A toddler’s remains have been discovered buried in a back garden by officers probing a disappearance. Police uncovered the body, which had been there for more than a decade, following six hours of excavation.

The devastating find of the 18-month-old boy occurred at a property in Melbourne, Australia. The child was interred in a ‘grave’ merely 50cm below ground level at the Brookfield residence, according to 7 News.

It’s understood that the remains belong to a youngster who resided at the address with his two siblings in 2014, before the family departed overseas, possibly to Albania. The tot wasn’t reported as missing at the time, but Melton Crime Investigation Unit launched an inquiry into his disappearance earlier this year, The Mirror reports.

The property’s present owner was informed by officers that they suspected a body might be buried just metres from his rear entrance. This revelation stunned both the resident and the broader community.

He remarked: “Something like this is not supposed to happen but it’s happened 14 years ago. Something very bad. Very terrible.”

Victoria Police emphasised that the current occupants have no link to the investigation or the former inhabitants of the dwelling. The force also confirmed that the remains are yet to be formally identified, though it’s believed they received a tip-off from a family member of the toddler who could no longer keep the information secret.

The police said in a statement: “On Monday, 8 December, with assistance from the Missing Persons Squad, Australian Federal Police, Major Crime Scene Unit and the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, the property was searched.

“A preliminary excavation of the area uncovered the yet to be formally identified human remains around 1:30pm. The coroner has been advised and a post-mortem will occur in due course.

“The Missing Persons Squad will now assume primacy of the investigation which remains ongoing.”

It remains unclear whether authorities have contacted Albanian officials, though Australia maintains an extradition agreement with the Balkan nation.

Missing Persons officers in Australia are simultaneously working to trace a missing four year old. The youngster Gus Lamont vanished just over two months ago into the expansive Australian outback.

The blonde curly-haired child has been characterised as both timid and adventurous. His disappearance has attracted enormous media coverage and consequently extensive police searches.

Statistics indicate that approximately 50,000 people go missing in Australia annually, though the vast majority, 99 per cent, are located.

Of this figure, many of the disappearances are considered deliberate, whilst those that are accidental frequently involve becoming lost or result from mental health issues.

According to the Australian Federal Police’s National Missing Persons Coordination Centre, roughly two thirds of those who disappear are under the age of 18.