THE Adelaide Plains has firmed as a major area of interest for police as they investigate the disappearance and suspected murder of 32-year-old Michael Jeffrey Purse.
Major Crime detectives and State Emergency Service personnel searched a Pinkerton Plains property on Thursday morning in the hunt of evidence and Mr Purse’s body.
Officer in charge of Major Crime Detective Superintendent Des Bray confirmed after the search no body was found, but police did locate a “number of items of interest”.
The home belonged to a relative of a suspect in the case, who police stressed was not involved in Mr Purse’s disappearance.
Police will now search more locations in the Adelaide Plains area for evidence and Mr Purse’s body in the coming days and weeks.
“We know how Michael was killed and what was used to kill him,” detective superintendent Bray said.
“Today we’ve been looking for a couple of items associated with his death, also, a green floral rug which his body was wrapped into before being placed into the boot.
“The investigators have some pretty solid grounds as to why they wanted to search this property and the other locations. We’ll do that over the coming days and weeks.”
The search came just days after police made a call out for a “well-meaning passer-by” who helped a bogged car in the Adelaide Plains area on February 7 last year, which detectives believe was driven by Mr Purse’s killers in an attempt to dump his body.
It is then believed the killers returned to the area to dispose of the body the following day.
Detective Superintendent Bray confirmed two men contacted police and identified themselves as the people who assisted the bogged car and were now assisting police.
While he refrained from confirming the exact site the car was bogged, he did say it was “around 30-35km… towards” Port Wakefield Road than the Pinkerton Plains property.
“For us it’s been a wonderful response by them (the men who assisted the bogged car). They saw it and contacted us straight away and we’ve spoken to them,” Detective Superintendent Bray said.
“What’s even better is he actually sent somebody a text message at the time which he still had. They are very crystal clear memories of what these offenders look like and the conversations they had with them.”
Detective superintendent Bray said two of the suspected three killers are already in police custody, with detectives searching for more evidence to compel the suspects to reveal where they allegedly dumped the 32-year-old’s body.
“We will hope to find evidence connecting the offenders to the murder, or find Michael,” he said.
“The main offenders are in custody, so they don’t present a risk at the moment. But we really want to have a comprehensive and water-tight brief when we move to arrest.
“We don’t need to recover Michael’s body to prosecute anybody, but obviously after the arrest, if we don’t have the body that will be a major focus.
“We have legislation which means once these offenders are arrested and convicted, if they don’t cooperate and provide the location of Michael’s body, the parole board must never consider their release.”