A telephone call to police by a Swiss national may by the key to solving the mystery of the identity of a skeleton stumbled upon by two hikers in remote bushland south of Hobart last week.



The human bones were found away from marked tracks in the Huon valley, 10km west of the popular Tahune Airwalk, and police believe they belong to a 44-year-old Swiss tourist who has been missing for more than six years.



A backpack found near the remains contained an SD photo card and a photograph that was extracted from it was released on Friday. Police say that prompted a call from a Swiss man who said he believed the remains are of his friend.



A backpack found near human remains in Tasmania. Photograph: Tasmania Police Handout/EPA

Food, clothing, Swiss francs, Hong Kong dollars and receipts for exchange in Switzerland in December 2010 were also found in the backpack.



“He believes he is the man in the photo and the missing man may be his friend,” police said in a statement on Sunday. “He said the photograph was taken on the coast of Oregon, USA, in 2010.

“He said his friend was a 44-year-old Swiss man who had previously visited Tasmania and he was last seen by his family in December 2010, when he left Switzerland to go travelling.”



Det Sgt Michael Manning said police were still working to identify the man and said it was important to provide “answers for the deceased’s family and return the remains to them”.

“Among the images forensically extracted from the SD card is a photo of a man standing in front of the foreshore, which is possibly the deceased person,” Manning said on Friday.



Manning said it appeared the man wasn’t prepared for an overnight stay.



Documents in the backpack also indicate then man had spent some time in Western Australia.