Shelford search for missing Bannockburn mum Lorrin Whitehead

Police and volunteers are scouring bushland at a rural property at Shelford in a fresh bid to find the remains of missing Bannockburn mum Lorrin Whitehead who vanished more than a decade ago.

SES volunteers search bushland near Shelford as a part of a police investigation into the 2013 disappearance of Lorrin Whitehead. Picture: NewsWire/Aaron Francis

Fresh clues have sparked a new search for the remains of missing Bannockburn woman Lorrin Whitehead almost 12 years after she vanished.

Police and SES crews scoured bushland at a rural Shelford property, about 40km northwest of Geelong, on Tuesday after new intelligence led them to the area.

Detective Sergeant Steven Murphy from the Moorabool Crime Investigation Unit said crews were searching for Ms Whitehead’s remains and devices belonging to her.

He said investigators were probing whether Ms Whitehead had fallen victim to foul play.

“We’ve got a responsibility to Lorrin, her five children, her elderly parents, and the tight-knit community of Bannockburn to solve this investigation,” he said.

Detective Sergeant Steven Murphy. Picture: NewsWire/Aaron Francis.

“We’re considering all of the theories in relation to Lorrin’s disappearance, and that includes foul play.

“But as we do that, we need to keep an open mind.

“We’re looking for certain items that are of interest to us, but also looking for Lorrin’s remains.”

After her disappearance in February 2013, Ms Whitehead’s work phone was found inside her home and her bank accounts haven’t been touched since.

Investigators have not been able to find a laptop and other missing devices that belonged to her.

Detective Sergeant Murphy said new leads had continued to come from the public over the years since Ms Whitehead disappeared.

But he would not be drawn on what specific intelligence led police to a private rural property on Tuesday.

Lorrin Whitehead CCTV before her disappearance.

“What we’re doing today is a result of the information that we’ve been given, and I just want to make it real clear that we are absolutely focused on finding Lorrin and finding out what happened to Lorrin,” he said.

“Today is just another one of the things that we are doing to follow up every piece of information.

“We can’t do that on our own, so we really rely on the information that the public have got to come forward and help us.”

Ms Whitehead, a mother-of-five, vanished when her eldest daughter Amelia Grozdanovski was just 11 years old.

SES volunteers search bushland near Shelford as a part of a police investigation into the 2013 disappearance of Lorrin Whitehead. Picture: NewsWire / Aaron Francis

Speaking to media in the years since her mother’s out of character disappearance, she opened up about the struggle of coping with her mother’s case without answers.

Ms Grozdanovski lashed the police’s initial response to her mother’s disappearance, saying not enough had been done to find her in the days after she went missing.

“We are none the wiser. We have had no clear leads, although we’ve had lots and lots of people come forward with information and theories and helpful comments,” she told the ABC last year.

The Homicide Squad is not involved in the search for Ms Whitehead at this point, but the Missing Persons Unit is aware of the efforts to find her remains.

The owners of the land searched on Tuesday are not involved in the investigation and granted police permission to search their property.

EARLIER

Police will on Tuesday search bushland near Shelford following a tip that the remains of Bannockburn mum Lorrin Whitehead may be in the area.

Based on fresh intelligence, detectives from Moorabool Crime Investigation Unit (CIU), along with members of the SES, will probe bushland about 40km northwest of Geelong for any signs of Ms Whitehead, who went missing more than ten years ago.

Over the past year, a special investigation team, led by the CIU, has dedicated extensive resources at the case ahead of an anticipated coronial inquest this year.

The team has reportedly scrutinised more than 70 statements and reinterviewed witnesses in an effort to fill any gaps from the original investigation and establish a fresh timeline of events.

CIU Detective Sergeant Steve Murphy said Ms Whitehead’s bank accounts had remained untouched since she was last seen in 2013.

“There are a number of aspects to her disappearance that remain extremely concerning for investigators,” he said.

“Most people we have spoken to has also agreed that her disappearance is extremely out of character.

A police image of how police believe Lorrin Whitehead would look today.

Ms Whitehead was spotted leaving her home on Friday February 8 2013.

She was then seen on CCTV at a supermarket in Bannockburn just after 4.50pm that day purchasing a bottle of water, a card and a pen.

While at the time of her disappearance, she did not own a red 4WD, a witness reported seeing her enter the driver’s seat of a red 4WD in Bannockburn’s CBD.

This was the last confirmed time she was seen by anyone.

A second witness reported seeing a red 4WD vehicle parked on the nature strip of Ms Whitehead’s property over the weekend of her disappearance.

Mr Murphy said police were appealing for anyone with information about the red 4WD.

“This is a small community and potentially someone who never felt ready to speak to police might now be in a position to come forward,” he said.

Mr Murphy said the area for today’s search was not one that people regularly walked through. “So we’re hopeful there may be some sign of Lorrin here even after all these years,” he said.

“I can only begin to imagine how difficult the past 12 years have been for Lorrin’s family and loved ones not having any answers about why or how she disappeared.”

Detectives are not ruling anything out in relation to Ms Whitehead’s disappearance and have re-released images of her in the hope they will prompt anyone with knowledge of her whereabouts to come forward.

Anyone with information regarding the disappearance is urged contact Crime Stoppers at 1800 333 000.

Originally published as Shelford search for missing Bannockburn mum Lorrin Whitehead