Missing Barwon Prison boss David Prideaux declared dead after vanishing at Mt Stirling in 2011

THE former general manager of Victoria’s most notorious prison has officially been declared dead after disappearing on a mountain top three years ago.

Peter Prideaux (left) with his missing brother, Barwon Prison boss David Prideaux.

THE former general manager of Victoria’s most notorious prison has officially been declared dead after disappearing on a mountain top three years ago.

Peter Prideaux with his missing brother David Prideaux (right), the former boss of Barwon Prison.

David's brother Paul (pictured) regularly searched the mountain area for David. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

David Prideaux vanished on Mt Stirling on June 5, 2011 while on a deer hunting expedition with his brother-in-law.

The finding today by Deputy State Coroner Iain West provides closure for Mr Prideaux’s long suffering family, who has endured years of speculation that the former prison boss faked his own death.

Another theory suggested the 50-year-old may have been murdered in retaliation for the prison death of Carl Williams 2010.

In handing down his finding, Mr West said he was satisfied there was no credible evidence to suggest Mr Prideaux was still alive or had been murdered.

Police believe David died from a major medical event or a serious accident while hunting in the vicinity of Tomahawk Hut on Mt Stirling.

An extensive investigation was conducted by Mansfield police and homicide squad detectives in an effort to identify if he had been murdered, committed suicide or manufactured his own disappearance.

The investigation saw police carry out extensive checks across the country, including checks with Centrelink, Medicare, Tabcorp, casinos and computer, phone and bank records.

Mr West said he was satisfied Mr Prideaux had vanished without a trace on the day he was reported missing.

“No tangible piece of evidence was obtained to suggest that Mr Prideaux met with foul play, nor any physical evidence located to suggest his disappearance was manufactured,” he said.

“(Police) believe that he died from a major medical event or a serious accident that caused him to be incapable of movement or communication while hunting in the vicinity of Tomahawk Hut.”

David and his brother Peter had planned to return to Tomahawk Hut, but David never made it.

Mr Prideaux was last seen by his brother-in-law Robert Dale as they separated in thick bush on the morning of June 5.

Mr Prideaux was equipped with a UHF radio and a GPS navigation device. The pair had planned to meet back at Tomahawk Hut about lunch time, but he never returned.

A full scale search began the following day and continued for five days under atrocious conditions before it was suspended.

Further searches by police and family members continued on and off until November 2011, but no trace of Mr Prideaux was ever found.