Murder is the likely cause of the death of a child whose remains were found beside a South Australian highway, police say.
A motorist found the bones hidden under a bush beside the Karoonda Highway, east of Adelaide, about 11am on Wednesday.
The bones have now been removed from the scene and taken to Adelaide for forensic testing.
Detective Superintendent Des Bray from the major crime investigation section says police hope to know more about how the child died by Thursday afternoon at the earliest.
He said it's too early to speculate on the dead child's age or sex, how the child died or how long ago the remains had been dumped there.
"Certainly we have got a young child who appears to have been murdered and dumped on the side of the road, and somebody must have knowledge of someone who had a young child, and that child has disappeared and is not around," Det Bray said.
"With hindsight, people who reflect on people live near them, who perhaps are related to them, or acquaintances, if they reflect on their circumstances they might remember somebody who, with the benefit of hindsight, once had a child disappear in what they may now think are suspicious circumstances.
"Those people should call Crimestoppers straight away."
Major crimes and local detectives, State Emergency Services volunteers and forensic experts combed the scene for clues on Wednesday.
The crime scene is under police guard overnight, with further forensic examination to take place in the morning, along with interviews with neighbours.
Det Bray said state and national missing persons databases will be checked.
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