Tayla Spies update: Missing mum confirmed dead by family after human remains found

The family of Tayla Spies, a 29-year-old mother who vanished 63 days ago, confirmed human remains found near her abandoned ute belonged to her.

Her sister Rebecca took to Facebook on Sunday to share the devastating news.

“It is with very heavy hearts that we announce the devastating loss of our beautiful Tayla,” she wrote.

“Although she may no longer be here with us, she will always be in our hearts and I will carry her with me wherever I go. We would like to thank each and every one of you for all of the support and love we have received over the past 63 days and for the ongoing support we will continue to receive going forward.

“We truly will be forever grateful to our family and friends for surrounding us, supporting us, picking us up when we fell down and for never letting us walk one step of this alone.

“Tayla was and always will be so incredibly loved, more than she would ever know.

“Please bear with us as we grieve and navigate through this excruciating loss as a family.”

Tayla Spies, a mother-of-three from Roma, was on a weekend trip with her partner in Dalby, a few hours’ west of her home in Roma, when she disappeared on February 2.

She was last seen driving her 2017 Toyota HiLux through a small town in Queensland’s Western Downs.

After leaving the Windsor Hotel, she climbed into her white 2017 Toyota HiLux and began the drive back to her Western Downs home.

Police said her partner left in a separate car.

She was then spotted filling up her car at a service station in Condamine.

However, when she reached the library in Surat, rather than turning right to Roma, which is about 80kms away, she made a left turn on to the Carnarvon Hwy, towards the NSW border.

Her sister Rebecca was stumped by the move.

“Nobody knows why she turned left in Surat to head south instead of north to Roma,” she told Brisbane Times earlier in the search.

“A number of people had heard from Tayla over the weekend that she disappeared, and she had told everybody on Sunday, February 2, that she was coming home to Roma.”

In the eight weeks since she disappeared, there had been no trace of the mother-of-three or her white HiLux.

The Queensland mother had not touched her bank account or phone since she was last seen, and she missed her 29th birthday.

Police began conducting a 9000km2 area where Ms Spies travelled, spanning areas of Yuleba, Wullambilla South, east to Roma, south to Teelba past Surat and west to Glenmorgan and Meandarra.

On April 3, her vehicle was found, with human remains located shortly after.

In the wake of the discovery, Rebecca shared a tearful video to TikTok.

She said she received the news of the find on Friday, saying “the police and my family do believe those remains are Tayla’s”.

“I was told, at 12.25, that they found remains and it’s most likely my sister,” she said.

Police are yet to confirm the remains are those of Ms Spies.