The staggering wealth of Elon Musk has hit new heights, with the Tesla CEO becoming the first person to be worth $US500 billion ($756 billion).

Musk hit the milestone after shares in Tesla surged nearly 4 per cent on the US sharemarket overnight, bumping up his personal wealth by $US9.3 billion, reports Forbes.

The electric vehicle maker's share price has almost doubled since April when Musk said he would be spending more time running Tesla and stepping down as head of US President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

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Musk's 12 per cent stake in Tesla is now worth $US191 billion.

But it would be worth much more if a 2018 stock options compensation package today worth $US133 billion had not been declared void by a US court judge in January 2024.

The value of those options have been discounted 50 per cent by Forbes, awaiting the result of a current court appeal by Musk.

Meanwhile, his fortune could be on track to hit $US1 trillion by 2033, on the back of the Tesla's board-proposed record-breaking pay package proposed last month.

That would hand Musk additional 423.7 million additional shares of Tesla stock worth up to $US1 trillion.

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But he would get those shares only if the value of Tesla stock increases significantly in coming years.

Musk's half-a-trillion-dollar fortune has also been bolstered by the performance of his other companies.

His 42 per cent stake in SpaceX is worth $US168 billion, while his shares in xAI Holdings, the AI company founded by Musk, are valued at $US60 billion.

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In a ferocious competition, 12 chunky brown bears in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve have been battling it out in one of the most cutthroat places on the planet – the internet.

As part of the park's annual Fat Bear Week, the oversized ursines are pitted against each other in online popularity contests, where fans from around the world vote for the bear they like best.

A live camera lets voters follow along with the bears as they forage for salmon in a last-gasp chance to pack on the pounds ahead of their upcoming winter hibernation.

READ MORE: A wild party broke out a Elaine's house. Weeks later, she vanished

After one week of voting, bears competed against each other until only two challengers remained – numbers 856 and 32.

This year's winner is bear 32, AKA Chunk.

In addition to his impressive girth, Chunk's Cinderella story appealed to voters as he suffered from a jaw injury that threatened to derail his salmon-eating activities. He defeated bear 602, affectionately known as "Flotato," by roughly 70 per cent to 30 per cent in the semis to secure his place in the final.

Meanwhile, bear 856 beat last year's reigning champion, 128 Grazer, by around 68 per cent -32 per cent in the semis. Grazer was the last female bear left in the competition.

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Bear 856 lost out to Chunk 60.2 per cent – 39.8 per cent in the final round of voting, which was held Tuesday. The final total was 96,350 votes for Chunk and 63,725 for 856.

Beyond the fun of selecting a chubby champion, Fat Bear Week is also an opportunity to educate people about brown bears and their habitat in Alaska.

The contest, which began in 2014, spotlights the work rangers do at Katmai, the fourth-largest national park in the US.

To survive Alaska's punishing winters, brown bears spend the season hibernating in their dens.

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The more weight they put on ahead of that, the more likely they are to survive the season. That goes double for pregnant bears, who usually enter their dens earlier than their peers.

As Katmai's website notes, "fat bears are successful bears," so it's safe to say all the park's brown bears are winners.

Chunk will now have his photo added to the Fat Bear Week Hall of Champions, where previous winners are honoured for their achievements.

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A group of Western Australian sea kayakers has come face-to-face with a five-metre great white shark for the second time in four days.

The group rafted together for safety while the sea predator circled them for 15 minutes yesterday, as a rescue helicopter and nearby boats raced to help them.

Last night, they were pinching themselves that they lived to tell the tale – twice.

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After setting off yesterday morning from Hillarys Dog Beach in Perth's north, about 10am, the monster approached and lurked beneath the surface.

Allen Halsy was the first to spot the apex predator approaching.

"I just looked out of the corner of my eye and I saw something and looked and the shark came in really fast and it's fin was out of the water and it was going straight to the back of their boat," he told 9News.

The same kayaking club was out paddling out on Saturday when an almost identical situation occurred, with a different great white circling them in a similar spot.

"It was a different one because this was a tagged shark and I think it was a little bit smaller as well and I just said 'oh no, not again'," fellow kayaker Richard Lailey told 9News.

Lailey said they didn't really know what the shark's intentions were.

