Trash haul held up search for hoarder Phyllis Kelly The body of Phyllis Kelly was found in her Fitzroy home, 18 months after she vanished. POLICE feared a missing woman could return and then "be an issue," with her goods being thrown out as they trawled through mountains of rubbish looking for her body. The body of Fitzroy woman, and serial hoarder, Phyllis Kelly, 82, was found inside her Little Charles St home on Thursday - 18 months after she had vanished. Victoria Police said Ms Kelly had no direct relatives who could have authorised items being discarded. Senior Constable Melissa Seach said police were hamstrung in their search. The residence was searched. However, due to the large amount of rubbish and hoarded materials, the search was extremely difficult and, therefore, the missing woman was not located," she said. To complete a thorough search, the residence needed to be emptied. This required a large amount of items to be discarded. Police also had to keep in mind that the missing woman may return to the premises and there would possibly be an issue with her items being thrown out. Police started investigating Ms Kelly's disappearance in August 2011. She had not been seen since a visit to the State Theatre in St Kilda Rd. Her bank accounts were untouched. The Coroners Court gave police the go-ahead on Thursday after receiving a police report that classified the woman as deceased, as all other efforts to find her had been exhausted. Senior Constable Seach said only then could police begin to trawl through all the rubbish and goods in Ms Kelly's house. "Remains have been located underneath a significant amount of materials and are currently being examined by the Coroners Court," she said. The examination will seek to establish the identity of the remains. Police who went to the house this week found it stacked to the ceiling with bags stuffed with garbage, material and clothes.