Police have evidence to suggest human remains found in woodland are of a missing pensioner known as DJ Derek.
A member of the public made the discovery, near Cribbs Causeway shopping centre in Patchway, Bristol, at 4.30pm on Thursday.
Derek Serpell-Morris, known widely as DJ Derek, was last seen leaving The Criterion pub in Ashley Road, Bristol, in the early hours of July 11 2015.
The 73-year-old, from Bristol, was reported missing on July 23 and a nationwide search to find him has been ongoing over the past eight months.
Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Iddon, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: "Earlier today we spoke with the family of Derek Serpell-Morris to inform them of this latest development.
"While we're not yet in a position to confirm the remains are of Derek, we strongly believe this to be the case due to personal items found at the scene.
"This is a very distressing time for Derek's family who've been carrying out an exhaustive campaign to locate him and raise awareness of his disappearance and our thoughts are very much with them.
"We'll be keeping them fully updated and offering them any support they may need.
"We're not able to confirm any more details until the post-mortem examination and formal identification procedures have been carried out."
The death is being treated as unexplained and a post-mortem examination will be carried out by a Home Office pathologist to establish the cause of death.
A force spokesman said further tests need to be completed to confirm an identify but there is evidence to suggest the remains are of Mr Serpell-Morris.