"He carried on circling us and circling us and he swam under us a few times as well," he said.

It's an incredibly rare event many will never experience in a lifetime, let alone twice in four days.

"When you're just sitting in those little flimsy kayaks out there, you're really at very low water level [and] when that shark's coming up, you could just about touch it," Halsy said.

A shark warning was still in place for the state's northern beaches last night from Scarborough to Ocean Reef.

There have been 11 tagged sharks and sightings between Ocean Reef and Waterman's Bay since Saturday, with experts urging caution and warning that vessels such as kayaks offer little protection.

It's not the first time in WA great whites have taken an interest in paddlers.

In 1997, Brian Sierakowski and John Hanrahan encountered a shark that attacked their surf ski off Cottesloe Beach.

Martin Kane's water craft was torn apart in Mullaloo by a great white in 2012.

Yesterday's kayakers said they were completely undeterred by the two close encounters and planned to get back on the water this weekend.

"These experiences come in threes, so I'll see you down here at the weekend," Lailey said.

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On its surface, the NSW Sutherland Shire was a carefree place to grow up in the late 1970s, with sun, surf and good times for teenagers.

But, as portrayed in the classic novel and hit Netflix series Puberty Blues, there was also a dark underbelly to "The Shire", where wild parties, underage sex and rape could make it a dangerous place to be a young girl.

Elaine Johnson was 16 years old when she went missing in January 1980, never to reappear again. Her good friend Kerry Anne Joel was 17.

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The disappearance of the two seemingly rebellious teenage girls appeared to cause barely a blip on the police radar.

When Elaine's dad Clifford reported her missing to police, she was dismissed as a runaway, her family says.

The girls' friends weren't interviewed until more than three decades later, in 2014, and, at an inquest in 2016, it was revealed Elaine's original police file had been lost.

Key shortcomings of the police investigation into Elaine and Kerry Anne's disappearance are now being revealed in a new podcast by investigative journalist Kate Kachor, with the first episode released on Wednesday.

Elaine's sister, Helen Cooper, was just 12 years old when Elaine went missing from their family home in Kurnell.

She remembers Elaine as a bright and bubbly girl who was well-liked.

"She was just fun-loving, and she was my big sister, we looked up to her," Helen told Nine.com.au.

"She was quietly spoken, though, she wasn't a rowdy person," she said, adding she didn't believe it was in her character to run away for good and cut ties with the family.

The 2016 inquest into Elaine and Kerry Anne's disappearance, held at the State Coroner's Court of New South Wales, found the girls had likely died not long after they went missing.

The case was referred to the unsolved homicide unit, where it has rested – undisturbed and unresolved – ever since.

However, the Johnson family has never given up in their search for answers about what happened to Elaine, and strongly believes someone from within the girls' wide circle of friends and acquaintances knows or saw something.

The year before Elaine went missing was one of increasing tension in the house between Elaine and her parents.

The family had moved from Cronulla to Kurnell and Elaine wasn't happy with the decision.

"After we moved to Kurnell, Elaine often stayed away from home for a number of nights at a time," Elaine's mother June told the podcast Out From The Cold: Searching For Elaine.

"I think it was possibly because she didn't want to live in Kurnell, but wanted to be closer to her friends around Cronulla."

While Elaine didn't appear to be using drugs or drinking a lot, the behaviour was a worry to her parents.

"We often had arguments with Elaine about her not telling us where she was going and staying out a lot," June said.

Things came to a head when the family returned from a camping trip in January 1980 to find the family home trashed.

Elaine had not gone on the camping trip and had instead stayed home and thrown a wild party in her parents' absence.

"The place was in a mess," Helen said.

"There was a car that hit the front wall of the house, and it was fibro, so it had gone in and made a hole."

The bathtub was full of beer bottles and there were plates everywhere.

Incensed, Elaine's dad Clifford spoke harshly to his daughter, telling her she needed to behave like the rest of the family or find somewhere else to live.

While Elaine's parents say that was the last time they saw Elaine at the house, Helen remembers her sister sneaking back into their shared bedroom window the next evening.

A night owl, Helen would often spend time with her older sister at night while the rest of the family was asleep.

"We were watching television on the floor … she was also mucking around and taping herself singing," Helen said.

