Northern Territory Police has charged a third person over the suspicious disappearance of Darwin man Tony Rowe in May last year.

NT Police media manager Margaret McKeown said in a statement the Major Crime Squad arrested a 42-year-old man in Francis Bay Marina on Wednesday.

She said he had been charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder, two counts of attempting to pervert the cause of justice, making a demand with menace, and aggravated assault.

And Ms McKeown said he was remanded in custody and was expected to appear before Darwin Local Court on Thursday.

At the end of May, acting Deputy Commissioner Michael White told a press conference police had found yet-to-be identified human remains at an “isolated area” south of Darwin. He said there was other evidence also found.

Mr White said while police believed they were the remains of 36-year-old Mr Rowe, they were waiting for DNA results to confirm that.

He said the charge against an un-named 29-year-old man over the disappearance – who was extradited from Queensland last month – was upgraded from a dangerous act causing death, to murder, after the remains were found, and the man remained remanded to face Darwin Local Court on July 12.

While a 21-year-old woman, who had been extradited from Western Australia, had been charged with making false statements and destruction of evidence, and further remanded to appear in Darwin Local Court on July 12.

“Clearly, some forensic work is still ongoing, and to confirm his identity at this stage, I can’t do, so we’re waiting for positive identification, which is an ongoing examination,” Mr White said.

“But I can certainly say that we are of the strong belief that the remains we have found are Tony. I would hope in the next couple of days we might have an outcome.

Police said Mr Rowe was last seen in Moulden in Palmerston on May 28, 2022, after visiting the Hibiscus Tavern in Leanyer earlier that evening, and police allege the man and the woman were with “earlier in the night” of his disappearance.