Police in a tight-knit central Queensland town have put out a plea for information after running dry on leads into the search for a well-loved local man who disappeared six weeks ago.
Regional Crime Co-ordinator Detective Superintendent Darrin Shadlow said Mackay local Wayne Pedro Morseu, 71, was reported missing by family on November 10, but actually went missing several weeks earlier.
“He hasn’t been seen now since mid-to-late October … [so] we’re treating it as suspicious until we know otherwise,” Shadlow said.
Wayne Pedro Morseu, 71, was declared missing from his Mackay home on November 10.Credit: Queensland Police
Stopping short of saying he expected investigation to become a homicide case, Shadlow said police had no reason to suspect Morseu had knowingly cut off contact with those known to him.
“We’re obviously very hopeful that Mr Morseu will walk back through the door to his family,” Shadlow said.
“It’s very out of character for Mr Morseu not to have contact with his family – he generally had contact every couple of weeks.
“He’s a family-oriented man … [who] worked in the railway for a lot of years, so he has a lot of friends and family in the area. They’re worried for his welfare.
“He didn’t have a vehicle, he walked a lot of places that he went … [and] he had no medical conditions that we know of that would hinder him a great deal.”
Mackay police established two crime scenes on Friday last week – three weeks after Morseu was reported missing, which Shadlow said had been declared after police turned up no leads.
The two locations were a property on River Street, located near Pioneer River, and an address on Griffin Street, which was Morseu’s residence.
Shadlow said police called the second crime scene after discovering a member of the Griffin Street household had moved there following Morseu’s disappearance.
“We have since released that residence, it’s only the Griffin Street one that we have still,” Shadlow said.
“The Griffin Street residence is still having forensic examinations conducted … that had been ongoing for a number of days now.”
Shadlow said investigations were continuing on Monday, and urged anyone with knowledge of Morseu’s whereabouts, or information hat could be linked to his disappearance, to contact police.
“No matter how small you might think it is please contact Crime Stoppers or your local police,” he said.
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