Gayle Woodford death: Discovery of her body down to tenacity, GPS and luck

GAYLE Woodford’s body could have been lost for eternity in the Far North scrub. But technology, Aboriginal local knowledge and a stroke of good luck at least means a dignified farewell.

Police hold concerns for the safety of Gayle Woodford, who is missing in South Australia's APY Lands. Source: Facebook

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THE harsh and isolated landscape could easily have concealed the body of Gayle Woodford for eternity.

But modern technology, Aboriginal local knowledge and a giant stroke of good luck will at least allow Mrs Woodford’s family the tiny consolation of a dignified farewell.

Encompassing an area the same size as South Korea — but with only about 3000 permanent residents — the far-flung APY Lands poses a gigantic challenge for any search party.

Thanks to summer rains, the usually arid lands are a contrast of deep ochre earth and striking green grass, surprising to many who would expect the area to be a virtual moonscape.

Forensic experts on Sunday scoured the area around the shallow grave at the end of one of hundreds of small tracks that snake off the main road from the Stuart Hwy into the Lands.

Major Crime Superintendent Des Bray said that in years past, it would be unlikely that Mrs Woodford’s remains would ever have been found among the seemingly endless scrub.

Police and forensic officers examine the area near where Mrs Woodford’s body was found. Picture: Simon Cross

Gayle Woodford, with her husband Keith.

GPS data taken from the stolen ambulance and downloaded by Mrs Woodford’s colleagues after she was reported missing provided police with vital information.

Searchers used the GPS data to pinpoint a number of places the ambulance had stopped before finding the gravesite about 2pm on Saturday.

“Without the GPS data and without the efforts of the people from the local health service who reviewed that data at home at night trying to get more data … they came the next day with that data and we were able to refocus our searches,” he said.

“Notwithstanding the GPS data and notwithstanding the efforts of everybody, we still needed a degree of luck to find her.”

Aboriginal residents used their local knowledge to assist police and used dirtbikes to search along the barely accessible tracks into the scrub.

While nothing can alleviate the pain and grief of the Woodford family and the Fregon community, the discovery of her body can at least allow them to grieve without the torment of not knowing her fate.

Where her body was found