17-year-old murder mystery solved: German backpacker's cold-case murder leads to man's arrest in Australia

A breakthrough in the 17-year hunt for the woman's killer came on Tuesday with the arrest of a man in Western Australia in connection with the death of a German traveller, as reported by AFP.

Two years after authorities issued a US$695,000 reward for information regarding Simone Strobel's death in 2005, the 42-year-old man was apprehended at a residence in Western Australia, according to police.

After a night out with her boyfriend and friends in the sleepy seaside town of Lismore on Australia's east coast, 25-year-old Strobel vanished from a campground.

Six days later, her body was found at a neighbouring sports field, buried behind palm fronds.

Police haven't filed any murder charges despite a coronial inquiry in 2007 and intensive investigations by local and Bavarian police.

Detectives will now send the man to New South Wales in the east.

(with inputs from agencies)