The body of a grey nomad who went missing more than a week ago has been discovered in Central Australia.
The remains of 71-year-old Peter Worthington were found less than four kilometres from his abandoned car and caravan. The vehicles were located near Erldunda, about 200km south of Alice Springs, on July 17 shortly after Mr Worthington was reported as missing. He had been travelling north along the Stuart Highway on the way to visit his son in Darwin.
Acting Senior Sergeant Shaun Gill from Yulara Police said emergency services personnel, police and an Aboriginal tracker from the nearby community of Impana conducted land and air searches last week.
He told the Northern Territory News that the police search covered 300 square kilometres but it was only recently that footprints were found north-east of Mr Worthington’s car.
Senior Sergeant Gill said a tracker followed footsteps heading away from the car and found a body fitting Mr Worthington’s description. DNA testing will be used to formally determine the identity of the body.
“It looks like at this early stage that his vehicle was bogged at the side of the road,” Senior Sergeant Gill said. “Whether he ran off the road or stopped to look at something, we don’t know.”
* In a separate incident, police have called off the search for missing Victorian man Jason Richards, who disappeared in Darwin on June 19, heading for Ballarat. Extensive ground and air searches failed to find any trace of the missing man.
