A man accused of murdering missing teen Isla Bell has fronted court after human remains were found at a Melbourne rubbish tip.

St Kilda East man Marat Ganiev, 53, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with the 19-year-old’s murder.

The teenager’s mother Justine Spokes on Wednesday paid tribute to her “darling daughter”, apologising for being unable to protect her from the “cruel world”.

“Cherished forever and suffering no more,” she told media.

“I am so sorry I could not protect you, that your experience of the world was cruel and unsafe.

“I could not protect you from your complex illnesses and this cruel world.

“I was so proud of your choices this year, your strength to endure despite your suffering.

“All you ever wanted was to create, make and nurture life, to love and be loved.

“We were so much looking forward to being reunited as a family again; my heart aches and cannot reconcile that’s not going to happen.”

Justine Spokes had been appealing for help to find her missing daughter. Photo: AAP

Bell was last seen leaving her home in Brunswick on October 4.

Human remains, which are yet to be formally identified, were found at a waste management facility in Dandenong, in Melbourne’s outer east, on Tuesday night.

Missing persons squad detectives raided homes in Bentleigh East and Mulgrave on Tuesday and arrested three men.

Ganiev, wearing a black T-shirt, sat slumped in the dock as he looked around the courtroom on Wednesday morning.

He has been charged with Bell’s murder in St Kilda East on October 7, about three days after she was last seen, court documents reveal.

Ganiev had been prescribed methadone, but his lawyer said he had not received the medication for two days.

Magistrate Justin Foster remanded Ganiev in custody and ordered he be seen by a prison nurse. He will return to court in March.

Spokes said her daughter would always be remembered for her kindness and adventurous spirit.

“The gentlest soul, the kindest human and free spirited,” she said.

“I will connect to you in spirit my care bear and no one can take that connection away from us.”

Spokes had previously made emotional pleas for information about her daughter’s whereabouts.

“My girl is missing and dearly missed,” she wrote on Facebook on October 15.

“She leaves an impression, she’s hard to forget. She has a fighting spirit, sometimes it’s loud and sometimes it’s soft, always enduring.

“We’re here for you bub. I love you my care bear.”

There had been no activity on Bell’s bank or social media accounts and her phone had not pinged to any telecommunication towers.

-with AAP