Breakthrough in case of missing Woolworths customer Maryam Hamka with police locating what they believe is her body in bushland near iconic Cape Schanck

The body of missing Melbourne woman Maryam Hamka was reportedly found in bushland more than two years after her disappearance.

Victoria Police Detective Inspector Dave Dunstan will lead a press conference on Monday in connection with the discovery of a body in Cape Schanck earlier today.

The discovery comes a year after Toby Loughnane was ordered to stand trial for the April 2021 murder of his former partner.

A Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed that human remains, believed to be Mrs Hamka, were found in bushland off Rogers Road near Patterson Road around 10:30am on Monday.

Loughnane pleaded not guilty to the murder of his former partner and faces a lawsuit from Victoria’s High Court.

Hamka, 36, was last seen leaving a Woolworths supermarket in downtown Brunswick on April 10, 2021 after telling her family she was going to visit a friend in Brighton.

Inspector Dunstan said his sincere thoughts were with Mrs Hamka’s family and friends.

“The past two years have been very hard for them. The investigation has been laborious and lengthy in recent years and the efforts of the Missing Persons Unit resulted in the finding of the remains earlier today,” he said.

“We know this has been an incredibly difficult and traumatic time for Maryam’s family and we hope that this will end to allow Maryam to finally rest in peace.”

At its preliminary hearing last year, the court learned that a significant stain with a blood-like appearance had been found on a piece of carpet at the bottom of the stairs at Loughnane’s home in Brighton.

Maryam Hamka was captured on CCTV exiting a Woolworths supermarket in downtown Brunswick on April 10, 2021. It was the last time she was seen alive

Maryam Hamka (pictured) disappeared without a trace after telling her family she was going to visit a friend in Brighton

But no DNA profile could be obtained from the sample, forensic expert Maxwell Jones told the court.

That may be because a small amount of blood has spread, consistent with situations where a person has tried to clean up blood, he said.

“That may explain why we got such a broad luminol response in that area of ​​carpet,” he said.

Magistrate Johanna Metcalf found after a hearing that began in May that there was enough evidence to support a murder conviction even without Ms Hamka’s remains.

Another man, Oscar Newman, is also on trial, charged with helping Loughnane avoid arrest between April 11 and April 15.

He also pleaded not guilty.

Loughnane remains in custody behind bars while Newman remains free on bail.