Sister of Patrick Liedke, now officially long-term missing, launches appeal ahead of National Missing Persons Week 2024
24 July 2024 – Police, missing persons units and the public are being urged to do more to support missing persons, particularly those with mental health or neurodiversity impacts. The appeal comes from the family of an Australian man, Patrick Liedke, who has been missing for 90 days.
National Missing Persons Week, which starts on 28 July, also shines a light on the role of major technology companies. Families of missing people say these companies could do more to help police find the mobile phones of people who go missing – information that can be critical in locating them.
This week marks three months since 39-year-old Patrick Liedke was last seen on 22 April west of Tweed Heads, New South Wales. He is now officially deemed as a long-term missing person.
Patrick's sister Nicole Liedke says more needs to be done to improve the system for searching for missing persons and to increase understanding across agencies, the healthcare sector and the public of neurodivergent individuals and those with mental health challenges.
After Patrick's car was located near the town of Cobaki, a multi-agency search was initiated on 26 April, which police later suspended on 1 May. With no fresh evidence to narrow the search area, the police informed Nicole they were unable to conduct a full-scale operation.
Since then, Nicole and a group of volunteers have taken it upon themselves to explore the NSW-Queensland bushland area, without the assistance of police. There is currently a 13-day community search underway for Patrick at Long Tan Park, Currumbin Valley, Queensland.
Commenting on her brother's disappearance, Nicole said: "I am calling for police to be given immediate access to the online location records of missing people from technology companies. We urgently need legislation to speed up access to this critical information so we can improve the chances of locating the missing person early in the search. Making just this one change could greatly increase their chance of survival."
Nicole is also appealing for wider community awareness of how to identify and respond to a mental health emergency. Two eyewitnesses saw Patrick alone, in shorts, barefoot, covered in mud, carrying no bag as he walked into a rainforest area, but they did not think to call the police.
"For many neurodivergent people, whether they are children or adults, the attraction of nature areas can be common. However, once they enter these areas, it is extremely difficult to find them because technology is often restricted by the dense canopy of the rainforest," she said.
"It's important as a community that we learn to recognise signs of a mental health emergency by observing the person's appearance, behaviour and speech, and whether they have someone with them. If you have any concerns, don't hesitate to call the police – you could save a life."
More than 56,000 Australians were reported missing last year – up more than 35% in three years – and while most are found within a week, one to two per cent become long-term missing persons.
Research shows that for every missing person reported, at least 12 other people are directly impacted emotionally, psychologically and/or financially.
High-profile disappearances in recent years, like that of Belgian backpacker, Théo Hayez, have highlighted the importance of data from digital devices to help inform investigations.
Lisa Hayez, Théo's cousin, said that while the 2021 inquest into Théo's disappearance didn't uncover what happened to him, the Coroner recommended that tech giants such as Google provide police with key information (such as specific location and last activity from a missing loved one's device) in a sensitive and urgent manner.
Lisa commented: "These recommendations brought some comfort to me and my family at the time, believing that future families might not have to deal with these sorts of restrictions in the early stages of searching.
"It's now been five years since Théo disappeared and seeing that these recommendations have not been taken seriously and that families like Samantha Murphy's and Patrick Liedke's are paying the price for this disregard is heartbreaking and extremely frustrating. It is important to remember recommendations have the potential to save someone's life. It's vital that they're taken seriously considered and applied widely."
Nicole further added: "I want to raise awareness for people with mental health issues, disabilities and neurodivergences, who are more vulnerable to going missing and for whom the search can often be more complex.
"The families of long-term missing people need more help with the far-reaching emotional, logistical and financial impacts, which don't go away even if the missing person is found."
