Barkly, where the couple were found, is a sparsely populated region in the NT. Picture: NT Police

Authorities have revealed a new twist in a woman’s mysterious death along a long stretch highway in a sparsely populated region in the Northern Territory.

Emergency services received call around 5.50am on Sunday of 27-year-old woman who was reported not breathing.

Her boyfriend, a 33-year-old man who was also in the vehicle, allegedly claimed that they had struck a kangaroo while driving and inferred that she suffered harm as a result of that strike.

“At this point in time we haven’t been able to locate any evidence of that particular strike occurring,” Acting Commander Mark Grieve said.

The woman was found dead at the scene with apparent facial injuries unable to be revived, he said.

The couple are believed to have been on a road trip from southeast Queensland in a Jeep Cherokee. Car Crash. Picture: NT Police

The boyfriend has been arrested as police believe the woman was the victim of an assault perpetrated by him earlier in the morning.

He remains in police custody but is yet to be charged.

According to police, the pair were parked on the side of intersection of Barkly and Tablelands Hwy in a dark coloured Jeep Cherokee between the hours of 1.30am and 5.30am.

Police believe the couple to have used the vehicle to drive from Gympie, Queensland, through to Barkly Homestead, NT between the dates of April 1 to 5.

They are thought to have passed though Ban Ban Springs, Emerald, Winton, Cloncurry, Mt Isa and Camooweal in Queensland.

Police are said to be waiting on pending autopsy as investigations are ongoing, with the woman’s death being treated as suspicious.