Identified! Australia - Burdekin River, Qld, Human Remains, Aug'20 - Ian Park

[TootsieFootsie]

Fishermen find skeleton near swag on bank of Queensland river

North Queensland police say a skeleton found near a swag on the Burdekin River at the weekend may have been there for years.

A group of fishermen walking the banks at Dalbeg came across the remains on Saturday.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

https://7news.com.au/news/qld/human...-burdekin-river-in-north-queensland-c-1227973

Detective Inspector Chris Lawson from Townsville said he believed the remains had been there for some time.

“It would be a significant period of time, I’m estimating years,” he told reporters on Monday.

Lawson said the skeleton had been in a tent in a very remote location near the small town of Dalbeg.
He said the remains were on high enough ground to avoid being flooded away - just off the banks of the river.

 

[Bit of hope]

https://7news.com.au/news/qld/human...-burdekin-river-in-north-queensland-c-1227973

Detective Inspector Chris Lawson from Townsville said he believed the remains had been there for some time.

“It would be a significant period of time, I’m estimating years,” he told reporters on Monday.

Lawson said the skeleton had been in a tent in a very remote location near the small town of Dalbeg.
He said the remains were on high enough ground to avoid being flooded away - just off the banks of the river.

Had to look up what a swag is in Australia A mobile sleeping unit. It is normally a bundle of belongings rolled in a traditional fashion to be carried by a foot traveler in the bush/Bedroll.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I've seen pics of modern day swags, yes they are a bedroll, I think they have a frame that goes over your shoulders.
Oh and I think I've seen some backpackers wearing them, now that I recall.
Later news reports that are behind a paywall say there have been drugs grown in the area.

I hope they can find out who this poor person was.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Oh this might be something. The bones and tent were found on the banks of the Burdekin River at a place called Dalbeg.

"“Police would like to advise that the investigation into a possible sighting of Mick Isles has concluded,” Queensland police said in a statement. 2015

"This week, Mr Isles travelled to Ayr-Dalbeg Rd by the Burdekin River the same area a man at the time thought to be his dad had been seen soon after he went missing, to meet a grazier couple who said they had seen a man matching the description of his father"

“A property owner in Millaroo via Ayr spoke to a man who he believed resembled missing man Mick Isles on January 11. (2015)
Bill and Elizabeth Tudehope had seen a “weather beaten” man, about the same age and height as Sen-Sgt Isles, the Townsville Bulletin reports.

The couple said they saw the apparently homeless man walking along the cane track on Sunday, carrying a bag that appeared to holding his possessions.
“A 58-year-old man was located by police camping on the banks of the Burdekin River. He is the man the property owner spoke to, and police were able to confirm that he is not Mick Isles.”

Just wonder exactly where the man was camping, was it at Dalbeg where the remains were found

Missing Queensland police officer Mick Isles ‘seen’ after five years

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Probably not him, I saw a further report that said he had all this things in a vinyl bag. That doesn't sound like a swag.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Two possibles so far. it is Mick Isles
Or it is the guy camping who was mistaken for him.

 

[Bit of hope]

@TootsieFootsie Hi, can you check this....I don't have access. It looks like he (his body) was eventually found...how else can a coroner say he committed suicide.

Mick Isles: Police officers sue dead officer's son over ...
www.cairnspost.com.au › news-story

15 aug. 2019 - Former Ayr Senior Sergeant Mick Isles disappeared 10 years ago while on duty, with a Coroner later ruling he committed suicide after his police ...

Aha, I also found this.....ridiculous....how can a coroner, without a body, I understood, say anything about what happened to him.

Mr Isles,<the son> said the coronial inquest "really doesn't provide closure".

"All we can hope for is something down the track, whether it be through the coronial process or another that identifies what has happened to my father, rather than just conjecture or speculation," he said.

Basic line is...the body of Mr. Isles Sr. is still not found. Is that correct? If so, yes this remains could be him.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

They still have yet to find his body.

Sorry I don't have access to the Cairns Post articles, behind a paywall grrr.
But that article was from last year and as recently as the day before yesterday news media is still saying he is missing.

@TootsieFootsie Hi, can you check this....I don't have access. It looks like he (his body) was eventually found...how else can a coroner say he committed suicide.

 

[Bit of hope]

Also this. I guess this are the same remains, from two days ago. It's behind a paywall.

Police confirm skeleton found near drug plantation, scour ...
www.townsvillebulletin.com.au › ne...
- Vertaal deze pagina
Police confirm skeleton found near drug plantation, scour North QLD missing person cases ... Location of Skeletal remains found on the Burdekin River ... the missing person reports for people missing in the area and there are a number of those, ... At the time 'Ian' was said to have been about 58 years old.
No Cookies | Townsville Bulletin

Does anybody know who this Ian might be?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Ian was the man seen camping by the river that a couple thought might have been Mick Isles.

 

[Bit of hope]

Ian was the man seen camping by the river that a couple thought might have been Mick Isles.

Thank you. Do you know his last name?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

A last name wasn't mentioned.

Thank you. Do you know his last name?

 

[Bit of hope]

I wonder if they only found the swag...no other personal belongings? Food remains/canned food? Clothing? Maps? Drugs Paraphernalia?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Coroners quite often have to make a ruling on the probability that someone is dead. There doesn't need to be a body.
I'm not a lawyer but it's not something that is done lightly. There would have to be an inquest.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

So far just the tent and the swag has been mentioned.

I wonder if they only found the swag...no other personal belongings? Food remains/canned food? Clothing? Maps? Drugs Paraphernalia?

 

[Bit of hope]

So far just the tent and the swag has been mentioned.

I know that is what frustrates me a lot and I ask questions. They have to come up with more information. I guess they want to investigate it themselves first. Understandable.

 

[Bit of hope]

Coroners quite often have to make a ruling on the probability that someone is dead. There doesn't need to be a body.
I'm not a lawyer but it's not something that is done lightly. There would have to be an inquest.

I guess this is the Australian way. The legal aspects differ in every country. Not a real source, but to get the bigger picture. Presumption of death - Wikipedia

 

[TootsieFootsie]

The Townsville Bulletin Behind a paywall.

No Cookies | Townsville Bulletin

"Autopsy on Burdekin River bones has been carried out as detectives try to identify skeleton

Forensic experts are edging closer to finding out the identity of skeletal remains found at the Burdekin River, with speculation swirling about who the person could be."

You'd think they could say if the remains are male or female, though that may be in the article for anyone who can access it

 

[Bit of hope]

OT (but interesting in relation to unidentified remains found in Australia in general)

Hopes database of unidentified human remains could solve mysteries