Australia's most wanted fugitive captured

Malcolm Naden, wanted for murder was found in a remote cabin in the forest on Thursday.

Naden, who has been compared to 19^th century Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, disappeared from his grandparents house in 2005, days before mother-of-two Kristy Scholes, 24, was found strangled in his bedroom. He is also wanted for questioning over the indecent assault of a 15-year-old girl and the disappearance of his 24-year-old cousin.

The 38-year-old was charged with Scholes' murder, two counts of aggravated indecent assault on the teenage girl and the attempted killing of a police officer when he appeared in court.

Naden was arrested just after midnight when officers swooped on a private property near Gloucester in the hinterland of New South Wales state's north coast following a tip that he was there. No shots were fired in the raid.

Naden previously worked as a shearer, skinner and boner in an abattoir and has been described as a "master bushman" with an intimate knowledge of the rugged terrain in which he was hiding.

According to earlier reports, before he disappeared he lived behind a locked bedroom door where he read the Bible, encyclopaedias and survival manuals.

Other reports said he often set up crude but sturdy camps on hilltops, giving him the widest possible field of vision, and survived on whatever the bush provided while breaking into remote homes to steal weapons and supplies.

His exploits drew parallels with Kelly, Australia's most famous bushranger whose life was made into several films. Kelly was seen as a working-class hero despite murdering three police officers.

The father of Naden's missing cousin Lateesha Nolan told ABC radio he hoped the arrest would shed light on what happened to his daughter.