A 47-year-old Townsville man will appear in court on Tuesday charged with the murder of his wife, who has been missing for more than a month.
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Julie Hutchinson, 48, a scientist at Clive Palmer's Nickel and Cobalt Refinery, is presumed to have been murdered, though her body is yet to be found.
Police on Monday scoured parkland on the Townsville fringe for evidence in the alleged murder.
The last confirmed sighting of Mrs Hutchinson was at her home in suburban Condon, in Townsville's south, on March 7, though she was not reported missing until more than a month later.
It was her sister, not her husband, who reported the mother-of-two's disappearance to police.
On Monday afternoon, Michael Hutchinson was formally charged with his wife's murder.
He had been in custody since Saturday afternoon as homicide detectives investigated his wife's disappearance.
He has also been charged with interfering with a corpse.
Mr Hutchinson is scheduled to appear in Townsville Magistrates Court to face the charges on Tuesday.
After initially launching a missing person's investigation, Detective Inspector David Nixon said it became apparent on Saturday afternoon police were dealing with a homicide.
On Monday, investigators searched a vacant property near Mount Louisa, about 10 kilometres north of the home Mrs Hutchinson shared with her husband, for a crucial item of evidence.
Inspector Nixon said the search related to a particular item relevant to the investigation but declined to be drawn on what it was.
However, he said investigators still did not know where her body might be.
"Police are going to be conducting a search for an item of property, which we believe to be relevant to our inquiries," he said.
On Sunday, Inspector Nixon urged anyone who had seen Mrs Hutchinson's silver Mitsubishi sedan since early March, particularly in the Hervey Range area, to contact police.
He renewed that call on Monday.
"If anyone has seen that car after March 7, our area of interest is not just confined to Hervey Range but to the greater Townsville area," he said.
He said police held little hope Mrs Hutchinson was still alive.
"Police are of the opinion unfortunately that Julie is deceased," he said.
Police seized a car from outside the home of Mr and Mrs Hutchinson on Saturday for forensic examination and declared the house a crime scene.
Mrs Hutchinson was reported by Channel 7 to be a scientist at Queensland Nickel, which runs the Palmer Nickel and Cobalt Refinery 25 kilometres north-west of Townsville.
The refinery is owned by billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer.
Mr Hutchinson reportedly runs his own security business.
Police are appealing for anyone who may have seen a silver 2004 Mazda 6 with Queensland registration 622-HZE in the Townsville area since early March.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at crimestoppers.com.au
