‘No chance’ of survival for two men
A FAILURE of communication between responding police and senior officers may have contributed to an hours-long wait in declaring two men missing after they disappeared into flood waters in the 2019 floods.
Even if crews began searching for the men right away, an experienced water police officer said anyone who entered the water that night to save the men “would have met the same fate”.
Troy Mathieson, 23, and Hughie Morton, 21, died after running into floodwaters after attempting to break into a liquor store early on February 4, 2019.
The bodies were found more than 24 hours later about noon on February 5.
A coronial inquest into their deaths continued on Wednesday, where Inspector Glenn Doyle, one of the decision makers on the night, said he knew police could not find the men after they tried to arrest them at the store.
“There was a possibility, but had not been confirmed, that one of these people may have entered the water and not come out,” he said.
“My understanding … was that (responding officers) were of the view that somebody had entered the water at some stage but they had not observed them come out.”
In his notes recorded at the time, Inspector Doyle said a male entered water, which had collected in a storm catchment, but his notes also said this was not confirmed.
On Tuesday, Senior Constable Warren Davies told the court he saw the two men enter the creek but said they didn’t appear to be struggling in the “waist high” water before he lost sight of them.
Giving evidence on Wednesday, Inspector Doyle said his actions and direction to other officers in the day after the attempted robbery were based on the belief no one entered the creek.
“There was a backdrop of huge demand, limited resources and a situation where we had no confir
mation that somebody had actually gone in the water,” he said.
He estimated it “literally would have taken hours” for water rescue crews, which were stood down at the time due to safety concerns, to respond to the job.
Even if the crews were ready to go he said response times were still anticipated between 30 and 45 minutes.
Police diver Senior Constable Michael Turner told the court he was part of a team that undertook a recovery mission, searching for the men about 11.45am on February 5.
The court was told other search operations, including an aerial search, began the day before.
Constable Turner said any rescue operation undertaken by police divers would have been “very difficult” in the circumstances and there would be “no chance” of someone pulling themselves out of strong flowing water if their head went under.
Expert witness civil engineer Grant Witheridge told the court the water levels in the drain at the time the two men entered were the “most dangerous” they could be and speculated the pair were dragged into the overflowing system which appeared “deceptively calm” feet first.
“They would have gone under so quick, without a sound,” he said.
Water police Senior Constable David York said in the hours after the men went missing it was too dangerous for uniformed police, dive crews or swift water rescue crews to enter the water.
He was questioned about what officers could have done if equipped rescue crews were at the location when the men entered the water.
“There is not much they could have done at all,” he said.
“If they entered the water they would have met the same fate.
“It was so close to where the drain enters and the water was moving that quick that by the time you entered the water you would be sucked into the drain.”