ON TRAIL OF KILLER
AS A former top cop who led investigations into some of the Far North’s most serious crimes, no one knows the grating feeling of an unsolved murder more than John Harris.
So yesterday the local Crime Stoppers representative packed up his truck and headed north on a one-man mission to help find answers in the mysterious case of Donna Steele.
In a first for the Far North, Mr Harris will spend 10 days in Cooktown as part of a Crime Stoppers blitz in a desperate bid to glean some information from the small community.
He will attend community forums, do letterbox drops with information and speak to as many people as he can in the hope of helping police solve the case.
“The longer it goes, the harder it gets (to solve it),” the 40-year police veteran said.
“I thought I’d get up there while the investigators are still on the ground.
“I want the widest community engagement that I can achieve in the next 10 days.”
Ms Steele’s wrapped body was found in a creek at Isabella Crossing in early August.
An additional 11 detectives remain in Cooktown investigating the case, including officers from the Brisbane-based homicide squad.
Crime Stoppers has already made initial moves to assist in the case. Far North chairwoman Margaret Cochrane last week announced plans to distribute beer coasters with Ms Steele’s picture and information through local hotels, and to push the message that the service they provide is anonymous.
Mr Harris echoed the message of anonymity and said the organisation had a proven track record with murders, with 25 around the state directly attributed to information received by Crime Stoppers.
“The idea is to sell the message,” he said.
“There is a drug element in Cooktown that is well known so there is probably an element of reluctance to come forward.
“We’ve never done a Crime Stoppers program in Cooktown, but we wanted to go up there and generate information to help solve this.”
Mr Harris said he was confident his trip would yield the information police needed as the investigation entered its fifth month.
The organisation is a registered charity and community volunteer organisation.