Gayle Woodford: Body of devoted nurse found in APY Lands shallow grave in South Australia

THE family of Outback nurse Gayle Woodford have spoken out, saying the tireless worker gave her heart and soul helping those most in need — only to have her life taken away.

• Abducted nurse’s body found in shallow grave

GAYLE Woodford gave her heart and soul helping those most in need, only to have her life taken away.

The popular nurse’s son and daughter fought back tears as they spoke of their anguish at their mother’s death.

“We are having difficulty coming to terms with this unprovoked, premature end to mum’s life, anyone who knows mum would appreciate the kind, generous, loving, devoted and beautiful person she was,” son Gary Woodford said.

“She has always devoted her life to not only her family and friends but has given so much back to the community.

“She wanted to make a difference to people’s lives through her nursing and caring for others.”

A Mimili man has been charged with murder over the death of Mrs Woodford.

The 36-year-old man was already in police custody having been charged with the theft of her ambulance.

The body of devoted nurse Gayle Woodford was discovered in a shallow grave not far from the tiny Fregon community that she and husband Keith called home.

On Saturday, the body of the nurse and mother-of-two was discovered crudely dumped in a shallow grave not far from the tiny Fregon community she and husband Keith called home.

Her son Mr Woodford said his family wanted to “express our devastation at the loss of a beautiful, loving wife and mother”.

“She has made an impact on every single person she has come in contact with,” he said.

“We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank police, the SES, volunteers and all the different community members for their endless efforts in finding mum, their support has been overwhelming.”

Daughter Alison Woodford spoke briefly of the family’s torment.

“As a family we will not be making any further statements, we ask all to respect our privacy at this tremendously sensitive time, our hearts are breaking every second,” she said.

Keith Woodford remained too grief-stricken to speak publicly, but issued a statement thanking the people of Fregon for their support.

Fregon Community Constable Carl Roberts said the people of Fregon were grief-stricken.

“The Fregon community are truly and deeply devastated at what has happened, our thoughts and prayers are with Woody and his family,” Const. Roberts said.

“Gayle was devoted to the Fregon community for more than four years, she provided care with a smile, we all loved her and will miss her deeply.”

It was in the red dirt of the Outback where Mrs Woodford devoted her career to caring for some of the nation’s poorest and most isolated residents.

Police are now guarding the gravesite in the APY Lands as her heartbroken family and the indigenous community comes to grips with losing the much-loved 56-year-old.

“It’s not hard to imagine how they would feel; they would be completely devastated by this as are many of the people in the community,” said Superintendent Des Bray, of the Major Crime Taskforce.

A ground search found Mrs Woodford’s body at 2pm — more than two days after she was reported missing.

The late Gayle Woodford with her husband Keith. Source: Facebook

The remote area nurse was abducted in a stolen bush ambulance from outside her home while her husband was asleep.

As police made the grim discovery public, people took to social media to pay their respects to “a lovely lady who was always smiling” and an “Outback Angel”, while the nurses union lamented the impact her death would have on attracting health workers to remote communities in the Far North.

Supt Bray said searchers had used the GPS co-ordinates from the four-wheel-drive ambulance to lead them to the body of Mrs Woodford, who had worked for the Nganampa Health Council, in Fregon, for three years.

“Some further investigation located another crime scene about 500m away. I can’t disclose what happened at those scenes but certainly there are two distinct areas that we are looking at,” Supt Bray said.

The first crime scene was about 70m from the roadside, while Mrs Woodford’s body was found further into the thick scrub about 1.5km from Fregon. A police forensic team will fly from Adelaide this morning to carry out a full investigation of the scene.

Supt Bray said GPS co-ordinates were vital to Mrs Woodford’s discovery.

“Just look around the countryside, without that data it’s unlikely that she would have been found searching from the air,” he said.

Supt Bray said the local community had pulled together to help in the search, including residents who used dirt bikes to search tracks off the main road into Fregon.

“Everybody liked her and everybody was hoping she would be found safe somewhere; unfortunately that wasn’t to be,” he said.

Supt Bray said the mood in Fregon was one of grief and despair. “There is just an overwhelming feeling of sadness — it’s not a good feeling,” he said.

Mrs Woodford was originally from the Eyre Peninsula town of Cleve and moved to Stansbury, on the Yorke Peninsula, about 30 years ago where her children, Gary and Alison, still live.

A friend said Mrs Woodford “had a heart of gold”.

Police are now guarding the gravesite of Gayle Woodford in the APY Lands.

“The efforts of everybody in the community have been commendable ... people have given up their Easter and left their own families to come out and try and find Gayle.”

“You couldn’t find a nicer person than Gayle,” he said. “It’s in her nature to help others. Everyone is shocked.”

Over $1200 has been raised in 16 hours for the Woodford family on a fundraising page set up by Triple Zero Tolerance, a online group raising awareness on violence against emergency service personnel.

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation state secretary Elizabeth Dabars said Mrs Woodford’s death could have an impact on attracting nurses to work in the Far North.

“As a community, you would have to be extremely concerned about the impact that this would have on people being prepared to go to these remote and isolated areas,” she said.

“It takes a special type of person to be able to provide those services in such a remote and isolated community, not only in terms of the skill-set that you have to have but also the mental toughness that you need.”

Ms Dabars said nurses in the Outback were critical to the communities they served.

“It is absolutely essential that the type of person who is prepared to go to these places are supported and encouraged and nurtured in those types of environments,” she said.

Ms Dabars said the nursing union had previously advocated for nurses in remote communities to work in pairs for safety.

“In the past we have lobbied and advocated for two people to be located in these communities and to protect each other,” she said. “It would be safer and appropriate to have two people to provide assistance to the community to support each other.”

- Additional reporting by Jordanna Schriever and Martina Simos