Police searching for a missing man at Goodna, west of Brisbane, have uncovered a freezer during an excavation of a yard

Police dig up yard in search for missing man (7 News Brisbane)

Police have brought in an excavator and cadaver dogs to dig up the backyard of a Brisbane home as they ramp up their search for the body of an American former beauty queen.

American Priscilla Brooten, a Zumba dance teacher, was reportedly in a relationship with a 43-year-old man back in 2018 but she has now been missing for almost a year.

Forensic police started a grim search of a property belonging to the 43-year-old in the northern Brisbane suburb of Bracken Ridge, pulling up turf and digging dirt. Excavation works will continue at the home today.

Police said the former partner was helping with their inquiries and no charges had been laid.

He was released from custody last night.

The pair had been in a relationship for more than a year before she disappeared and he failed to report her missing.

It is believed the dig was prompted after a neighbour of the three-bedroom brick home where Ms Brooten also lived reportedly saw a man digging near the front yard.

Ms Brooten, 46, who moved to Australia six years ago was last seen in Bracken Ridge in July last year.

She wasn’t reported missing until December, but her daughter Caity Brooten told The Sunday Mail she hoped whoever had harmed her mother was caught and punished.

Her mother had previously won beauty pageants and loved taking samba classes.



Since she moved to Australia in order “not … to get tied down” in America, she had become a part-time Zumba teacher. She was also studying literature.

The man who spoke with police last night is also a dance teacher who has taught internationally.

He was reportedly in a de facto relationship with Ms Brooten for a year before she vanished.

Detective Senior Sergeant Michael Hogan of the Queensland Police Moreton District confirmed the case was now being treated as a homicide investigation.

He appealed for anyone who has seen Ms Brooten’s blue Volkswagen Golf before she disappeared to come forward.

“We can confirm Operation Quebec Storage is now a homicide investigation,” he said yesterday.

“We have a number of inquiries and today the focus will be on the search and excavation at a residence in Bracken Ridge.

“We share the fear of Ms Brooten’s family and friends and have reason to believe she may have met with foul play.”

The car was found abandoned on the evening of July 6 last year at Bunton St, Scarborough, on the coast of Moreton Bay, 19km from her Bracken Ridge home.

Detective Hogan said Ms Brooten had been very involved in online gaming, and believed she may have revealed fears about her safety to other gamers.

“Police suspect a lot of people she associated with online and also in some private clubs may not know that police are investigating her disappearance,” he said.

“Often these people may not have known that she was reported missing.

“Any contact she had with them may help the investigation.”

candace.sutton@news.com.au