spot her partner Graeme Colin Evans dumped her on a wet and wild April night in 2010.

The site lay about 20m off the side of a private driveway on Cowley Beach Rd within spitting distance of the Bruce Highway, amid dense, steep terrain.

Back when Evans left the 30-year-old's body behind, the road was a publicly accessible track used to reach a telephone tower.

Det Insp Geoff Marsh said it was no surprise the remains had not been found earlier.

He said Evans, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter and interference with a corpse in the Cairns Supreme Court on Tuesday, had shown them an area measuring about 100m x 50m where he believed the body was located.

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The Cairns Post understands a police officer, who was among close to 50 police and SES volunteers combing the site, initially spotted a skull lying unburied on top of foliage, followed by other bones which were all believed to be human.

Testing will be needed to confirm the identity of the remains.

The Cowley Beach area was hit severely during Cyclone Yasi with most trees stripped of their leaves, so officers are shocked the find came so quickly and easily.

Police and SES search a property at Cowley Beach where Innisfail man Graeme Evans has told police he dumped the body of his partner Leeann Lapham in 2010. The search resulted in finding human remains. PICTURE: STEWART MCLEAN

The search began just after 6am yesterday and ended about 9.30am when the Innisfail-based Senior Constable Scott Hayes yelled out: "I've got a find."

Sweat-drenched police officers, including the region's Insp Steve Kersley, recounted their relief at finally having some answers for Ms Lapham's family.

Her mother Kerry Johnson attended court on Tuesday to hear Mr Evans' guilty plea.

Kerry Johnson leave the Cairns courthouse after watching Graeme Evans plead guilty to her daughter Leeann Lapham's manslaughter. PHOTO: TONI CALDWELL

"There is a sense of exhilaration," Det Insp Marsh said.

"It's not so much for the Queensland Police officers because that's our job.

"We are advocates for the family and that's how I see the role of detectives and all our police officers, we're advocates for victims. If we can bring a resolution which makes a victim's life a bit better, that's our job satisfaction.

"Hopefully, this is the next chapter to bring closure to Leeann's family."

Specialist scientific officers spent yesterday removing the remains from the site and they will undergo DNA testing, along with other examinations.

Det Insp Marsh said police were consulting with a local anthropological expert regarding the discovery.