Police have discovered further human remains in a south London park.
The Metropolitan Police were alerted to the grim discovery in Rowdown Fields, off Lodge Lane in New Addington shortly before 9am on Tuesday.
Police consulted with a forensic anthropologist who confirmed that what had been found was human.
The incident is being treated as murder and officers currently believe the remains belong to one victim.
Detective Inspector Martin Thorpe, who is leading the investigation, said: “As you would expect, my team is working extremely hard in the early stages of this investigation to coordinate the search effort and carry out enquiries as quickly and as thoroughly as possible.
“We are not going to give specific details on our search of the area, but I can confirm that since yesterday we have recovered further remains.”
DI Thorpe added that police are still searching the area and people may continue to see officers in the area.
He said: “Samples have been sent away for urgent forensic analysis and I anticipate that a special post-mortem examination will take place later this week.
“Our priority is to identify the victim, but until we are in possession of fuller facts, informed by the post-mortem examination we are not in a position to confirm the person’s age, ethnicity, or gender.
“A family has lost their loved one, and as a team, we are focusing on finding them and securing the answers they will need to come to terms with their loss."
A crime scene remains in place in Rowdown Fields and enquiries are ongoing.
The site in Croydon is just a few hundred yards from two local schools.
The police remain in contact with partners and community members and officers will remain at the scene overnight.
Officers are not searching any other sites at this stage.
Superintendent Lewis Collins said: “This is a very disturbing discovery and over the last day or so, the community in our borough has pulled together to give officers the space they need to carry out this important work.
“We are very appreciative of their support and we continue to ask that speculation on this case is kept to a minimum. We will keep people informed as soon as we have updates to share.”
