Police in Australia arrested a 16-year-old boy after they found human remains in a search for a teenage girl who went missing six days ago in rural Victoria.

Layla Jeffery, 13, was last seen on McCracken Street in Donald on 4 July and was reported missing the next day.

The incident has shocked the close-knit community in Donald, with a population of less than 1500 people.

Victoria police launched a large scale search to comb the nearby bushland off Byrne Street along with a local police, their dog squad, AirWing and Search and Rescue Squads.

In a breakthrough on Thursday night, they discovered human remains that were believed to be that of the missing girl but were yet to be formally identified.

“The investigation into the circumstances around the death of the girl remain ongoing, however police are currently treating it as suspicious,” police said.

Police said a warrant was executed at a residential address earlier today and a 16-year-old from the Swan Hill area was taken into custody.

He was being interviewed by detectives.

Detective Inspector David Dunstan from the Missing Persons Squad said the investigation into the disappearance of the girl is ongoing.

“We’re relying on the pathology examination to determine how long she’s potentially been there, and the time of death,” he said.

“We are quietly confident that those responsible are in custody now. We don’t think there’s anyone else who may be involved in the situation, it is a tragic outcome for the Donald community and we implore people to reach out for support if they are affected by this.”

He said Lyala’s family was “devastated and obviously any parent who loses a child in these circumstances, it’s heart wrenching as to how you would actually deal with this”.

Police said two women from the region, a 53-year-old from Donald and a 55-year-old from Melbourne, were also assisting police with their enquiries.

A resident of Donald, Shane O’Shea, said Layla’s disappearance had upset the community, according to ABC news.

“When you’re a population of Donald [sic] and everyone knows everyone, when something like this happens, even if you’ve been in Donald five minutes and it happens to you, it really does upset the community,” he said.

“There’s a certain amount of fear goes through the town, before they know what actually happened.”

Buloke Shire councillor, Charmaine Delaney, said the incident has shocked the town and one can see a visible impact on the community.

“As a community we are truly devastated, just looking at how can we come together to support the family, friends and acquaintances and looking at what services we can offer them in the future,” she said.