The family of a grandmother who went missing more than a month ago has announced that her corpse was recovered a few kilometers from her abandoned vehicle.
Colleen South, 58, drove her Hyundai Getz over the Victorian border on July 1 and was last seen stopped on the side of the Calder Highway on July 2 before disappearing the following day.
Her distraught family announced the news on Monday night, after weeks of holding out hope and combing the countryside and tiny town close where her vehicle was discovered.
‘I’m not sure how to write this. ‘We are devastated and stunned,’ a family member said on social media.
‘Colleen’s corpse was discovered tonight in a pasture 5 kilometers from where her vehicle was discovered.’
‘We don’t have any answers about what occurred yet, but we will keep you updated as soon as we do.’
The family, including Ms South’s daughter Veronica, then expressed their appreciation for the outpouring of love over the previous five weeks.
Mary Headon, who saw her vehicle and went to check on the grandmother in July, claimed she seemed sick.
‘When we arrived, she was simply lying in the vehicle with her head back.’ ‘She seemed very, really fatigued or a little bit unwell, her eyes were really watery,’ said Mary Headon, who drove over to check on her.
The next day, about 3:30 p.m., a farmer observed the car traveling along adjacent Jeruk River Road.
Later that evening, on July 3, her automobile was discovered abandoned in a ditch at Bunguluke, some 545 kilometers from her house in the Adelaide suburbs.
Her family is now searching for answers and has asked the police to investigate the case as suspicious.
Ms South has not been seen or heard from by any of the surrounding farms or the 600 inhabitants in the adjacent town of Wycheproof.
Her things, which included a suitcase and a notebook, were discovered metres from her vehicle, which had airbags deployed, but her phone was not recovered.
About ten concerned relatives have visited Wycheproof as the family looks for any leads.
Veronica, her daughter, has made the five-hour drive from South Africa several times in the last two weeks, liaising with police, chatting with locals, and putting up missing persons posters.
‘Mum, we just hope you’re safe and that we’re not giving up on finding you; we’re here searching as much as we can and we’re not going to give up,’ Veronica said.
Farah Mak, Ms South’s actress niece, has also been looking into what occurred, saying she “keeps visualizing that we’ll all find her together, which would be fantastic.”
‘There’s this eerie feeling, like you’re following in your footsteps and wondering what her steps were.’ What on earth was she thinking? What was she up to?
‘We’re looking for clues, for evidence of where she may have walked, where she may have been.’
After earlier criticizing the police response, the family was relieved to see a big number of policemen out searching on their most recent visit.
Approximately 40 specialized cops have joined the hunt.
‘We have a mounted section that rides horses. We’ve had our spectacular motorcycle alone. ‘We’ve got our canine police here with their dog squad,’ stated Inspector Gerard de Vries.
‘We have a lot of police officers on foot, including officers from Melbourne, Swan Hill, and Mildura.’
We have the site where the car was located, and we have widened that, but that is due to evaluating our maps and GPS tracking of past work and broadening that out into regions that we believe ought to be investigated.’
Veronica expressed optimism that the family would locate Ms South soon.
Ms South’s cousin earlier claimed her uncle discovered’spent shotgun rounds at the site,’ but cops ‘had not followed up on this, nor reported it.’
While ‘out of character,’ Victoria Police said the grandmother’s absence was not suspicious.
Ms Mak had previously taken to social media to criticize Victoria Police for bungling the probe.
‘My cousin saw footprints and a burned out fire nearby – @victoriapolice says no footprints were detected,’ she added.
‘Photos provided by @victoriapolice show tyre trucks of a car coming right up next to my Aunty’s personal items where she would have sat – no crime scene investigation.’ ‘This could’ve been from anything,’ my cousin and her pals were informed.
On Monday afternoon, Victoria Police released a statement denying the family’s allegations that Ms South was a victim of a crime.
It also reacted angrily to suggestions that no appropriate inquiry had been carried out.
The statement stated, ‘Victoria Police began a thorough search of thick bushland in the surrounding region, performing Air Wing and Drone searches with Mounted Branch, Canine Unit, officers on foot and in cars, and SES.’
‘Local farmers were also urged to inspect their property’s structures and sheds.’
Detectives said Ms South’s primary concern is a known medical ailment, and her “disappearance was out of character.”
Her notebook, which was discovered among her abandoned possessions, featured a scribbled letter with the words ‘help me pls.’
Veronica told Daily Mail Australia that she had driven five and a half hours from Adelaide to do her own searches in Wycheproof at least three times in the previous week.
Her mother’s absence is strange, she suspects, since her goods were left behind with the vehicle door shut.
‘There’s also no evidence of my mother, no tracks where she went, and no fragrance from the dogs.’
‘My mother also did not seek assistance from the farmers.’ The residence is immediately next door to where her vehicle was discovered, so she would have gone there for assistance, but there has been no record of anybody seeing her, which I find peculiar.’
Ms South’s family put up a Facebook group called Bring Colleen Home, which has over 500 members.
On
Sunday night, her daughter resorted to Facebook to share an update on her mother’s traumatic situation.
Veronica wrote, ‘It’s been two weeks since you’ve been missing Mum.’
‘Although it seems like a long time, I’m just getting started with this hunt.’ Today I spoke with people and spoke with farmers, but I was unable to get any fresh proof.
‘I’m hoping we can locate you soon, and every day seems like I’m getting closer.’ It’s not been easy. Every day, I think about you.
‘We may get an update from the police tomorrow on where to proceed with the search from here.’ We’re thinking positively, and we’re hoping for the best.’
Ms South was seen on CCTV at a Liquorland in St Agnes at about 11.50 a.m. on July 2, and police believe she then traveled to rural northern Victoria.
The final recorded sighting was the next day, when a witness saw her driving her Hyundai Getz in Ninyeunook, 267 kilometers north of Melbourne.
A farmer spotted Ms South’s vehicle abandoned beneath a tree along the side of Mackies Road, 26 kilometers distant in Bunguluke.
After realizing the automobile had fallen into a ditch and received damage, the farmer notified police two days later.
Ms South’s things, which included her handbag, pocketbook, keys, and a journal, were discovered around 20 yards from the vehicle.
On Saturday, the group discovered Ms South’s prescription, wilted grass, a pen, footsteps, and a freshly built campfire.
Ms South is 154cm tall, has a hefty body, green eyes, and brown hair. She was last seen wearing blue pants and a striped black and white top.
Anyone who sees Colleen or has any information on her should call the police.