Qld mum Sue Bedey speaks on tragic loss of missing son Luke Fergusson
A heartbroken mother, who can now finally grieve her 28-year-old son, claims authorities kept his confirmed death from her for at least two months in a shocking identification mishap. READ THE APOLOGY
South Burnett
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The mum of 28-year-old Proston man Luke Fergusson has paid a touching tribute to “the sun our world revolved around” amid preparations for his funeral.
But lingering questions as to why she was kept in the dark about his confirmed death have plagued her.
Sue Bedey said her world was “blown apart” when her son, who had autism, vanished from their family’s South Burnett home on June 9, 2023.
His disappearance sparked a mammoth search and rescue effort across hundreds of square kilometres of rugged bushland which lasted well beyond its scaling back by authorities in July.
It appeared to come to a tragic outcome in September when human remains were found at Boondooma Dam at Okeden, 15km west of where Luke was last seen, on September 20, 2023.
The remains were likely to be of the missing 28-year-old, but it was unable to be confirmed without DNA testing.
Ms Bedey was then forced to endure a prolonged wait, one which came to an extraordinary end in March when it was discovered she had not been told Luke was identified two months earlier.
She only discovered this a national missing persons database was updated about the identification and police issued an alert which was subsequently picked up by media a day later.
The shocking series of events left her with lingering questions as she launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for Luke’s funeral. More than $2000 has already been raised.
In a touching statement to the South Burnett Times about her loss, Ms Bedey said Luke was “the sun our world revolved around”.
“His smile was infectious, he saw good in everyone, everyone that we allowed into our circle was his new best friend,” Ms Bedey said.
“His love of matchbox cars and streetscapes he made in his room, the love of the police from across the world.
“Drawing became his way of documenting what was on his mind.
“At every opportunity I would bring home a token from my day, from a pretty rock I found, to work safety glasses, everything was living memory, with story attached for Luke.”
The circumstances around his death and the heartbreaking way in which she learned his remains had been identified, has raised “questions that forever will remain unanswered”.
She was calling for change in how missing person cases like Luke’s were handled.
“We wish to make changes to how special needs people are searched for, from amber alerts to a dedicated phone number for missing persons sightings and leads,” Ms Bedey said.
“Many people in the search for Luke expressed the difficulty in contacting the authorities.
“The frustration at the lack of information that the police didn’t share promptly.
“I like to share our experience with authorities so we can maybe stop another family suffering in way we have.”
Police have since apologised in a statement about the circumstances surrounding Luke’s death.
“The QPS was advised the outcome of the DNA testing in January,” police said.
“While officers maintained contact with the next of kin throughout the course of the police investigation, the outcome of the DNA testing was to be released by Queensland Health’s Coronial Counselling Unit directly with Mr Fergusson’s next of kin.
“Regrettably, while the formal notification process was still ongoing with the Coronial Counselling Unit, QPS inadvertently provided an update confirming the identification to media on March 14.
“Darling Downs detectives visited Mr Fergusson’s family on Friday, March 15 to explain the situation and apologise for the error.
“The QPS extends its sincere condolences to Mr Fergusson’s family and friends during this difficult time.”
A Coroner’s Court spokesman said family engagement was “a primary concern in the coronial system, and a number of agencies are involved in ensuring information is communicated to family members at different stages in the coronial process”.
“Those agencies include the Queensland Police Service, Queensland Health including through counsellors in Forensic and Scientific Services, and the Coroners Court of Queensland court operations staff.
“The Department of Justice and Attorney-General will work with partner agencies to identify any system gaps in the provision of information to families that have been highlighted by this case.”
A Queensland Health spokeswoman said the department worked closely with the Department of Justice and Police “as part of our commitment to notifying next of kin”.
“While we are limited in what we can say about specific cases, we prioritised this matter upon receiving samples in late 2023,” the spokeswoman said.
“As with the Coroner’s Office and Queensland Police Service, we have been in contact with the family.”
Ms Bedey thanked everyone who had given up their time and resources to help in the search for Luke.
“There are too many to thank individually,” she said.
“Lukey’s light will remain on our fence as a placeholder, to guide him home to our hearts.
“Luke Fergusson forever our son, brother, our universe …. we love you.”
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