Post-mortem to identify bones in NSW river

Detectives are awaiting the results of forensic tests to help identify skeletal remains found in a creek in northern NSW.

The heavily decomposed body was found next to the Mehi River in Moree about 11am on Tuesday.

A crime scene was established and police officers are searching the area as part of their investigation.

The bones have been sent for a post-mortem examination which investigators hope will shed some light on the person's identity.

AAP understands investigators are looking at local missing persons, including a 73-year-old man who went missing from a nursing home on the banks of the river in January 2018.

The man still hasn't been found despite extensive searches.