A coroner has recommended Victoria Police use interstate Human Remains Detection Dog training facilities while it builds capacity in its own canine squad.
South Australian woman Colleen South disappeared in early July 2022 and her body was found more than a month later, on August 8, under a tree in a Bunguluke paddock in north west Victoria.
The Coroners Court of Victoria in Melbourne has heard several requests were made to authorities to find Ms South.
It heard one of those attempts was made by Swan Hill police, who were denied a dog squad and an aerial unit.
A ‘missed opportunity’
Coroner David Ryan this week described the denial and delay as a “missed opportunity”.
The search was escalated on July 8, two days after the request for resources and five days after Colleen South’s car was found.
The court heard while Victoria Police had cadaver dogs from 2004 to 2008, it no longer had a dog squad trained to locate human remains.
In New South Wales and Queensland, cadaver dogs are still used by police.
Mr Ryan on Friday recommended Victoria Police ask New South Wales Police to use its Human Remains Detection Dog training facility while developing its own capabilities.
“It is encouraging that Victoria Police is in the process of developing its own Human Remains Detection Dog Capability,” he said.
“It is understandable that the process may take some time and involve prioritising resource allocation.”
Training dogs to identify remains would require a supply of human body parts at varying stages of decomposition, the court heard.
The acquisition of such would require a thorough analysis of ethical and legal considerations.
The coroner extended his “sincerest sympathy” to Ms South’s family.
“[Their] distress and grief were compounded during the extended period in which she remained missing,” Mr Ryan said.