Pat Hastie found dead in scrub, husband believes foul play
- Details
- Category: Tennant Creek
- Created: Friday, 27 December 2013 21:13
- Written by Ellie Turner - NT News
A RETIRED earthmover whose wife was found dead in rural Darwin suspects foul play in her disappearance. Allan Hastie, 64, said he did not believe his wife Pat - who suffered from Alzheimer's disease - could have remained hidden alone in the bush as more than 80 people, from police on dirt bikes to local horse riders, searched for almost a week.
"This has been playing on my mind for quite a while," he told the NT News. Frustrated with the lack of closure, Mr Hastie wants to know what happened to his wife's unique denim handbag and thongs, which she took when she slipped out of their home on Irwin Rd, at Virginia. The items had vanished when her body was found - barefoot and with two broken ribs - nine days after she went missing.
"It doesn't make sense," Mr Hastie said. "She also had a dementia wrist bracelet that she couldn't take off on her own. "It wasn't on her when she was found. "I don't know why police never asked the public for information about her things. "If she had fallen and hurt herself, where was her bag and her thongs? How did the bracelet come off?" Mr Hastie has pinned up notices at some rural Darwin shops urging anyone with information on his wife's possessions or disappearance to contact him. He said Major Crime detectives who approached him for a chat this week listened to his misgivings but "shied away" from pointed questions. The NT News also put the questions to police. Senior Sergeant Lee Morgan responded: "(Detectives) deemed the death non-suspicious."
The case was handed over to the Northern Territory Coroner in September. Pat Hastie, who would have turned 65 last month, disappeared while walking towards the Virginia store about 6.30pm on May 29. Police initially said she had probably became confused and wandered off into the scrub.
Authorities and volunteers on horseback, foot, motorbikes and in a helicopter scoured as far as Humpty Doo and Bees Creek. Neighbours continued their own hunt when the official search was suspended after a gruelling four days. Two of the Hasties' three children came up from WA to console their father.
Ms Hastie's body was found in the back corner of an 8ha property on Hinton Rd, at Virginia, near a fire break and a creek, about 300m from her home. Mr Hastie said an autopsy revealed that his wife had been dead for about four days, and her feet bore no signs of damage from walking on rough ground despite her missing thongs.
"I believe at some stage someone else was involved in her death," he said. Mr Hastie said his wife of 43 years "had good days and bad days" with her dementia. "She still knew who I was," he said. "Pat was friendly and she loved people. "There are about 100 people on rural blocks out there - if she had been confused and lost she would have approached someone."
Source : http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/man-suspects-missing-wife-found-dead-in-scrub-didnt-just-wander-off/news-story/82200277fee6d8ce372b174fda5ba82a
