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Posted
November 14, 2018 05:20:50
A long-time friend of missing Hobart man Elson Kiddle says his disappearance feels like a “nightmare” as the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the popular 70-year-old deepens.
It’s now been five days since the father of four was last seen leaving his West Moonah home in Hobart to practice golf, ahead of his club’s championship games.
The discovery of Mr Kiddle’s white ute parked at the entrance to a walking track on kunanyi/Mount Wellington near the Hobart suburb of Lenah Valley led Tasmania Police to believe he had gone bushwalking.
Despite extensive air and ground searches on Monday and Tuesday, police have failed to find any conclusive leads.
Late on Tuesday afternoon, police appealed for boaties to search their vessels, although they did not say what information led to that appeal.
Mr Kiddle is known to have a lot of sailing experience and has taken part in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
Tuesday’s search involved more than 130 police, SES and volunteers in six square kilometres of dense scrub over nine hours.
A sniffer dog and rescue helicopter also failed to find a trace of the man.
Long-time friend and golfing partner, Graeme Corney, said it was unlikely his friend would be lost as he knew the trails well.
“I think it’s more likely he’s injured himself, I doubt he’d get lost,” he said.
“He lives not that far from [the site] and is known to walk this general area a fair bit.
“All our golfing friends have looked back at those few days before he disappeared and wondered if we missed something … but his behaviour seemed very normal.
“Its a mystery to me,” he shrugged.
Mr Corney said his friend was looking forward to the second round of club championships last Saturday.
“If he didn’t want to be found, he could be anywhere,” he said.
“No one has a bad word about him … he’s widely loved by everyone, always positive.. a really decent guy.
“He’s a determined, fit character, for a 70-year-old, he’s extremely fit so we’re hopeful that we’ll find him alive but time will tell.”
He said with every day that goes by, optimism among family and friends is reducing.
Daughter Shereen Kiddle posted to Facebook on Monday, expressing a similar experience to Mr Corney.
“Three days searching for our dad feels like a living nightmare. May all the good he is be recognised and rewarded by a safe return so we can nag him for another decade.”
Lenah Valley residents unnerved
Residents in the usually sleepy suburb of Lenah Valley said the mood was tense, as helicopters swooped overhead and police cars choked streets.
Belinda Smith lives metres from where Mr Kiddle’s vehicle was found.
She returned home from an outing on Friday morning to find her street cordoned off with chequered tape and police roaming the street.
“The hype of it all has got everyone in the area a bit concerned, its usually such a nice, quiet area…for all this to happen is a shock to everyone’s system,” she said.
She said the possibility of what could have happened to Mr Kiddle is “extremely scary”.
“To think something like this can happen it really shakes the people,” she said.
Ms Smith said it would be “quite easy” to get lost in the dense scrub as tracks aren’t clearly visible.
Police said today’s air search will focus on water sources in the mountainous area as a medical expert has advised police the man would need water.
At the eleventh hour of yesterday’s search, police made a last-minute request to all boat owners in the greater Hobart region to check their vessels for any sign of the missing man, who was known to be an avid sailor.
Police said that despite there being no evidence to suggest Mr Kiddle has headed toward boats, his uncharacteristic behaviour is prompting police to keep an open mind.
Despite the uncertainty, Mr Kiddle’s family said they remain “extremely confident and hopeful” they’ll find Mr Kiddle and thanked the public for volunteering their time to the search.
Topics:
missing-person,
community-and-society,
hobart-7000,
tas
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