Mystery surrounds horror river discovery
The body of a man found in a prominent Queensland waterway may have been in the water for several days, as police attempt to uncover the mysterious circumstances surrounding its discovery.
Queensland Police confirmed the man’s body was located in the Maroochy River under the Talep Bridge in Maroochydore, north of Brisbane, on November 30.
Six days later, he has still not been formally identified.
Police confirmed investigations were underway to identify the man – aged in his late 40s or 50s – but had been hampered by a post-mortem being unable to determine the cause of death.
Queensland Police said the man’s description did not match any current missing persons report in Australia at all.
Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Mick Doogue on Thursday said the body could have entered the water from as far west as Petrie Creek, or as far east as Chambers Island.
He said the man could have been in the water for up to five days before being found.
“The male person is described as a middle-aged caucasian male with reddish-brown short-cropped hair with a receding hairline,” Senior Sergeant Doogue said.
“He was 189cm tall and of large build. He had no tattoos or identifiable marks on his body.
“However, he did have evidence of a surgical operation upon his right knee.”
Senior Sergeant Doogue said the man was discovered wearing a black T-shirt and shorts, along with elastic cream-coloured compression socks on both his knees.
He said a computer generated image of the man would be released by police later in the day.
Police are searching underneath the Talep Bridge as part of their investigations.
“This matter is being treated as suspicious,” Senior Sergeant Doogue said.
“There were no injuries identified and no natural causes identified (in the post-mortem) that contributed to the cause of death.
Senior Sergeant Doogue encouraged members of the public who may know the man, or may have seen “frequently or infrequently” and not seen for the past two weeks to contact police.
“As we don’t know the timeline of events prior to the man ending up in the water, we will be treating the matter as suspicious,” he said.
“We’re seeking assistance to identify who this man is firstly, then to establish a background as to what he was doing leading up to him being discovered in the water.”