"And then I remember her eating the scrambled eggs with tomato sauce. There was so much sauce it was more like red eggs.

"That was the last time I saw her."

Over the next fortnight, Elaine stayed briefly at a flat in Gymea and two other local caravan parks.

From there, the trail goes cold and, as far as the family knows, the girls were not seen again.

A few weeks later, Elaine's worried father, who died in 2020, went to the police to report her missing.

But he had trouble convincing the police that she could be in danger.

"I know that police didn't listen to Dad properly and said, 'She's 16, she could have just run away'," Helen said.

One crucial event that could provide a clue to where Elaine went was the house party she threw, Helen said.

The odd thing was, no-one had ever admitted to being at that party, she added.

"Everyone's tight-lipped. We're wondering why. But the thing is, the more we ask, the more they sort of get hesitant," Helen said.

"It's crucial, because those people at the party would have been talking to them to get some sort of knowledge of where their headspace was, what they were thinking, where they were going."

Helen said she had heard rumours over the years of other shady activities which had been going on in the area, and felt perhaps people were covering for each other.

Given their suspicions that someone knows something, Helen and her family are calling for police to offer a reward for information that leads to solving the girls' case.

But the suggestion has so far been rebuffed.

"They should definitely offer a reward," Helen said.

"I don't understand what the problem is, because (the government) doesn't have to pay anything, unless somebody comes forth. Are they worried that someone will come forth?"

NSW Police said in a statement: "The disappearance of Kerry Joel and Elaine Johnson is an open case which sits with State Crime Command's Unsolved Homicide Team.

"A case with the Unsolved Homicide Team is never closed; it remains open until solved and is continually assessed and monitored for new information or avenues to progress the investigation."

Kachor is part of the Nine.com.au team and has been investigating Elaine and Kerry Anne's disappearance for the past two years as an independent project.

"Since I joined Helen and Wendy's search, I've been contacting old witnesses, reviewing evidence and speaking with experts to try and piece together what really happened," Kachor said.

"That's led us to some compelling new information.

"Ultimately Elaine's family is hoping that releasing this podcast will jog someone's memory – or lead a guilty conscience to finally get in touch with them or with the police."

Jane Goodall, the conservationist renowned for her groundbreaking chimpanzee field research and globe-spanning environmental advocacy, has died. She was 91.

The Jane Goodall Institute announced the primatologist's death in an Instagram post. According to the institute, Goodall died of natural causes while in California on a US speaking tour.

Her discoveries "revolutionised science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world," the Institute said.

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While living among chimpanzees in Africa decades ago, Goodall documented the animals using tools and doing other activities previously believed to be exclusive to humans, and also noted their distinct personalities.

Her observations and subsequent magazine and documentary appearances in the 1960s transformed how the world perceived not only humans' closest living biological relatives but also the emotional and social complexity of all animals, while propelling her into the public consciousness.

"Out there in nature by myself, when you're alone, you can become part of nature and your humanity doesn't get in the way," she told The Associated Press in 2021.

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"It's almost like an out-of-body experience when suddenly you hear different sounds and you smell different smells and you're actually part of this amazing tapestry of life."

In her later years, Goodall devoted decades to education and advocacy on humanitarian causes and protecting the natural world. In her usual soft-spoken British accent, she was known for balancing the grim realities of the climate crisis with a sincere message of hope for the future.

From her base in the British coastal town of Bournemouth, she traveled nearly 300 days a year, even after she turned 90, to speak to packed auditoriums around the world. Between more serious messages, her speeches often featured her whooping like a chimpanzee or lamenting that Tarzan chose the wrong Jane.

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While first studying chimps in Tanzania in the early 1960s, Goodall was known for her unconventional approach. She didn't simply observe them from afar but immersed herself in every aspect of their lives. She fed them and gave them names instead of numbers, something for which she received pushback from some scientists.

Her findings were circulated to millions when she first appeared on the cover of National Geographic in 1963 and soon after in a popular documentary. A collection of photos of Goodall in the field helped her and even some of the chimps become famous. One iconic image showed her crouching across from the infant chimpanzee named Flint. Each has arms outstretched, reaching for the other.

In 1972, the Sunday Times published an obituary for Flo, Flint's mother and the dominant matriarch, after she was found face down on the edge of a stream. Flint died about three weeks later after showing signs of grief, eating little and losing weight.

