Coroner calls for better training after botched Google Maps search

A search of a rural property using Google Maps led to a missing man lying dead in a “searched area’’ for almost two years.

Darrell Simon’s body was found 18 months after his death. Picture: Michelle Smith.

Queensland police will be forced to use high-resolution mapping and GPS systems when co-ordinating searches for missing people after a search of a rural property using Google Maps led to a missing man lying dead in a “searched area” for 18 months.

The failure to find the body of Darrell Simon on his bushland property near Laidley, between Brisbane and Toowoomba, led to suspicions by police and his family that he had met with foul play.

A coronial inquest finalised last month found Mr Simon, 46, had taken his own life on the property shortly after he was last seen on November 16, 2014, when he was troubled by financial problems.

About a week later, police led a search of his block, about 20km from his girlfriend’s house where he was last seen heading off for his usual morning bike ride, relying on Google Maps, which did not show the correct property boundary, so that only half of the block was searched by State Emergency Service crews.

More than a year later, in February 2016, dry conditions led the new property owners to find Mr Simon’s mountain bike in a dam and they reported it to police.

Police conducted a further search of the property but again they did not find a body.

Three months later, on May 21, the property owners were riding a quad bike about 70m from the dam when they discovered Mr Simon’s remains beneath a tree.

The coronial inquest heard that advice given to police by Mr Simon’s partner and father ­before the initial search was that the property was a rectangular block with no internal fences. Police roughly noted the boundaries on an image taken from Google Maps.

In the mistaken belief that a formerly internal but now incomplete fence down the middle of the property was the boundary, the searchers were instructed to look only at the eastern half of the block.

Thick scrub prevented them from covering most of the area and it was only after Mr Simon’s remains were discovered that police noted GPS tracking markers from an SES crew showed a significant portion of the property had not been searched.

An internal police review of the search found it had been “creditable”, noting that the difficulties of the terrain and circumstances surrounding the investigation meant it was “doubtful Mr Simon’s body would have been located if the ­remaining half of the property had been searched”.

Mr Simon’s father, Lawrence Simon, had believed his son’s death may have been “suspicious and that he may have been harmed by someone else, possibly in a dispute over money”, the inquest heard. Police also believed he may have met with foul play but also examined the possibility he had been hit by a car while riding his bike.

“One wonders if Darrell’s body was found during the first police search on 23 November 2014, whether such unhelpful and at times clearly defamatory and untruthful speculation would have even surfaced,” Deputy State Coroner John Lock said in his report.

“The fact the ground search was conducted over only half the property was very regretful and should not have happened.”

Mr Lock recommended that Queensland Police Service officers receive further training and resources to allow them to ­adequately co-ordinate and conduct land searches.

He also recommended the police service consider improvements in communication with the SES following searches to ­ensure accuracy.

The police service advised the coroner it was taking steps to ­improve practices and had already implemented a mandatory “task sheet system” for every search, as well as integrating search training ­between police officers and SES volunteers.