Body hunt intensifies in NSW bush
POLICE are renewing their search for the remains of murdered Wagga Wagga chef Allecha Boyd later today when they focus on a new stretch of bushland.
The 27-year-old was last seen alive in August last year at Coolamon, a township northwest of Wagga, in NSW's southwest. Police allege she was murdered on the afternoon of Friday August 10, 2017.
Samuel John Shephard, 37, and Wagga Wagga man Anthony Shane Hagan, 19, have been charged with her murder and are currently before the courts.
Authorities will start searching Lester State Forest, near Wagga Wagga, today in an attempt to locate Ms Boyd's body. Police are expected to address media this morning.
Ms Boyd, a cousin of Collingwood AFL star Will Hoskin-Elliott, had not contacted her family, accessed her bank accounts or posted to social media since August 10. Her frantic family fronted a police appeal for information and posted pleading messages daily on Facebook for information.
Initially her loved ones clung to the hope she could still be alive, but as the weeks went on they grew more fearful.
After the arrests, police vowed that bringing Ms Boyd home to her family was their "sole objective".
"This is very much an ongoing investigation. There is still a number of inquiries to be made and more people to speak with," Detective Inspector Darren Cloake said after Mr Hagan's arrest.
"If we had located Allecha it probably would have brought [the family] a little bit closer to knowing the full extent of what's taken place, but unfortunately for us at this point we were unable to do that," Detective Inspector Cloake said.
