THURSDAY 9am:
Police divers will today check dams and creeks around the area Laggan woman Jillian Fahey went missing on Sunday.
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Inspector Jason Horne said the move was in line with search protocol rather than a result of any specific information.
They will be joined by Rescue Squad instructors and volunteers from the Goulburn Police Academy.
Neither SES personnel nor a helicopter will be involved in today’s search. But yesterday some 60 local residents joined in the effort and helped cover a total 62 square kilometres of bushland and rural property.
Inspector Horne said he spoke to the family yesterday and they were “holding up okay.”
“They are overwhelmed with the amount of community support and amazed that so many people have given up their time to help out...They are very grateful,” Inspector Horne said.
Police have received a “handful” of phone calls from the community regarding Ms Fahey but investigations have not borne fruit. However they’re still encouraging people to come forward with any relevant information.
Inspector Horne said while fears were growing for the 50-year-old, police had not ruled out the possibility that Ms Fahey had gone off somewhere and simply didn’t want to be found. Detectives are undertaking background profiling.
The search area has expanded well beyond the property. Inspector Horne said that as a result, resources would not be as concentrated and police would be relying more on the community.
Wednesday 10am:
Police and a small army of helpers are still searching for a woman who went missing from a Laggan district property.
Jillian Fahey, 50, was last seen by her family on Sunday at about 10.30am at her Cummins Road property, 15km northwest of Laggan.
Family and friends have been searching for her since Sunday and on Monday, police, PolAir and SES volunteers joined the effort.
Inspector Jason Horne said police were receiving phone calls about possible sightings and detectives were investigating these.
“Police are liaising closely with her family and because of this we hold concerns for her welfare,” he said.
“...The information we have is that unless someone has picked her up on Sunday, she is likely to be on foot.”
Police, 12 SES personnel from Collector, Goulburn and Crookwell, an unknown number of locals and a Westpac helicopter are searching the 600-acre grazing property today. Inspector Horne said numbers would ramp up if Ms Fahey wasn’t found in the next few days.
Her family reported her missing to police on Sunday afternoon.
Ms Fahey is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 160cm tall, of thin build, fair complexion, with blonde hair and blue eyes. A Facebook posting by her family stated that she was on foot and wearing pink/blue Asics runners, beige cargo pants and a short sleeved tee shirt when she went missing.
Anyone who sees Ms Fahey or knows her whereabouts is urged to contact police via Crime Stoppers.
Paragliding accident
In other news, police have confirmed the 39-year-old killed in a paragliding accident at Mummel on Monday afternoon was from Terrigal.
He was being towed on the back of a vehicle at the Pooleys Road property when he dropped to the ground. Police said the man died at the scene. They were called to the property at 1.20pm.
A Goulburn detective has been assigned to the case. The police Aviation Support Unit and the Australian Gliding Association are assisting the investigation.
Fatal car crash
A woman who died in a car crash south of Goulburn on Tuesday was from Winston Hills.
She was driving a Mitsubishi Pajero south along the Hume Highway at Yarra when it struck an object, causing the car to roll on its roof, police said.
She died at the scene, while a female passenger sustained serious injuries and was airlifted to Canberra Hospital. Three other occupants were treated for minor injuries at Goulburn Base Hospital.
Inspector Horne said police were examining video footage from a witness’s dash-cam to determine the object the woman struck.
Two families, one from Sydney, were travelling to Jindabyne for a holiday.