Dying Rose | ‘Mystery caller’ sparked search for ‘distressed’ Charlene before her death

Documents reveal a tiny town launched into action after an anonymous caller feared for Charlene’s welfare – but police missed a chance to find her due to dogs in a neighbour’s yard.

Police admit they missed an opportunity to find the body of young mum Charlene Warrior 100m from where she was last seen because large dogs in a neighbouring yard thwarted a search.

The 21-year-old was dead for almost two weeks in plain sight in the town of Bute in 2021, with the full 51-page police report shedding light on missed opportunities.

The report was provided to her family after The Advertiser started asking questions about how her death was investigated, in a new podcast series called Dying Rose.

The report said an area near the body was never searched because of “large dogs” which didn’t like males.

Charlene’s mother Alma says she is devastated.

A staggering police report into the disappearance of Charlene Warrior reveals detectives say a sick neighbour and “aggressive dogs” led to her body not being discovered for two weeks, despite being in plain sight.

For the first time since her disappearance in 2021, Charlene Warrior’s family has received a 51-page report on the investigation into her death – including a final “note”, phone records from the morning she died and details of the search.

Charlene was 21 when her body was found mysteriously in a tree in Bute, on Yorke Peninsula, in view of the small town. Her death was ruled self-inflicted the morning after her body was discovered, but Charlene’s family immediately feared foul play.

So, too, it turns out, did the police.

The report shows Major Crime was engaged in the investigation, which detectives deemed to be “concerning and potentially suspicious”.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this story contains images and voices of people who have died.

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The report also reveals CFS volunteers and locals in small town launched a desperate search two days before Charlene Warrior disappeared, after an anonymous phone call raised concerns for the “distressed and confused” young mum, police documents have revealed.

Charlene Warrior had been missing for 13 days in the town of Bute, on the Yorke Peninsula, before her body was found in a tree just 100m from where she was last seen.

Bombshell police documents released to her family almost two years after her death have finally provided some answers as to how her body was left unseen for two weeks – and included revelations about a welfare search by residents in the days before she went missing.

The report, prepared for the State Coroner by detectives from SAPOL’s Port Pirie Criminal Investigation Branch, said a local CFS volunteer launched an ad hoc search for Charlene on September 18, after another resident received an anonymous phone call with concerns for her wellbeing.

That was the same night Charlene’s younger sister Theresa said she called her in a distressed state, from a park bench somewhere in the town.

She had gone to Bute to pick up her one-year-old daughter from the home of her ex-partner.

“The last phone call that we had was of her crying in tears,” Theresa said.

“That’s how I knew something was wrong, because she was crying in tears and she was saying ‘I need to get back to Adelaide’.”

Charlene called her sister and aunty from a park bench in Bute, two days before she was last seen. Picture: Supplied by the Warrior family

Charlene’s sister Theresa, right, said she knew something was wrong after that phone call. Picture: Supplied by the Warrior family

The police report says Charlene called one of her aunties at about 6.50pm, who described Charlene as being “distressed, upset and confused”.

The report then says a local resident received an anonymous phone call from a man unknown to him at about 7pm on September 18.

In that call, the man said Charlene was “in Bute in the park with her baby”. He then said Charlene “didn’t know anyone in Bute” and requested the resident go and look for her.

He did – and called a local CFS volunteer to assist with the search. Six Bute locals in total scoured the small town, which has a population of fewer than 400 people, to no avail.

The resident told police that while they were looking, he received another phone call from the same man telling him that Charlene was safe and at her ex-partner’s house. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Charlene’s ex-partner.

Later that night, Charlene messaged her sister to say “I hate this – literally the saddest shit ever”.

The documents do not say whether this search or phone call was reported to police prior to Charlene’s body being discovered.

A local CFS volunteer led an ad hoc search for Charlene two days before she disappeared, police documents have revealed. Picture: Sarah Reed

Charlene’s father Kenneth Newchurch, brother Clifford and mother Alma say Charlene was let down by the police search operation. Picture: Kathryn Bermingham

Charlene is one of six Aboriginal women whose cases are being investigated by The Advertiser in Dying Rose, a podcast in which their families ask whether police properly responded to their deaths.

Her sister Theresa remains adamant that she reported her missing to police on September 20 – but the State Coroner says a formal police report was not received until September 29.

The 51-page report detailing the police investigation into Charlene’s death – including a final “note”, phone records from the morning she died and details of the search operation – revealed that police attributed “aggressive dogs” and a sick neighbour for a failed search effort.

Charlene’s mother Alma said it was “outrageous” that search conductors did not ask to move the dogs from the backyard, which could have led to her daughter being found days earlier.

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