Katsushi Ohata disappeared in the Nullarbor Plains – now an inquest is probing what happened to him
Cut up credit cards among scattered belongings were all that was discovered after the “polite man” rode into the bush. Investigators hope more can now be revealed.
SA News
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The man at the counter of the Ceduna Sports and Outdoor Centre was nondescript – 1.73m tall, wearing a long-sleeve top with khaki shorts, clean shaven and with smooth skin.
His English was sparse but he managed to communicate, using a Japanese to English guidebook, that he wanted to buy a bicycle to ride across the Nullarbor.
Then store owner Scott Palmer helped the man and sent him on his way, kitted out with a bike and equipment, shaking his hand on the way out of the shop and wishing him luck.
That handshake was one of the last times Katsushi Ohata, 52, would be seen alive.
The $689.99 bike he had purchased was never recovered but some of the items, including a replacement tyre tube for the bike, was found on the edge of a cliff 350km west of Ceduna.
Deputy Coroner Anthony Schapel is considering his findings in an inquest into the disappearance of Mr Ohata sometime between March 11 and 21, 2015.
Counsel assisting the Coroner Stephen Plummer said the evidence showed it was likely Mr Ohata had fallen with his bike from the cliffs into the Great Australian Bight.
But precisely what happened to Mr Ohata is unknown and questions remain about why some of his belongings were found 75m away along the top of the cliff.
The Tourist
Mr Ohata was born in Tokyo in March 1963. He listed his occupation on entry into Australia as office worker.
On February 28, 2015, he flew into Melbourne alone before making his way to Adelaide and finally to Ceduna by bus.
He stayed at the Big 4 Caravan Park in Ceduna from March 8 to 11.
“The man had a very basic understanding of English and I struggled to communicate verbally with him,” the acting manager told police.
“I was able to direct him to his cabin but had no conversation beyond that.”
On March 10, Mr Ohata went to the Ceduna Sports and Outdoor Centre to purchase a bike.
“During my initial conversation with him I was able to ascertain that he was from Japan and he had arrived in Australia for the purpose of riding across the Nullarbor Plain,” Mr Palmer said in his statement. “He was a polite man who was good to deal with.”
Mr Ohata spent $840.94 on the bike and various supplies including a helmet, a rack for the bike and a spare tube.
The Scene
At 6pm on Saturday, March 21, Senior Constable Marc Hutchins was recalled to duty in the tiny regional community of Yalata.
He made the trip east out into the Nullarbor after receiving reports that a tourist had found items strewn along a remote cliff edge and cycle tracks leading to the edge.
Among the items was a bumbag containing $4420 in Australian currency.
Senior Constable Hutchins went to the rough area described by the tourist but couldn’t track him down.
The tourist had not wanted to stay at the campgrounds, where it was suspected a man had plunged to his death, leaving only the signs of his demise.
The police officer finally tracked down the tourist, a West Australian man, 20km away from the scene.
The tourist handed over the cash and the bumbag and went with Senior Constable Hutchins back to the scene.
The pair travelled 2km down a single lane ungraded dirt track until they reached a campsite at the top of 50m cliffs.
Below the drop was the roar of the Great Australian Bight, which that day was rough with 4m swells crashing into the base of the cliffs.
A single bicycle track was noted running down the track towards the campsite. At the top of the cliff was a Japanese to English translation book and a small pack of baby wipes.
Before ending in a sheer drop, the cliff declined at about 45 degrees for 20m.
On the slope leading to the cliff was a small cargo net, a laptop case and a more baby wipes.
Bicycle tracks in the sand at the top of the cliff indicated the rider had completed a 5m circle before riding directly towards the cliff.
The tracks stopped 2m short of the edge as the ground became rocky and eventually ended in a blue abyss.
The Search
Senior Constable Hutchins secured the scene and stayed at the site overnight.
The next morning, on March 22, State Emergency Service volunteers were joined by specialist police who flew in from Adelaide to manage the search.
The SA Police fixed-wing aircraft provided an aerial search down the line of the cliffs but found nothing.
The SES volunteers formed a line to search up and down the top of the cliffs and surrounding scrub.
The search party found a pair of bicycle gloves, a black sock, a bicycle helmet and a cut up credit card in Mr Ohata’s name 75m west of the tyre tracks about 1.45pm.
The helmet and the sock were discovered 7m down the cliff slope and had to be recovered using ropes.
Specialist police conducted cliff searches near the tyre marks and retrieved an empty black bag, some items of clothing, bicycle repair tools and two Japanese book covers.
The weather hampered the search efforts but police returned the next day to once again search the cliffs but nothing more was found.
A final lonely flight, chartered from a nearby airfield, searched the coast on March 27, finding nothing and the search was called off.
The Investigation
Detective Brevet Sergeant Scott Richard Price, from Ceduna CIB, started the long task of investigating the disappearance.
The name on the card led him to the accommodation in Ceduna and finally to the details of Mr Ohata’s arrival in Australia.
He concluded it would have taken at least four days for Mr Ohata to cycle to the cliff and that weather conditions meant the items could have laid there undisturbed for three days.
After reviewing weather and swell conditions at the remote cliff face, Brevet Sergeant Price reached the conclusion that “there was very little chance of survival should Mr Ohata have been alive when he entered the water”.
When trying to discover more details about Mr Ohata, Brevet Sergeant Price ran headlong into language difficulties and cultural barriers.
Writing in November, 2015, Brevet Sergeant Price said he had been unable to maintain contact with Mr Ohata’s family despite involving Interpol, the Japanese Embassy and Australian Federal Police.
Through then Victims’ Rights Commissioner Michael O’Connell, Brevet Sergeant Price was put in touch with a contact in Japan who called Mr Ohata’s father and told him that Australian authorities were trying to speak to him.
“He hemmed and hawed, then finally stated that he didn’t want to talk to anyone about his son,” the contact reported by email.
“I stated that he would have the opportunity to ask any questions he might have regarding his son’s activities in Australia, to which he replied he had no questions.
“I then asked whether it would be OK to speak with his daughter to which he declined, excused himself and hung up the phone.”
Brevet Sergeant Price concluded that the “cultural sensitivity and red tape appears to be a stumbling block that I have been unable to overcome”.
“I believe we will never be able to prove beyond all doubt (that the assumed deceased was in fact Mr Ohata),” he concluded.
“But with all of the intelligence at hand, it is my belief that this is the case.”
A date has yet to be set for the inquest findings to be handed down.
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