″What the chimps have taught me over the years is they're so like us. They've blurred the line between humans and animals,″ she told The Associated Press in 1997.

Goodall has earned top civilian honors from a number of countries including Britain, France, Japan and Tanzania. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2025 by then-US President Joe Biden and won the prestigious Templeton Prize in 2021.

"Her groundbreaking discoveries have changed humanity's understanding of its role in an interconnected world, and her advocacy has pointed to a greater purpose for our species in caring for life on this planet," said the citation for the Templeton Prize, which honors individuals whose life's work embodies a fusion of science and spirituality.

Goodall was also named a United Nations Messenger of Peace and published numerous books, including the bestselling autobiography "Reason for Hope."

Born in London in 1934, Goodall said her fascination with animals began around when she learned to crawl. In her book, In the Shadow of Man, she described an early memory of hiding in a henhouse to see a chicken lay an egg. She was in there so long her mother reported her missing to the police.

She bought her first book – Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes – when she was 10 and soon made up her mind about her future: Live with wild animals in Africa.

That plan stayed with her through a secretarial course when she was 18 and two different jobs. And by 1957, she accepted an invitation to travel to a farm in Kenya owned by a friend's parents.

It was there that she met the famed anthropologist and paleontologist Louis Leakey at a natural history museum in Nairobi, and he gave her a job as an assistant secretary.

Three years later, despite Goodall not having a college degree, Leakey asked if she would be interested in studying chimpanzees in what is now Tanzania. She told the AP in 1997 that he chose her "because he wanted an open mind."

The beginning was filled with complications. British authorities insisted she have a companion, so she brought her mother at first. The chimps fled if she got within 500 yards (460 metres) of them. She also spent weeks sick from what she believes was malaria, without any drugs to combat it.

But she was eventually able to gain the animals' trust. By the fall of 1960 she observed the chimpanzee named David Greybeard make a tool from twigs and use it to fish termites from a nest. It was previously believed that only humans made and used tools.

She also found that chimps have individual personalities and share humans' emotions of pleasure, joy, sadness and fear. She documented bonds between mothers and infants, sibling rivalry and male dominance. In other words, she found that there was no sharp line between humans and the animal kingdom.

In later years, she discovered chimpanzees engage in a type of warfare, and in 1987 she and her staff observed a chimp "adopt" a three-year-old orphan that wasn't closely related.

Goodall received dozens of grants from the National Geographic Society during her field research tenure, starting in 1961.

In 1966, she earned a PhD in ethology – becoming one of the few people admitted to University of Cambridge as a PhD candidate without a college degree.

Her work moved into more global advocacy after she watched a disturbing film of experiments on laboratory animals at a conference in 1986.

″I knew I had to do something,″ she told the AP in 1997. ″It was payback time.″

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and halted her in-person events, she began podcasting from her childhood home in England. Through dozens of "Jane Goodall Hopecast" episodes, she broadcast her discussions with guests including US Senator Cory Booker, author Margaret Atwood and marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.

"If one wants to reach people; If one wants to change attitudes, you have to reach the heart," she said during her first episode. "You can reach the heart by telling stories, not by arguing with people's intellects."

In later years, she pushed back on more aggressive tactics by climate activists, saying they could backfire, and criticised "gloom and doom" messaging for causing young people to lose hope.

In the lead-up to 2024 elections, she co-founded "Vote for Nature," an initiative encouraging people to pick candidates committed to protecting the natural world.

She also built a strong social media presence, posting to millions of followers about the need to end factory farming or offering tips on avoiding being paralysed by the climate crisis.

Her advice: "Focus on the present and make choices today whose impact will build over time."

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The federal government has been accused of failing to stump up tens of billions of dollars in health funding it had promised to the states and territories.

The Council for the Australian Federation (CAF) today released a statement from its most recent meeting, in which it claimed the Commonwealth is failing to honour a 2023 national cabinet agreement struck in December 2023.

Under that arrangement, the states and territories agreed to spend more on disability care to take pressure off the NDIS, which has quickly become one of the most expensive – and fastest-rising – items in the federal budget.

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In return, the federal government pledged to fund 42.5 per cent of public hospital costs by 2030 and 45 per cent by 2035.

