Lake Illawarra
Man
Search continues for mental health patient
Posted
Mon May 31, 2010
12:11pm AEST - ABC
NSW Police have resumed a search for a man missing in the
Lake Illawarra area.
Police found a 49-year-old man in a Berkeley park about 10:15pm (AEST)
yesterday after he went missing from a local mental health unit.
He ran when confronted, jumping into Lake Illawarra and was last seen
swimming towards Gooseberry Island.
Despite a large aerial search using the Polair helicopter, the ambulance
rescue helicopter and the Illawarra Marine Rescue, they were unable to find him.
Search for missing man – Berkeley
Monday, 31 May 2010 06:30am
Police today will resume a search for a man missing at Berkeley on the state’s
south coast.
Around 10.15pm yesterday, police from the Lake Illawarra Local Area Command
attended a public reserve in Holborn Street after receiving information about a
patient, missing from a local mental health unit.
When police located the 49-year-old man, he ran from officers and entered Lake
Illawarra.
The man, described as a strong swimmer, was last seen swimming south towards
Gooseberry Island.
Ambulance officers and extra police were called to the scene.
A large search, involving a Polair helicopter, Ambulance Rescue helicopter, the
Marine Area Command, Illawarra Marine Rescue and the Police Rescue Squad, was
conducted.
An extensive aerial grid search of the lake foreshore, waterways and surrounding
islands was carried out.
All efforts to find the man were unsuccessful and the search was suspended
around 1am.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Warilla Police on
(02) 4295 2699 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
A MAN who disappeared from a mental health unit in Wollongong,
on the NSW south coast, has evaded a massive police search by swimming
out to an island.
The 49-year-old went missing eight days ago while on short-term
release from the hospital in Berkeley.
Police believe he has been living in bushland off Lake Illawarra, where a
large-scale search is under way.
He avoided capture late yesterday by jumping into the water and swimming to
Gooseberry Island.
His footprints were later found a few hundred metres from where he entered
the water.
The search was called off at 1am (AEST) today due to bad weather but has
since resumed.
Chief Inspector John Gardiner said the man's family was not concerned for
his safety because he is a strong swimmer and knows the area well.
"They think he's been living off the land," he said.
"When approached last night he had some food with him and he's been
seen a few times in the area."
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on
1800 333 000.