March 15, 2024
A Proston mum whose son has been missing for nine months is distraught she learned via Facebook that his body had been identified.
Sue Bedey’s son Luke Fergusson, 28, went missing in the Stalworth / Proston area on June 9 last year
A massive search continued for nine days, involving police, firefighters, SES volunteers, Defence Force personnel and many South Burnett residents.
Searchers scoured the area on foot, horseback, on motorbikes and police divers checked dams.
Helicopters and drones were also deployed unsuccessfully to find the missing man, who had autism.
On September 18, a member of the public reported the discovery of a man’s body near a creek in the Okeden area.
Since then, Ms Bedey has been awaiting news from authorities about the results of DNA tests to determine if Luke had been located.
She learned the tragic news on Friday morning after reading a post published on the South Burnett Times’ Facebook page, part of the Courier-Mail newspaper.
“It’s been such a long time that Luke’s been missing and for us to find out by a Facebook post is, honestly, the worst way you could find this out,” a sobbing Ms Bedey told southburnett.com.au.
“Why weren’t we contacted first before the media?” Ms Bedey said.
She said the last time police had spoken to her about Luke was “months ago”.
“The State Coroner said they sent his DNA to Canberra because there’s such a long wait for DNA here in Queensland,” Ms Bedey said.
“That was the last contact and that was before Christmas.
“It’s just so wrong, it’s fundamentally wrong.”
A police spokesperson told southburnett.com.au on Friday afternoon that police have provided a report to the Coroner following the non-suspicious death of a 28-year-old man in Okeden last year.
Related articles:
- Identities Still Not Confirmed
- Police Await Results Of Forensic Tests
- Body Found Near Creek
- Search For Luke Scaled Back
- Army To Join Search For Luke
- Divers Join Search For Luke
- Luke Is Still Missing
- Have You Seen Luke?
