Desperate search continues for missing teen Lauchlon Humphries
Emergency crews have officially shifted their focus from an active search to a body recovery mission after 14-year-old Lauchlon Humphries was swept out to sea near Portland on Tuesday.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The search for a missing boy swept off the rocks on Victoria’s southwest coast on Tuesday has officially turned into a search for the teen’s body.
As emergency crews enter their fifth day of searching for 14-year-old Lauchlon Humphries, police say they have now shifted their focus from an active search into a recovery mission.
Emergency services have been focusing on a 10km strip of coastline at Cape Bridgewater near Portland for the missing teen, who was swept out to sea about 7pm Tuesday night.
Lauchlon and his school mate, 15, were wearing wetsuits at the rockpools on the coast when a large wave swept through and dumped them both into the sea.
The 15-year-old was able “hang on to a rock” and make his way to shore, but lost sight of his mate in the ocean.
Victoria Police on Saturday said the AirWing will continue to scour the rugged coast for a fifth day, but acknowledge the chances of finding him alive were all but gone.
“Sadly, due to the passage of time since the incident and extreme environmental conditions of the area, police hold grave concerns for the welfare of the boy,” a spokeswoman said,
“Officers have been in constant contact with the family regarding the search which has now moved from an active search into a search and recovery phase.”
Extended family of the missing teen have set up a GoFundMe to raise money for Lauchlon’s immediate family.
As of Saturday afternoon, over $21,000 had been raised.
“The funds raised will be going directly to Lauchlon’s parents, Bryan & Kristi Humphries, to hopefully at least be able to help ease some of the financial burden for them at this unimaginable time as they continue the desperate search for their boy,” the post read.
“In the unfortunate event that the search continues to be unsuccessful over the coming weeks, the funds raised may also be used in future towards a memorial service to honour ‘our little man’.
Heroic locals from Cape Bridgewater and Portland even joined the rescue effort, jumping in boats to help crews in extremely difficult and windy conditions.
Matthew Hunt, who runs a fishing charter in the area, joined the search on Thursday and spent much of Friday on the water.
Mr Hunt said he’d been “trying my guts out” as he thanked the emergency services who had braved the choppy conditions.
“Everyone wants an update, it’s nasty out here at the moment,” he said in a video posted to Facebook.
“Just need this bloody south-easterly to die down so we can bloody get a better look, but the water is extremely sloppy and dirty and rough and cold, not ideal for anybody.
“We’re trying our best... I’m trying my guts out, we all want ranga back, one way or another.”
“Just want to say thank you to VicPol, the AirWing, been absolutely magnificent, tireless,” he added.
“And the water police on the jet skis.
“(The weather is) not ideal, we just need a break in the weather so we can have a better look.
“Thank you for all the support everybody, everybody is doing what they can, both on the shore and off the shore.”
The 14-year-old’s friends took to social media to send their best wishes on Wednesday.
“Come home safe Lauchlon, miss you bro,” his mate Konnar Johnstone said.
Owen Anderson wrote: “Love you my bro always forever I love you.”
Friend Mia Roberts said: “Love you Lauchlon, come home safe.”
It is understood Lauchlon and his friend are locals to the region and have adequate swimming capabilities.
Victoria Police Inspector Steve Thompson said the 14-year-old was still yet to be found.
“Those two boys have been washed into the ocean, the 15-year-old boy was able to make it back to shore safely,” Insp Thompson said.
“I’m told that he was able to hang onto a rock and (he) scrambled to shore.
“Unfortunately though, the 14-year-old boy does not appear to have made it back to shore and since that point in time, we’ve been facilitating a search with partner agencies to try and locate him.
“I think a large wave has caught them unaware and swept them off the rocks and into the ocean.”
The police AirWing circled the search area throughout the week, which stretches 10km along the coast and 2km out to sea.
Multiple police and SES rescue boats and jet skis were also on the water on Thursday searching for the missing teen.
Lauchlon’s distraught family and friends have been at the site since his disappearance, hoping and praying to find him alive.
Inspector Thompson said on Wednesday as more time passed, hopes of finding Lauchlon alive and well were fading.
“We very clearly haven’t given up hope, we’re hoping to find the boy alive,” he added.
“Obviously the more time that goes by, realistically we’re becoming more concerned.
“But at this point in time is we’re treating this as a search and rescue operation.
“The wind has picked up, it’s blowing reasonably strongly from the east and southeast, it is a rising swell at the moment, we’re told, so unfortunately the conditions aren’t getting any better.”
A large scale search of the area was launched and the 15-year-old was taken to Portland District Health hospital with upper and lower body injuries.
He was reported as being in a stable condition on Tuesday night.
The Police Air Wing, Water Police, Coast Guard, Ambulance Victoria’s helicopter emergency medical service helicopters are all assisting with the search, as are members of Lifesaving Victoria and SES Portland.
Cape Bridgewater local Doug Yuill, who has surfed in the southwest for more than 50 years said the rockpools were generally a dangerous place to visit.
Mr Yuill said at least three people had sparked rescues from the site in the past two decades.
“It can be a very dangerous place if you go off the path and the swell is up,” he said at his home that overlooks the water.
“It can change so quickly, it might be OK and really calm, then 20 to 30 minutes later, you might have these almighty waves crashing.
“The power of it would have been enormous, we just really feel for them.”
Another local said that part of the coast was a “treacherous” spot for visitors.
“I haven’t swam in those in the rock pools before … but it’s always been a pretty treacherous spot around the blowholes area in general,” he said.
“A lot of people do head out there, there can be a constant stream of tourist traffic that heads there.
“People regard it as a must-see place when they come here.”
A worker at the Bridgewater Bay Cafe also said the rockpools were a “rough” part of the coast and admitted she wouldn’t swim there herself.
Victoria desperately needs 1000 new cops as vacancies soar
More than 1000 police jobs in Victoria sit empty, with a surge in officers quitting the force in the past two months.
Read more
Loved ones of man found dead in Yarra River remember ‘gentle soul’
Friends of a Clyde North man whose body was pulled from the Yarra River have told of the “massive hole” left in their community, remembering him as a “gentle and cheerful soul”.
Read more