INVESTIGATORS are analysing missing man Daymon Ness’s social media accounts to try to rule out a possibility he arranged to meet someone at Nitmiluk National Park.
Police know Mr Ness was in the Katherine CBD area alone earlier on Tuesday, October 20, and left his hotel room alone but cannot rule out the possibility he met someone at the gorge.
Superintendent Daniel Shean said investigators were looking into his social media accounts. “We know he left the hotel room by himself but that’s not to say through social media he hasn’t arranged to meet someone else down here so that is an unknown,” he said.
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“That’s one of the things that the Criminal Investigations Branch will do as part of their investigation, trying to access that (social media accounts) to see if there is a likelihood he did meet someone down here. At this stage, it’s an unknown.”
Police are looking into the chance he may have been picked up by a friend “and gone somewhere else, but then the room he was staying in — there’s no indication of him returning to the room,” Superintendent Shean said.
“He doesn’t have his wallet, we have that; we know he doesn’t have his hotel room key, we’ve got that as well, that was left in the car.
Police believe he took with him only his car keys, phone and, hopefully, water.
They also know that he had booked a canoe tour for the Wednesday. The 30-year-old has been missing since last Tuesday, with a team of police, NTES volunteers and Parks and Wildlife rangers scouring Nitmiluk Gorge for five days.
Police also checked the river using sonar to ensure he hadn’t ended up in the water.
Superintendent Shean said as soon as the missing person’s report was made, between 3pm and 4pm on Wednesday, he alerted rangers and a helicopter was in the air within 45 minutes.
He said the search and rescue was made more difficult as no one they had spoken to on the various southern walks had seen Mr Ness. He said Mr Ness’s phone and social media had not been accessed since October 20.
“One assumes he’s deceased — there might be a slight possibility he’s alive somewhere but the family is going through that grieving process right now of a loss so we need to be respectful of that,” he said. “There’s just no indication that he would be alive anywhere.”
Superintendent Shean urged people to be mindful of the Territory’s harsh conditions, especially when embarking on a walk.
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He reminded people to carry plenty of water, wear appropriate clothing including shoes and to tell someone where they were going.
He said people should also register and gain permits from rangers before attempting a hike.
He also urged people to carry an EPIRB or satellite phone.
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