However, the deal is yet to be formally signed off, with negotiations still ongoing.

CAF, which is composed of all state premiers and territory chief ministers, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's fellow Labor leaders Chris Minns, Roger Cook, Jacinta Allan and Peter Malinauskas, said the government's latest offer fell well short of its initial promise.

"First ministers … are concerned that the Commonwealth does not intend to honour the December 2023 National Cabinet agreement, including the commitment that states and territories would be better off overall," the CAF communique stated.

"States and territories remain committed to the deal struck in December 2023 – a key part of this deal was the Commonwealth's commitment to fund 42.5 per cent of public hospitals' costs by 2030 and 45 per cent by 2035.

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"Under the arrangement now proposed by the Commonwealth, the actual share of Commonwealth funding will be closer to 35 per cent, falling tens of billions of dollars short of what is needed."

A federal government spokesperson denied the claims that it wasn't adequately contributing to the states' and territories' health bills, pointing to an extra $20 billion in funding it had put on the table.

"The Commonwealth remains committed to the December 2023 National Cabinet deal; and we are committed to making a fair contribution under the hospital funding agreement to give Australians better access to health services they need, when they need them and to reduce pressure on hospitals," the spokesperson said.

"The Commonwealth's most recent offer to states included an additional $20 billion over five years in Commonwealth funding for public hospitals.

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"This is a $7 billion increase from the Commonwealth's most recent offer to states.

"The additional $20 billion on offer is on top of the $195.1 billion the Commonwealth is already expected to contribute to public hospitals over the five years from 26-27."

However, premiers and first ministers said the offer put forward would leave the states worse off financially and Australians without the hospital services they "rightly expect".

"States and territories are acutely aware of the need to manage growing cost pressures and activity demands on public hospitals. First Ministers noted that these increases are largely driven by factors outside the states' control …

"States and territories cannot address these issues alone. 

"While first ministers recognised the Commonwealth's efforts to improve access to care and reduce pressure on hospitals, these efforts will not shift the dial quickly enough."

The government said it was ready to negotiate in good faith and wanted a final deal signed off by the end of the year.

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In the Mood of the Boardroom survey, 68% of leaders back a partnership model.

Exclusive: Rape charges against a high profile Australian sportsperson are set to be dropped, 9News can reveal.

The well known identity had been charged over an alleged incident in 2023 and faced Geelong Magistrates Court about the matter only a fortnight ago.

A wide ranging suppression order prevents publication of the name and any identifying details of the man.

The high-profile man was facing several charges of sexual assault, including rape, but throughout had denied all charges against him.

He had been accused, along with a friend, of coaxing an intoxicated woman into her car before driving off and raping her.

However, it's understood the drawn-out matter is set to come to an abrupt end, with the process under way for the charges against him to be dropped.

The prosecution has filed paperwork with the court, indicating its intention to discontinue the matter.

The process will be formalised at a court hearing in the coming weeks.

National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 are two of the greatest games ever made. 

It's taken 15 years but Nintendo is finally offering them as part of a bundle.

Yes, it's $89.95 on the Australian eShop. Outrageously, they're available separately for $59.95! That's a lot of money for any 15-year-old game, even ones as good as Super Mario Galaxy. 

But with a 4K touch-up, new storybook pages and a Super Mario Galaxy movie on the way, it's a price that I – and many other Nintendo fans – will happily pay. 

If you've never touched either of these games before, you won't be disappointed. 

And if you've bought them before, this is the definitive way to replay them. 

I don't need to "review" the quality of these games. They're both sitting at a 97 on Metacritic. They are as close to perfect as two video games can be. 

"Mario in space" is selling these games short.

The way Nintendo plays with gravity across a seemingly endless supply of creative worlds, backed up by the company's first – and arguably best – orchestral score, is an experience every gamer should have.

So what's new in this bundle?

• Better resolution: up to 1080p on Nintendo Switch and 4K on Switch 2
• Extra story book pages, including an all new book in Galaxy 2
• An assist mode to make the game easier for newer players
• Mouse mode support for a second, helper player

Having just played Super Mario Galaxy in Nintendo's 35th anniversary bundle, I jumped straight into Super Mario Galaxy 2. 

