Family of missing man Jack McLennan share desperate call on police
A desperate Queensland mother hopes police will have “more eyes on the case” to help find her beloved son who has not been seen since October.
South Burnett
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A desperate Queensland mother is calling for more police resources to find her much loved son four months after he mysteriously disappeared.
Jack McLennan, 27, was last seen in Ficks Crossing near Murgon in the South Burnett region, northwest of the Sunshine Coast, on October 4 last year.
Police conducted an air and land operation, discovering a hat and a pair of shoes believed to be owned by Mr McLennan, but still have been unable to locate him over the past four months.
His mother Kellie Moody wants to bring more attention to the case fearing people are hiding what happened to her son.
“I suppose (the police) say they’re doing their best. But I would love fresh city detectives who have this experience in missing persons,” she said.
Ms Moody said she wanted answers around the circumstances of when her son may have been last seen.
“One of my burning questions is, Jack was seen on the highway that night by a fellow who I’m not even allowed to know his name or even talk with him,” she said.
“I just want to know was that my son or was that a false sighting? I just hope the police have reinvestigated him to see what was his story.
“People seem to be hiding things, so maybe there’s more to this story, and that’s what I am looking at now.”
Ms Moody has claimed places where her son’s belongings were found had not been greatly looked at and hoped police would search around four to six kilometres from the spot before ruling out the area.
Queensland Police said they conducted an extensive search for Mr McLennan in accordance with best practice state search guidelines.
They said specialist assistance had also been provided by Brisbane.
“To date those searches have included the QPS, SES and members of the public,” a QPS spokesman said.
“There is a dedicated family liaison officer appointed to Jack’s next of kin, and continual regular updates are provided to them, specifically Jack’s mother.
“Significant police resources including QPS search and rescue, QPS dive unit, QPS dog squad, detectives from the Criminal Investigation Branch and State Flying Squad have also been deployed to assist in the search for Jack.
“Police will continue to investigate any new potential lines of inquiries relating to this matter and any further updates will be provided to the family as a matter of priority.”
Volunteers have joined the search for Mr McLennan, including Faith Tkalac, a Tasmanian mother who lost her son Jari Wise five years ago after the 26-year-old man was hit and killed by his partner’s vehicle.
Ms Tkalac started a petition to advocate for extensive resources in the search of the missing man, which has received more than 1,000 signatures.
“Losing a child is a devastating, unthinkable tragedy. I can only imagine it is a living hell not knowing where your child is,” Ms Tkalac said.
“They say it takes a village to raise a child. Now we need that village to help find one of its missing children.”
They held a candlelight gathering for him on Saturday night.
The missing Mr McLennan is approximately 185cm tall with light brown hair, brown eyes and was last seen wearing a black t-shirt and dark shorts.
If you have any information that may assist in his location, please contact Crimestoppers.
Originally published as Family of missing man Jack McLennan share desperate call on police
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