Peter Falconio: Bones found could be from murdered Brighton student 

Peter Falconio, who lived in Hove with his girlfriend Joanne Lees, was ambushed and murdered on an Australian desert highway more than 21 years ago.

Joanne, now 47, had a gun pointed at her head and was beaten and bound by the attacker.

University of Brighton graduate Peter’s body was never found despite repeated searches.

But now remains have been found near the spot where Mr Falconio was shot dead on a remote stretch of highway in the Australian outback in 2001.

Joanne Lees and Peter Falconio in their campervan (Image: PA)

Police in Australia discovered bone fragments close to the suspected murder site in Alice Springs, in Australia's Northern Territory.

Sources confirmed to The Sydney Morning Herald that bones have been discovered and that they will be cross-checked against the Falconio case because of their age and location.

Aged just 28, Peter was shot dead by Bradley Murdoch on a remote stretch of highway in the Outback in 2001.

Other remains were found in 2003, 2004 and 2008, but none could be linked to Peter.

Peter would have turned 50 on Tuesday.

Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees celebrating his graduation from Brighton University (Image: PA)

Last year, his mum Joan, 75, appealed to "anyone with a conscience" to reveal where her son's remains are.

Despite multiple searches for the tourist's body over the years, police in Australia’s Northern Territory had not been able to track it down.

Murdoch is serving life in jail for the murder and the abduction of Peter’s girlfriend Joanne Lees, who managed to escape.

DNA in bloodstains on her clothes linked Murdoch to the crime after he was arrested in Adelaide in 2003.

• READ MORE: Video of attack on Brighton schoolboy sent to Argus - police arrest two

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One Northern Territory detective told The Sydney Morning Herald: "We have been down this track before so we are not jumping to any conclusions."

Forensics still need to analyse DNA and dental records to see if they belong to the backpacker.

Murdoch has maintained that he is innocent, and refuses to tell cops where the body is located.

It is believed that Murdoch disposed of Peter’s body between Alice Springs and Broome, 1,000 miles away in Western Australia, an area covered by a vast desert.