Nadire Sensoy’s family are reliving their grief after police discovered human remains thought to belong to the mother who disappeared nearly eight years ago.

NSW Police have been searching for the 71-year-old woman since she vanished from her Prospect home in western Sydney in 2018.

On Thursday morning, they found what they believe to be her body.

Her children were informed soon after.

“There were very mixed emotions,” Mount Druitt Police Area commander Darrin Batchelor told reporters on Friday.

“They did get comfort that her body had been located, but obviously with the emotions of reliving what had happened to their mother, they were quite upset at the same time.”

The remains were discovered in a shallow grave dug into a creek bed a few metres from Powers Road in Seven Hills.

They will undergo forensic examination to confirm the identity, but police are confident they belong to Sensoy, Batchelor said.

Nadire Sensoy’s remains were found in a grave dug in a creek bed. Photo: NSW Police

Sensoy had been living with her youngest son when she disappeared about December 6, 2018.

She was reported missing five days later by her daughter after receiving a call from a neighbour expressing concern for Sensoy.

Footage released by NSW Police shows Sensoy walking around a shopping centre before her disappearance.

Police have alleged her death was domestic-violence-related.

A 47-year-old man was arrested in 2023 in Wagga Wagga and charged with committing domestic violence murder between December 6 and 11, 2018.

The matter remains before the courts.

Batchelor described it as a “tragic, tragic incident” that affects the family and community.

In 2023, an inquest into Sensoy’s death was opened, although was soon suspended after new information came to light.

A $350,000 reward first offered in 2020 is still available to any member of the public who wishes to come forward with information.

–AAP