After 50+ hours in Hollow Knight SIlksong, Mario felt like a truck at first blush. 

His moveset is jarringly limited compared to Super Mario Odyssey and Nintendo's recent hit Donkey Kong Bananza, and it will take a few levels to get used to. 

Initially, I picked up my Pro Controller to play but moving both hands around to collect star bits felt unnatural and I quickly swapped to the Joy Cons to more closely mimic the Wii. 

Pointer controls are a massive part of Galaxy 2. Eating enemies and shooting them back out as Yoshi relies on it. More demanding platforming sections also demand a level of speed and accuracy as you fling Mario into the air with floating flowers. 

The Switch 2 gyro controls hold up pretty well but your pointer will drift occasionally. It's hard to say why because at times it works flawlessly and at others my cursor would be floating off toward the right of the screen. 

Thankfully, it's very easy to reset it back to the middle of the screen with a tap of the right shoulder button. I've gotten into the habit of hitting it every time I want to use the cursor now. I don't find it too annoying, but I'm sure others may feel differently. 

If you're playing handheld, the touch screen works as your pointer. It's super accurate but you'll have to remove your hand from the controller to do so. 

As for the graphics, it's a mixed bag. 

Super Mario Galaxy 2 has never looked sharper. A few textures have changed to meet a 4K standard but you won't notice unless you're doing a side-by-side comparison with the original Wii game.

Overall, it's an excellent upgrade and the fact that levels and character models hold up on screen 15 years later is testament to excellent art design. However, part of me wishes Nintendo invested a little more. 

Some character models (Toad especially) look very jagged in 4K. 

The fur effects which were perfectly blurred at 480p on the Wii are a little too sharp in 4K. 

Lighting effects on some objects could also use a Metroid Prime: Remastered-level overhaul. Instead of being "lit", some 3D elements are noticeably shaded in different colour gradients but – at 4K – there's a noticeable line that separates the levels like rings on an elevation map. 

None of these will affect the fun you have playing this game. Far from it. This is still the prettiest Super Mario Galaxy 2 has ever looked.

I've been waiting for an excuse to replay Super Mario Galaxy 2 and on Nintendo Switch 2 it is better than ever. 

These 15-year-old masterpieces hold up remarkably in 2025 and it's crazy how well they compare against titles like Astro Bot which, in my review, I basically called it Super Mario Galaxy 3.

With The Super Mario Galaxy Movie on the way, here's hoping Nintendo rips off that band-aid and gives us a true sequel before too long.

Nintendo provided 9news.com.au with an early copy of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 for Nintendo Switch 2 for the purpose of this review.  

A police operation is under way in a regional Victorian town as part of the continued manhunt for accused cop killer Dezi Freeman.

Victoria Police confirmed a number of police and specialist resources are currently in Benalla, located around 103 kilometres from Porepunkah, for a planned operation.

Bearcat and police officers were seen in Benalla and the nearby town of Goomalibee.

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"There is no immediate risk to community safety and further information will be provided once operationally appropriate to do so," a police spokesperson said.

"This forms part of the ongoing investigation in the Porepunkah area in the search for Desmond Freeman."

There has been no official sighting of Freeman since he allegedly gunned down police officers Neal Thompson, 59, and Vadim De Waart-Hottart, 34, on August 26.

Police on Monday confirmed the number of officers on the ground in Porepunkah and surrounding regions had been scaled back since the shooting over a month ago.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said over 200 officers were still in the area, marking less than half the amount of authorities that were combing the area for Freeman weeks ago.

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Bush provided an update on the hunt during a memorial for fallen officers in Melbourne, where he said police officers around the country are still "hurting".

"At the height we had nearly 500 officers up there conducting the search, investigating and providing reassurance to the community," Bush said.

"At the moment, we have in excess of 200 officers there.

"We will continue to rotate police officers through there, a) conducting searches, b) continuing the investigation and c) providing reassurance to the community who needs it."

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Bush said police have so far searched 40-square-kilometre area by foot and air to find Freeman.

The month-long search has involved mineshafts, caves, huts and properties in Porepunkah and surrounding regions.

"It's extremely challenging. We have to often revisit things we've already searched to make sure we haven't missed anything," Bush added.

"And we will not give up until we find that person."

A $1 million reward for any information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible remains on offer.

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