How fugitive Malcolm Naden was brought down by police after eight years on the run in NSW bushland
THE story of Malcolm Naden captivated Australia and made international headlines when, in 2012 and after eight years on the run, NSW Police made breakthrough in the hunt for the nation’s most wanted man.
THE story of Malcolm Naden captivated Australia and made international headlines when, in 2012 and after eight years on the run, NSW Police made breakthrough in the hunt for the nation’s most wanted man.
Naden, wanted at the time on murder and indecent assault charges, was sensationally brought down by police dog Chuck and his handler senior constable Luke Warburton after midnight on March 22, 2012.
His arrest brought closure to a sustained four-month effort to track him down following the shooting of an officer hunting him through Nowendoc, 60km north of Gloucester on the mid-north coast.
Three officers with a tactical dog had been tracking Naden through the Nowendcc region on December 7, 2011, when they unknowingly wandered within 15m of his position.
The now 42-year-old told police after his arrest months later he had been watching police from bushes through the scope of his rifle when he selected the closest officer, Brad McFadden, as his victim.
Naden told police he aimed for Mr McFadden’s heart but hit only his shoulder when the officer moved as he pulled the trigger.
Luckily, Mr McFadden survived and, miraculously, returned to the hunt for Naden ahead of his capture.
That clash with the violent fugitive led NSW Police to a huge pooling of resources that eventually saw Naden arrested in rugged bushland west of Gloucester.
Before 2012 though, the search for Naden had drawn on for eight years and leads on his whereabouts were rare.
Naden vanished from Dubbo in 2005 after being linked to the 2004 indecent assault of a young girl and later murder of 24-year-old Kristy Scholes.
Naden was also wanted in relation to the disappearance of his cousin Lateesha Nolan, who to date has never been found.
A year after going underground Naden was spotted on the grounds of Dubbo’s Western Plains Zoo.
The whole tourist park was closed down by police in a bid to take Naden into custody but he evaded capture and vanished without a trace once more.
After two years of fruitless investigations by police a $50,000 reward was offered for information leading to his arrest.
Four years later in February 2011, and still without a result, police upped the bounty to $100,000.
It was in December of that year that Naden took aim at police and his days on the run became numbered.
Interviews with police following his arrest painted a picture of Naden’s time in the bush.
Investigators realised the man they’d been hunting wasn’t the skilled bushman they had believed; rather he’d simply ‘wandered’ and broken into any remote properties he came across to steal weapons and gorge himself on food to the point of vomiting.
He eventually pleaded guilty to the murders of Kristy Scholes and Lateesha Nolan, despite Ms Nolan’s body never being found.
Naden was sentenced in 2013 to life without parole for the murders of Kristy Scholes and Lateesha Nolan, the indecent assault of the young girl and attempted murder of Mr McFadden.
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