Police are seeking public assistance to help locate a 62-year-old man
reported missing from the Townsville area.
Laurence Sim was was last seen on December 31, 2014 at a residence on the
Flinders Highway, Roseneath.
Police hold concerns for his welfare as he suffers from a medical condition
and has not made contact with friends or family.
He is described as being of Caucasian appearance, around 170cms tall, of a
proportionate build and has short grey hair.
Anyone with information in relation to the current whereabouts of the man is
urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 00.
Police issue alert for missing Townsville man
Townsville Bulletin August 26, 2015
Police have put out an alert for a Townsville man who has been
missing since late last year.
Laurence Sim, 62, was last seen on December 31 at a home on the Flinders
Highway at Roseneath.
At this stage, police aren’t treating Mr Sim’s disappearance as
suspicious, although they hold concern for his wellbeing, as it is
unusual for him to be missing for so long without contacting family and
he suffers from a medical condition.
Officer in Charge Townsville Criminal Investigation Branch, Detective
Senior Sergeant Chris Hicks said Mr Sim left his brothers house and has
disappeared.
“He is believed to have got in a vehicle and hasn’t been seen or heard
of since then,” Det Sen-Sgt Hicks said.
“They didn’t raise concerns with police until roughly the end of July
this year, because it isn’t unusual for Mr Sim to not be heard of for a
number of months by the family.
“He is an experienced bushman, but he also suffers from a number of
medical conditions, so we are concerned at this stage for his wellbeing
and his location.”
Mr Sim is described as caucasian, about 170cms tall, with short grey
hair.
Anyone who might know where he is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on
1800 333 000
Police search properties for body of Laurence Sim
Townsville Bulletin
Sep 9 2015 - Chris McMahon
Police searching for missing Townsville
man Laurence Sim are scouring homes that
belong to his family.
The 62-year-old was last seen on December 31, 2014 at a home in
Roseneath on the Flinders Highway.
Police believe Mr Sim may now be dead and for the past three days
they’ve set up a crime scene on 100 acres of land on Dingo Park
Road, 50 kilometres west of Townsville.
Officer in Charge Townsville CIB, Detective Senior Sergeant Chris
Hicks said the Sim family own homes on the property.
“There is a team of police and investigators conducting a search of
a large block of land, which is the last known address, where we
believe our missing person, Laurence Sim, was residing prior to his
disappearance in December 2014,” Detective Hicks said.
“We don’t know where he is, we have concerns for his welfare, so we
are looking for any sign out there that might be able to point us in
the right direction of where he may be.
“All of our inquiries to date have proved negative in trying to
ascertain his current whereabouts, so it is concerning for us.”
Police expect to continue searching the property for some time.
Property search for missing Townsville man halted
Brisbane Times
A two-day search of north Queensland acreage owned by the family of a
man missing since New Year's Eve has turned up no new evidence about his
disappearance.
Detectives, specialist land search officers and SES staff began scouring
two 50-acre blocks owned by 62-year-old Laurence Sim's family, west of
Townsville, on Tuesday.
Detective Acting Superintendent Cheryl Scanlon said crews stopped
searching the area, where Mr Sim is thought to have lived before he went
missing, on Wednesday afternoon.
Mystery surrounds missing bushman Laurence Sim last seen in Townsville
CHRIS McMAHON, Townsville Bulletin
THE mysterious disappearance of Laurence Sim — experienced
bushman, brother and alleged drug crop sitter — may have a sinister
end.
The investigation, Operation North Furnace, has gone through several
twists and turns since Mr Sim was last seen leaving his brother’s
Wulguru home in the early hours of New Year’s Eve, 2014.
His brother, the last person to see the 62-year-old, told police
Laurence hopped into a car that was idling at the front of his home and
drove off. He hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
The case was baffling from the start, with police not receiving a
missing persons report from the family until eight months after Mr Sim
got into that car in Wulguru.
Initially Mr Sim was portrayed as an “experienced bushman” who would
often go missing for months, a man at one with nature.
Revelations would suggest a more dubious reason for his previous long
disappearances: deep ties with the drug world.
It is believed Mr Sim was employed by the seedy criminal underbelly of
North Queensland to sit on marijuana crops across the region, helping to
grow the illegal plants, all the while protecting the grow site from
other criminals.
Police scoured properties across Townsville and North Queensland in the
search for Mr Sim, including his brother’s property on Dingo Park Rd in
Calcium, but have yet to find any link to what has become of the missing
man. The Bulletin is
not suggesting Mr Sim’s brother was involved in his disappearance.
Regional crime co-ordinator detective Superintendent Ray Rohweder said
police investigations had revealed involvement in the drug world in
North Queensland.
“Police have information that possibly links Mr Sim with drug
cultivation in the Townsville and North Queensland area,” Supt Rohweder
said.
“What also concerns us is that we are aware that he’s been involved
with, over the years, members of the known North Queensland drug scene.
“Among drug users, violence is not unknown and when people mix in those
circles and disappear, police do become quite concerned as to what has
happened to them … and we have grave concerns for his safety.”
Supt Rohweder said detectives had questioned a number of people,
believing a select few had withheld information or lied to police, which
had only increased their concern for Mr Sim’s welfare.
“Detectives have questioned numerous people in relation to Mr Sim’s
disappearance and we believe that perhaps some of those people have been
less than truthful,” he said.
“We are certainly concerned for his welfare. He’s been missing for some
time now. We know he has gone missing before but the longest period of
time that we are aware of was six months. The longer that someone is
missing, police start to look at where foul play is involved.
“We’ve searched various places within the Townsville area but at this
stage we have been unable to locate him.
“We believe he is an experienced bushman. If he is still alive, he could
literally be anywhere.”
Supt Rohweder said searching for Mr Sim had become increasingly
difficult due to the time that elapsed between when he was last seen
alive and reported missing.
“Some of the searches that have been conducted were as a result of
information supplied to the police regarding the possible location of Mr
Sim’s remains,” he said.
“The issue that we have in searching for people here in North
Queensland, if we believe in suspicious circumstances, the terrain, the
weather and the wild animals, it is an extremely difficult task to
locate someone without sufficient information to lead to a reasonably
precise location.
“Rugged terrain is hard to search, hot weather leads to quicker
decomposition of bodies, and often wild animals such as feral pigs
interfere with remains and scatter them.”
Police believe there are people around Townsville who know what has
happened to Mr Sim and are asking them to come forward.
If you or anyone you
know has information that could help, call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333
000.
