Second man appears in Warrnambool Magistrates Court over 2006 disappearance of Chris Jarvis

Steven Johnson, 70, of Wangoom, appeared in Warrnambool Magistrates Court on Thursday via video-link from the city's police cells.

The Victoria Police missing person squad charged the man with a single count of murder on Wednesday afternoon.

It came after police raids at properties in Wangoom and Warrnambool a day earlier.

Mr Johnson is a former police officer who was discharged from the force in 1985.

He and Glenn Fenwick, 59, of Warrnambool, are accused of murdering Wangoom man Christopher Jarvis on June 13, 2006.

The father was last seen when he left his family home in Warrne Road around 6am that day.

He never arrived at work and his car - a silver 1991 Ford station wagon - was found two hours later on fire at Warrnambool's Thunder Point.

During a filing hearing on Thursday, magistrate Simon Guthrie ordered a hand-up brief be served on the defence by March next year.

He remanded Mr Johnson in custody until April 21, 2023.

Lawyer Xavier Farrelly, representing Mr Johnson, listed a number of custody management issues including the media reporting his client was an ex-police officer.

He said the man also had a number of health issues requiring medication, including a hernia, PTSD, anxiety and depression.

He said Mr Johnson had undergone a foot and knee reconstruction, as well as a gastric bypass which required him to eat small meals rather than three large ones a day.

Mr Farrelly said it was his client's first time in custody.

Mr Jarvis' family declined to comment outside the courtroom but said it had been an emotional few days.

Mr Fenwick appeared in the same court on Wednesday where Mr Jarvis' daughter pleaded with him to tell to tell her where her father's body was.

"Please tell us where he is, please, please," she yelled.

Mr Fenwick was remanded in custody until the same date.

A police spokeswoman said the matter was initially investigated by the local police as a missing persons case and inquiries made at the time suggested Mr Jarvis' disappearance was not suspicious.

"However in 2018 new information was received by the missing persons squad which led police to believe there had been other people involved in Christopher's disappearance, and he had likely met with foul play," she said.

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