There’s been a major development in the search for two girls abducted from Adelaide Oval more than half a century ago, with police now in possession of a piece of bone found during a dig for clues in South Australia’s mid-north.

Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon haven’t been seen since they were taken from Adelaide Oval in 1973.

Now, a bone fragment located in the small town of Yatina at a property formerly owned by Stanley Arthur Hart has been passed on to major crime detectives. 

Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon were taken from Adelaide Oval in 1973. (Nine)

Private investigators, who consider Hart a prime suspect in the 1973 abduction case, discovered the bone. 

They had the bone tested by a forensic anatomist, who says he’s 90 per cent certain it’s part of a small human pelvis which appears to be embedded with glass.

South Australia Police have previously ruled out Hart as a suspect, but today said: “Should the bone be identified as human remains, further investigations will be undertaken to determine whether it relates to the disappearance.”

Police also warned against drawing premature conclusions, adding: “The mere identification of the bone as human remains does not confirm that it is the remains of either Joanne or Kirste.”

Officers say they can’t give a timeline as to when the results of the testing will be known.

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.
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