Helen Free still missing after extensive search in dense South Burnett bush
Nine months after a South Burnett woman disappeared from her Queensland home, the search for the 58-year-old remains ongoing.
South Burnett
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The mystery of a South Burnett woman’s whereabouts continue to baffle the community and authorities as she remains missing more than nine months after leaving her property.
Despite extensive search efforts by the Queensland Police Service and other agencies, Helen Free, 58, is still missing.
Ms Free was last seen leaving her property on Hunters Rd, Ballogie, about 5pm on October 29, last year.
Ballogie is between Tingoora and Durong, about 48km northwest of Kingaroy.
At the time of her disappearance, police launched a large-scale search involving specialist trackers, drones, police helicopters, SES volunteers and even police divers to comb through the dense bushland of the South Burnett where she was last seen.
Ms Free, who suffers from a medical condition that can cause disorientation, has been missing for more than nine months.
The area where she vanished is known for its challenging terrain, making the search particularly difficult.
In the early days of the search, police had hoped she might have taken shelter in a shed or abandoned structure, and urged local landholders to inspect their properties thoroughly.
Acting Inspector Brett Everest expressed grave concerns for Ms Free’s safety, noting the difficulty of tracking her movements due to the dense vegetation and the likelihood she may have changed direction multiple times.
“Unfortunately we do not have a clear indication of which direction she may have walked in,” he said.
“It is unlikely that she would have continued to walk in the one straight line, she would have been changing her direction given the structures that she comes across.”
Despite the search effort, no new information has come to light and Ms Free’s whereabouts remain unknown.
Police continue to appeal to the public for any information that could assist in finding her.
She is described as caucasian, about 168cm tall with a proportionate build, blonde hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with knowledge of her whereabouts is urged to contact the authorities immediately.
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