Human remains have been found beneath the family home of a Victorian man missing for five years.

Human remains have been found beneath the family home of Daniel O’Keeffe, a Victorian man who has been missing for almost five years.

Daniel has not been seen since the morning of July 15, 2011, when he disappeared without explanation. The then-24-year-old had recently been diagnosed with depression and it is believed that he did not have any of his personal belongings on him at the time of his disappearance.

The Herald Sun is reporting that a crime scene has been established at the O’Keeffe’s Geelong property after Daniel’s father, Des, discovered several bones earlier this afternoon. Police are yet to officially confirm whether the remains belong to the missing man, but the O’Keeffe family have posted the following statement on the Facebook page dedicated to finding Daniel:

In the years since Daniel’s disappearance, his parents and sister, Loren O’Keeffe, have travelled across Australia to investigate reported sightings of the young man, including one seemingly credible report from south-east Queensland.

Loren has taken a particularly active role in the search for her brother, even quitting her job in to fully devote her time to running the Dan Come Home campaign, which has reached hundreds of thousands of social media users.

Loren also established the Missing Persons Advocacy Network in 2013, an organisation that seeks to offer support and practical advice to families and friends of missing people.

Just months after her brother’s disappearance, Loren penned a piece for Mamamia, in which she described the torment of ‘not knowing’.

It’s been over a year since I saw you, Dan. That’s the longest I’ve ever had to go without seeing your smile and hearing that laugh. I’m terrified that those sights, sounds and effortlessly hilarious ‘Dad jokes’ of yours will fade before I see you again. I wish I had more videos of you being you…

It has consumed me, and regardless of what the well-intentioned say, Dan will continue to be my sole focus. I love him, and as exhausted, frustrated and crazy as all of this is making me, I can’t give up.

The worst (and most common) question to answer is ‘What does your gut tell you?’. Those ‘feelings’ people get in the movies; they’re not guaranteed. I have no idea what, how or where. It plagues our minds – we just don’t know.”