Tasmania Police Open to Learning from Volunteer Group After Human Remains Found

Tasmania Police says it is open to learning from a volunteer missing persons search group, which has found human remains for a second time. Yesterday afternoon, remains were found during a renewed search for missing Scottsdale man Peter Willoughby. Mr Willoughby, 76, has not been seen since he ventured into the Hollybank Reserve, north-east of Launceston, in October last year, in search of his car. Although it will take a few weeks for the remains to be formally identified, Tasmania Police Inspector Aleena Crack said clothing and other items found with the remains indicated they belonged to Mr Willoughby. Many of the volunteers involved in this weekend's search for Mr Willoughby were also part of the group that helped find the remains of missing Belgian woman Celine Cremer earlier this year. They have now formed an incorporated group called FOLLO — Find Our Lost Loved Ones — which they hope will soon become a charity to assist with missing persons cases. Inspector Crack said police would review their own search effort, and the tactics of the FOLLO group. "Police are always open to any learning and any input we can have from groups, particularly when there is such success as this one," she said. Inspector Crack has defended the initial police search effort, which did scour the area where the remains were eventually found. She said the police search was conducted "under different circumstances". "The police search-and-rescue response is done rapidly in the best possible way, with the focus of trying to find somebody alive, whereas a more thoroughly planned search over a greater period of time has a different focus with different terrain and different resources," she said. Inspector Crack said police had discussions with the group before its search began and provided information such as search patterns. "We have no plans to stop engaging with groups such as this," she said. Volunteer methods Volunteer Matt Strickland was a part of the search group that found the remains yesterday. He said it had been possible due to the group's "line search" method, which is conducted grid by grid. "There [was] a lot of fern foliage and that sort of thing, it just wouldn't have been very conducive to any other type of search," he said. Mr Strickland said it was an honour to bring closure to Mr Willoughby's family. Inspector Crack said she was not aware whether there were any other missing persons cases that Tasmania Police and FOLLO would turn their attention to. "I'm sure that thoughts will be put into that in the future," she said.