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The body of 22-year-old Grace Millane believed to have been murdered by a tinder dater has been found in New Zealand’s Waitakere Ranges.
Police had earlier declared the portion of Scenic Drive of interest in their investigation into the disappearance of Ms Millane, who went missing on December 1, and the area has been under police guard since Sunday morning.
Her family have been left ‘devastated’ by the development, Auckland City Police Detective Inspector Scott Beard said.
‘The evidence we have located so far, our scene examination, some of the CCTV footage we have, and our investigation, has determined that Grace is no longer alive and that this is a murder investigation,’ he said.
The body was found about 10 metres from the side of the road, hidden in bushland, and is believed to have been taken there in a rental car that was recently found nearly 300 kilometres away in Taupo.
A 26-year-old New Zealand man, who is said to have been on a Tinder date with the woman on the night she was last seen, has been charged with her murder.
Detective Inspector Bread confirmed the arrest of a 26-year-old man believed to behind the brutal murder of Ms Millane.
“He was brought back to the Auckland Central Police Station and is currently speaking to us in relation to the murder of Grace Millane.
“Sadly the evidence we have gathered to this point of the inquiry has established that this is a homicide.
“Grace’s family has been advised of this development and they are devastated. The man is still being spoken to at this point.
He added: “Obviously this means that we are treating Grace’s disappearance as a homicide investigation.”
She graduated from the University of Lincoln in September with a degree in advertising and marketing and had embarked on a year-long worldwide trip.
After visiting Peru she arrived in New Zealand on November 20 and had been near-daily contact with her family until December 1 – the day before her 22nd birthday.
The last confirmed sighting of Ms Millane was at 9.41pm the same day at the Citylife Hotel in central Auckland, when she was seen with a ‘male companion’.