Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Search for missing man off WA coast ends in tragedy
The search for a man missing off WA’s northwest coast after a boat overturned three days ago has ended in tragedy.
July 18, 2023
A body has been found off the West Australian coast during the search for a missing man, who disappeared when his boat overturned at night.
WA police say it’s likely to be the 27-year-old, last seen about 11pm Saturday as he and a mate motored toward the Dampier boat ramp in the Pilbara region.
The men’s vessel capsized, possibly after hitting a mooring at speed, off Enderby Island in the Dampier Archipelago.
The man’s friend, also in his 20s, raised the alarm after swimming through the darkness for about an hour to nearby West Lewis Islands off the state’s northwest coast.
He then walked across rocks to a friend’s campsite before alerting authorities about 6am.
It triggered a widescale three-day air, sea and land search that ended in tragedy on Tuesday.
“A body believed to be the missing 27-year-old male has been located within the search area,” a police spokesman said in a statement.
The Dampier Archipelago is a chain of 42 islands, islets and rocks lying within a 45 km radius of the town of Dampier.