Another one Missing

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/27004933/fears-for-missing-prospector/

That now makes 3 for 2015 that I know of. What can ya say.

it will become mandatory to have an epirb soon, thing is when a boy goes missing in the east then all hell breaks loose in the media and there are hundreds looking for him including some well supplied SES and cops ending thank god in a good outcome but here in WA you get lost and nothing is mentioned till a week later, 4 days without water and your dead. what good is it to start the search so many days later. why is a prospectors life in WA not as important as a boy in vic or anywhere elses for that matter. its bull crap.

martinjsto wrote:it will become mandatory to have an epirb soon, thing is when a boy goes missing in the east then all hell breaks loose in the media and there are hundreds looking for him including some well supplied SES and cops ending thank god in a good outcome but here in WA you get lost and nothing is mentioned till a week later, 4 days without water and your dead. what good is it to start the search so many days later. why is a prospectors life in WA not as important as a boy in vic or anywhere elses for that matter. its bull crap.

My thoughts exactly Martin mate.

Pete

Beg to differ fellas, the search was organised immediately after the couples dog wandered into Sandstone and after getting details from the micro chip and contacting the couples family and discovering the last contact with them had been on the 22/03.
The family have publicly commended those involved with the search.

Nightjar wrote:Beg to differ fellas, the search was organised immediately after the couples dog wandered into Sandstone and after getting details from the micro chip and contacting the couples family and discovering the last contact with them had been on the 22/03.
The family have publicly commended those involved with the search.

Hearing what your saying Peter , my agreeing with Martins post was based on his comment that the WA searches seem to take forever to get
underway compared to over east thats all, like most i hope they are found and found quickly, but i do at times think that the media
is only quick to jump on these stories if there is brownie points or it can give TV stations a boost in their ratings.
Being over east now if i didn't check the forums i wouldn't hear a thing about the poor buggers lost in WA and that is
ridiculous...
Have a goodie mate and a great 2015 season.

Pete

Maybe adding another... Neighbour Cloggsie (Goldstrijk) still not back yet after leaving before Easter, probably rained in, not that that would worry him as he takes enough food for 10 weeks or he's staking some ground after his 7000 started beeping like crazy over the weekend.
He was due back Tuesday night.

NuggieDreamer wrote:Maybe adding another... Neighbour Cloggsie (Goldstrijk) still not back yet after leaving before Easter, probably rained in, not that that would worry him as he takes enough food for 10 weeks or he's staking some ground after his 7000 started beeping like crazy over the weekend.
He was due back Tuesday night.

Thought he told me he took extra time off work to get home this friday, maybe not then

im not knocking the effort put in to find these people nuggetfinder in fact i commend them for the great effort they are putting in but they were last seen on the 22nd, then the dog walked into sandstone a week later, the 29th, the search didnt start immediately it started on the 1st. 3 days later so they have not been seen for 10 days now. it is know that when the fellow from menzies went missing last year a certain quad bike tour offered a fully equipped crew to help the search but were refused as they didnt want others lost. yet with the search for the boy in the east anyone who is capable was allowed to help. 3 days is enough to die from lack of water. members from here are currently visiting melbourne and asked a fella in the media whether they knew anything about the missing prospectors in WA, he answered no, prospectors go missing all the time its not newsworthy.

Herein lies the problem. By the time someone is reported as missing, it's near to a week and by then it's possibly already too late.
So by the time the Police and SES get coordinated for a search and get personnel on the ground to isolated areas, you can add extra days.
As detectorists, we do have a duty of care to ourselves to carry the necessary equipment like epirbs and GPS units or even sat phones, but if you are not in a physical position to use them, then it is all over rover regardless of how "Experienced" you may be.
While I don't advocate laws being created to force people to have the necessary equipment, I think the WA government may just force us to have it or people are going to get hit with the bill for the time spent searching, that's providing you are still alive to pay the bill.
Now we have the mystery of the missing couple and their faithful dog and the man from Laverton.
So what can we do to ensure this doesn't happen again. Probably nothing as there are people out there who think they know better when we know even experienced people can get lost.
Buggered if I know.

CrazyPete wrote:

NuggieDreamer wrote:Maybe adding another... Neighbour Cloggsie (Goldstrijk) still not back yet after leaving before Easter, probably rained in, not that that would worry him as he takes enough food for 10 weeks or he's staking some ground after his 7000 started beeping like crazy over the weekend.
He was due back Tuesday night.

Thought he told me he took extra time off work to get home this friday, maybe not then

CP I was due to head out the day after Cloggsie to keep him honest and something for him to laugh at after his haul each day. Work commitments and the Mrs started up as soon as he left for the scrub so I was rain chequed again.
When I saw Pete the night before he left he was saying we'll be gone for the weekend and back Tuesday. Pulling extra days is typical of him though.  
He still carries a texting sat phone, so I'm sure all's good.

Been txting him a fair bit since he left Dieter, could ya send me his sat phone number mate, pm it if ya will.

Cheers mate
Pete

Lets hope cloggsy is ok but if the roads are bad maybe he's sitting it out till they are dry.
Or lets hope he has not been making too much SX red ned stew and has to drink it all  eat it all  

He's Back... I'm sure for a story to tell soon.

This situation is very concerning and I suppose a question is, at one time or another, how many of us who spend long periods in remote bush have not found themselves temporarily "lost", or as I prefer it, "a bit turned round".

But regarding the missing person referred to in this particular thread, a couple of years ago in that area we were accosted by a bloke who was full on aggressive with a very bad attitude toward prospectors from the East (vehicle number plate gave us away!).
After some very unpleasant exchanges he left but later that night we heard shooting then around 5 minutes later he drove very slowly past our camp. If he was expecting us to leave then he failed. We had every right to be there.

