Current The Vanished Young Men of the Pilbara - WA

[Kurve]

Young men are vanishing from outback towns in northern Western Australia. They are among an increasing number of Australians being reported missing.

November, 2022 after a Saturday socialising in town, Wesley Lockyer returned to the small bush community where he’d grown up. And then he vanished.

Now other young men from the area have disappeared too.

Two of them vanished in just one week. The first was Wesley Lockyer, the second Clinton Lockyer. Then in April a relative Zane Stevens disappeared.

In 1998, Veronica Lockyer and her baby Adele also vanished, with a Coroner's Inquiry concluding they were deceased but with no clue of how or where.

But it’s the pattern of young Aboriginal men disappearing more recently that has local towns on edge.

“We feel forgotten up here,” reflects Annalee Lockyer.

Others have disappeared in Geraldton, Fitzroy Crossing and Balgo in recent years, in varying circumstances.

Could the cases be connected? Have the men been murdered?

The number of people going missing is increasing right across Australia. The rate, adjusted for population growth, suggests a 17 per cent increase in the 10 years to 2023.

The Pilbara region is among the most ancient in the world, its iron-rich crusts having formed 3.6 billion years ago.

The rock holds fossils of some of the oldest life forms on earth, yet no trace can be found of people who walked local roads just a few months ago.

Plateaus of raised red rock dot the horizon, as thunderous trucks of freshly dug iron ore blast along the highway.

“All this traffic — how can nobody have seen anything the weekend Wesley disappeared?” Barry Taylor asks.

One by one, young men disappear. This is the story of the Lockyer men, and why more Australians are going missing

Tensions are building in remote northern Australia after a string of mysterious disappearances. It comes as an increasing number of Australians are reported missing.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Bostonian]

Given 3 members from the same family went missing can't help but think there's some kind of targetted events that went down.

 

[Zidane98]

Are these simply cases of getting lost in the vast, outback environment and passing away? If you go really deep into the outback and are lost without water / food supplies without telling anyone where you are there's every chance one could perish and be never found (animals disturbing human remains etc).


And searches without some sort of a clue where to start are simply fruitless. Simply too much area to cover. You need a clue, a bit of clothing found, a signal from a mobile phone before it shut off for good, a witness etc.


Without anything like the above a search simply cannot be undertaken.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

You’d hope the case was given identical police resources as if it happened in a capital city, but it’s hard to say that - simple logistics makes it very difficult.

 

[Kurve]

You’d hope the case was given identical police resources as if it happened in a capital city, but it’s hard to say that - simple logistics makes it very difficult.

Out there they could have access to some pretty high tech equipment but even basic drones could have been sent up, trackers, dogs etc.

 

[Kurve]

Are these simply cases of getting lost in the vast, outback environment and passing away? If you go really deep into the outback and are lost without water / food supplies without telling anyone where you are there's every chance one could perish and be never found (animals disturbing human remains etc).


And searches without some sort of a clue where to start are simply fruitless. Simply too much area to cover. You need a clue, a bit of clothing found, a signal from a mobile phone before it shut off for good, a witness etc.


Without anything like the above a search simply cannot be undertaken.

Possibly foul play imo. They're Aboriginal and native to that land, they'd know where every waterhole and spring was, I'm sure they'd know how to survive out there.

 

[rank and file]

Bikies and the cops don't give a rats.

 

[Angry Red Bull]

Sites of interest identified in search for missing Pilbara man

A private canine tracking group engaged by the family of Wesley Lockyer says police have been alerted to multiple sites of interest following a four-day search.

www.abc.net.au

This is a report on the case. Cadaver dog indications it seems. Multiple family members missing too.

I watched a video from Jacinta Price which did a deep dive into indigenous violence in the outback. it put forward the proposition that indigenous culture is very patriarchal and controlled and fiercely protected interests. Throw into that mix the land rights and rich royalty entitlements and you get a environment conducive to murders.

Soooo I went looking what land rights as currently existing or being negotiated in the Pilbera and turns out that Fortescue minerals are currently negotiating with first nations people. Random throw at the dart board there.

I will look further

 

[rank and file]

Recent article.
I still think bikies are responsible.
They've had a foothold in Broome,Hedland and Karratha for decades and selling drugs is what they do.
The plod moves slow but the drugs move quick

 

[jason_recliner]

Community leaders call out drug dealers as suspicions grow missing men could have met with foul play​

Community leaders have gone public with suspicions the rampant meth trade in northern Australia could be linked to a string of disappearances of young men in outback towns. Five local men have vanished in strange circumstances in northern Western Australia within the last two years, with their families suspecting foul play.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-30/missing-men-drugs-northern-australia/104396030

That's a shame.

 

[CD Xbow]

Community leaders call out drug dealers as suspicions grow missing men could have met with foul play​

Community leaders have gone public with suspicions the rampant meth trade in northern Australia could be linked to a string of disappearances of young men in outback towns. Five local men have vanished in strange circumstances in northern Western Australia within the last two years, with their families suspecting foul play.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-30/missing-men-drugs-northern-australia/104396030

That's a shame.

Thanks for posting. Interesting article. Its very odd they have had the phone of Wesley Lockyer, who went missing from his home 2 years ago and have made no effort at 'digital analytics' of its contents until now. Goodness, it's the 21C, mobile phones are often the source of vital information.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

Community leaders call out drug dealers as suspicions grow missing men could have met with foul play​

Community leaders have gone public with suspicions the rampant meth trade in northern Australia could be linked to a string of disappearances of young men in outback towns. Five local men have vanished in strange circumstances in northern Western Australia within the last two years, with their families suspecting foul play.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-30/missing-men-drugs-northern-australia/104396030

That's a shame.

Literally anything could be happening in remote parts of Australia and never be known about if people don't want them to be. The drug trade is very likely to be involved here.

 

[Kurve]

Literally anything could be happening in remote parts of Australia and never be known about if people don't want them to be. The drug trade is very likely to be involved here.

That's just it though, it is pretty remote with small populations. It would hardly be worth it, up through the Pilbara to Port Hedland is a 15hr drive from Kalgoorlie.

 

[Zidane98]

Literally anything could be happening in remote parts of Australia and never be known about if people don't want them to be. The drug trade is very likely to be involved here.

Law enforcement is extremely difficult with vast distances to cover.


Maybe drones could help?

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

That's just it though, it is pretty remote with small populations. It would hardly be worth it, up through the Pilbara to Port Hedland is a 15hr drive from Kalgoorlie.

I think you underestimate the scope, organisation and determination of both sellers and buyers, as well as the relative freedom from observation.

 

[Kurve]

I think you underestimate the scope, organisation and determination of both sellers and buyers, as well as the relative freedom from observation.

They're not completely free from observation. From Kalgoorlie right up through the Pilbara to Port Hedland, there's a lot of activity, I think you'd be surprised.

There's mines everywhere.