WA: Police to investigate why air search failed to find five

AAP General News (Australia)
02-02-2000
WA: Police to investigate why air search failed to find five

Police are investigating why two days of extensive aerial searches failed to find five
people, including a pregnant woman, missing in the harsh outback for two-and-ahdays.

Eight-months pregnant Karen Glass, 30, her partner Peter Breese, 33, their two daughters
aged two and five and family friend Tonia Benton, 30, all from Port Hedland, were found
by friends on an isolated bush track north-east of Port Hedland early today after failing
to return from a fishing trip on Sunday.

Police had mounted extensive searches in two areas - one "pretty well in the same area"

- where the stranded party was found, but failed to turn up any trace of the five.

Anxious and frustrated friends loaded blankets and food into their own vehicles to
comb the areas where they believed the couple, the children and Ms Benton may have gone.

"They literally stmbled across them," South Hedland acting Senior Sergeant Ron Clarke
said. "They went out looking for them and as a result of them wandering around with UHF
radio and car headlights they found them."

The party was eight kilometres along the well-known Tichelar track, inland about 110km
north of Port Hedland.

They had deviated from their main route on Sunday, ending up on the coast before crossing
a creek.

But the tide came in and they could not negotiate back over the creek so they chose
to travel inland, eventually becoming bogged on a disused track which had softened in
recent heavy rains, Sgt Clarke said.

On Monday and Tuesday the stranded five, aware (aware) a search was underway, saw a
plane overhead and burnt a spare tyre to attract it, but the plane was not a search aircraft
and failed to spot the smoke.

"They were able to extract themselves from where they were by hand, and (yesterday)
they got to a water bore and stayed there the night intending to drive out this morning,"

Sgt Clarke said.

Their friends mounting their private search located them about 1am today.

Sgt Clarke said the problem for police had been that there were two search areas which
emergency crews were covering, and the difficulty was compounded by the fact the party's
vehicle was dark in colour.

He said the five were originally thought to be on track about 100km east of Port Hedland
near the De Grey River.

Police had not mounted a vehicle search because the area in which they were lost was
too vast and it was not known exactly where to look.

"The car was dark coloured and it was very dirty and there's a very good possibility
the plane couldn't see it. It's not a vehicle that would stand out," Sgt Clarke said.

"We're working around how we missed it. At the same time, they weren't exactly where
we thought they were."

Sgt Clarke said Ms Glass was dehydrated and resting but had not been concerned for
her health or that she may go into labour in the harsh bush, which had sweltered under
temperatures in the high 30s in recent days.

He said the party - which had no communications equipment with them, no food and no
shovels or car jacks - had learnt a lot of lessons from its experience.

Sgt Clarke warned travellers to remote areas should always tell friends or relatives
specifically where they are going, not deviate or go anywhere else and stick to a designated
time to return.

AAP RTV sd

KEYWORD: BOGGED FOUND (PERTH)

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