This "redneck" attitude of some is more worrying than being lost, all the safety devices ever made are of no help in an ambush.
Mike

no they wont help you in that situation but I would report him straight to the authorities, they dont take too kindly to that sought of thing and will come and educate him. shooting within 5 min of camp is bloody stupid and asking for trouble. i know a few fellas that are fully prepared to take these dorks on and i reckon the shithead will come out second best. its only a matter of time if they keep it up and they will run across one of them. Personally i will do everything i can to subdue the situation with him showing him the paperwork or ground lease type and if necessary stand my ground but when the bullets start to fly its time for me to pack up as i dont want to have a death on my conscience. i prefer the bow and arrows for its silence and maybe remind him that he has to sleep sometime and as he drives around his tracks would be easy to follow back to his camp. we can all be nasty but i prefer to be smart and leave him to it. now if he attacks us then its a different situation of survival and it will be on for one and all and then the survival training kicks in and no one wants to see that. thats probably what that skeleton is from they found in the shaft, some idiot with a attitude similar to his. luckly its a rare thing now, well i prefer to think it is anyway.

Good post some good points brought up, I was only worried about wild dogs when out bush never thought about rednecks. If I was out bush with the missus and felt threatened by undesireables I would pack up and leave not worth the hassle even if I was on legal ground. If on the other hand I was with some mates it would be different I would stay put, just my thoughts.


Cheers Kev

ND that's how rumours start mate, I was always coming back Wednesday
Have an EPIRB and also a new Sat phone, been talking to the missus every day!
Also, please do me a favour and don't call my missus the Dragon!!!

Found - https://www.facebook.com/wapolge?ref=br_rs

Good old WA coppers. Posted on their Facebook page on 7th of April but nothing in the news.
Well done boys in blue.

boobook wrote:

But regarding the missing person referred to in this particular thread, a couple of years ago in that area we were accosted by a bloke  who was full on aggressive with a very bad attitude toward prospectors from the East (vehicle number plate gave us away!).
After some very unpleasant exchanges he left but later that night we heard shooting then around 5 minutes later he drove very slowly past our camp. If he was expecting us to leave then he failed. We had every right to be there.

This "redneck" attitude of some is more worrying than being lost, all the safety devices ever made are of no help in an ambush.
Mike

Wow, thats a worry Mike......It was probably the 'General' letting off a bit of steam. Lol

An isolated incident no doubt.

I have spent many moons over West and have always found the WA boys and their prospecting fraternity, as solid as Igneous rock.

Im always made to feel welcome from over East, and most of these lads are the first to offer advice and lend a helping hand.

I guess there are bad eggs in every basket however, i know we certainly got some over here also!

The 'Golden Triangle' in Vic is a pin-head in size compared to the vast expanses of the WA outback and with the climate too boot, would make any search difficult in the region.

I agree with the others here that time is certainly of the essence in any outback search, and you would not last long without water at all in the land of 'No second chance' ....as old Slim would say.

All the seasoned prospectors on this forum know whats required to safely prospect in the outback, they know what to carry in regards to Comm's, Navigation, personal protection, First-aid etc etc, as do I, but unfortunately not all are as experienced or as knowledgeable before they head out.

I feel embarrassed sometimes when prospectors head over from our eastern states with no idea what to expect, no solid bush skills, not enough preparation, no local knowledge etc and get themselves into trouble.

I know these lost prospectors were local to WA and experienced campers, and a lot of things dont 'add up' for me in this particular situation.....one can not rule out foul play, a staged disappearance or similar and Im sure the coppers know this.

The tracker dogs suddenly losing the scent of the trail would suggest to me that they may have been picked up by a 'third party' in a vehicle or trekked through water (which is not a possibility out there).

If they have perished above ground, the circling eagles would announce their resting place in advance, if they ran into trouble below ground, well thats a different story!

One can only speculate but if they did run into trouble, i do agree that they would have most likely already perished before the search had even began.

Regards

Meta

Edit: Just read the ground search has been called off

http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/ground-search-for-couple-in-wa-called-off/story-e6frfku9-1227301953479

G'day Meta  

Yeah mate i'm hearin ya     Some people just dont get it when it comes to bush survival/safety, and then there's your other points about foul play or not wanting to
be found at all...
 this certainly is a weird one.

As you know, over here in the GT it's impossible to get truly bushed, there's a fence every couple o clicks in any direction
you walk, yet it was only late last year that a fella from Blackwood went missin, another weird case, local bloke, just disappeared while detecting on his local turf, not sure if he was found ?


Pete

That fellow from Blackwood, vic was found..
Sad outcome
As far as I know, he may have committed suicide.

Hi

There was a short piece on the news tonight.

As posted previously the search is to be called off.

However, the remains found down the shaft may not be as old as first thought and possibly be that of Raymond Kehlet.
Tests will be conducted and if positively identified as the missing prospector, ground penetrating radar will be used in the shaft.

There is also now a report that abseiling equipment may be missing from their camp.

I don't know how much truth is in the report but it may explain a few things.

Regards
Rowdy

And so the saga continues, The Police seem to have come to the obvious conclusion but have not laid charges....????

It is an interesting case and I am sure more will be revealed at the inquest.....

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-06/inquest-into-disappearance-of-kehlet-couple-in-wa-desert/11843986

Be very interesting to hear Raymond Milnes story when he takes the stand.

And the plot thickens.......

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-07/kehlet-couple-inquest-hears-from-prospector-who-found-camp/11849816