Heartbroken mother speaks out on lack of effort by police to find missing daughter

The mother of a Gympie woman Sarah Brown, who was found dead in bushland last month, has revealed how the investigation was treated by police and her disappointment in their “terrible” efforts to find her daughter.

The mother of Sarah Brown, found dead in Gympie last month after being missing for a week, has revealed how the investigation was treated by police and her disappointment in their "terrible" efforts to find her daughter.

The mother of a 23-year-old woman who was found dead in Gympie bushland last month has expressed her disappointment and frustration with the police in charge of the search.

Janet Gardner is the heartbroken mother of Sarah Brown, who went missing on June 7, and was found dead one week later near Victory Trails, a piece of bushland on the edge of Gympie crisscrossed with walking and riding trails.

Still mourning the loss of her beautiful daughter, Ms Gardner told The Gympie Times how she felt let down by Queensland Police Services after she told them Sarah had gone missing from her home.

“The missing persons report was done in Gayndah where I live and he posted it through and I was supposed to receive a phone call from the missing persons unit, which didn’t happen, so we went to the police station in Gympie,” Ms Gardner said.

“I gave them everything I knew and didn’t hear from them again until the body was found.”

Describing the endeavours of authorities as “terrible” and “absolutely appalling”, Ms Gardner said Sarah may have been treated differently to other missing people due to her criminal history.

“It made me feel like she wasn't important and she didn’t matter, possibly because she had a history with the police and with drugs,” she said.

“I bet if it was a politician’s daughter they would’ve been out there.

“I didn’t see any evidence of anyone looking.”

Sarah Brown was only 23 years old when she went missing from her home in Victory Heights. Her body was found nearby seven days later.

Ms Gardner said as a result of the lack of action, she and a close friend took matters into their own hands by trying to collect as much information and clues as they could.

“I was talking to a lot of people trying to figure out what happened,” she said.

“We went and got our own whiteboard and did up a timeline.”

Once Sarah’s body was found by a male friend who had been helping with the search, Ms Gardner said police would not let her see her daughter.

“Surely I could’ve seen a picture of her or viewed her from a distance,” she said.

Sarah’s grandmother, Margaret Reidy, was also shocked by the actions of police and told The Gympie Times nobody would listen to her daughter (Ms Gardner).

“They didn't want to know,” Ms Reidy said.

“If we had had money or had been important they would’ve tried but because we were nobody they couldn't care less.

“They don't listen. They said she’ll turn up, she’s off partying somewhere. No she wasn’t.”

Janet Gardner (left) with her beloved daughter Sarah Brown (right).

Having trained search dogs in the past, Ms Reidy said the detectives could have easily brought in police dogs to assist in the search.

“They did not support us. Janet and her friends did most of it. She searched and searched and searched,” she said.

“Janet was almost screaming at them to do something but they didn’t.”

Ms Gardner said she had been trying to contact the detectives in charge of the investigation for the past week, as she still had questions she would like answered but had not been able to get through.

“I am extremely frustrated and I won't be letting go of it,” she said.

The Gympie Times contacted the Queensland Police Service for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Police have yet to reveal the official results of an investigation into the cause of Sarah’s death, but foul play has been ruled out.