Police locate missing senior's vehicle in NSW river, investigation continues

Police divers, acting on a public tip, recovered a gold Ford Escape belonging to missing 73-year-old Yvonne Whear from the Rous River in Dulguigan, northern New South Wales, on 12 September. The vehicle and several of Whear's personal items are undergoing forensic and mechanical analysis, but she was not found with the car. Whear was last captured on CCTV at a Murwillumbah service station on 19 February, after which she drove toward her hobby farm in Dungay.

Her daughter Gillian Hallac notes that her mother never drove after dark, left her boots, hat, and food at home, and was in a lease dispute over the farm. A witness reported seeing the car parked without lights on Dungay Creek Road near her residence. Detectives, including Acting Inspector Chris Elliott, say there is no evidence she would have disappeared of her own accord, and Hallac suspects foul play.