A vehicle belonging to missing New South Wales woman Yvonne Whear was recovered from the Rous River in Dulguigan on September 12, nearly seven months after the 73-year-old was last seen. Police divers located the car a short distance from Whear’s home, prompting a continuing investigation into her disappearance.

Authorities have conducted forensic examinations on the gold Ford Escape wagon, including an assessment of the vehicle’s mechanics. Several personal items believed to belong to Whear were also recovered inside or near the car, but the woman herself remains unaccounted for, police said.

Whear’s family expressed profound distress over her disappearance and extended thanks to the various search and rescue teams involved, including Sun State Search volunteers, NSW Water Police, specialist police divers, Tweed Heads police, and local recovery services.

Whear was last captured on CCTV on February 19 at a Shell service station in Murwillumbah, where she purchased orange juice and added $50 credit to her phone. Following this, she drove through cane fields toward her small hobby farm in the hamlet of Dungay, where she had lived for 23 years caring for numerous animals. At approximately 8:30 p.m. that evening, a member of the public reported seeing her car parked without lights on Dungay Creek Road, less than one kilometre from her residence.

Her daughter, Gillian Hallac, noted that Whear rarely drove at night when it could be avoided. At the time of her disappearance, personal effects including the boots and hat she wore in the CCTV footage remained at home, along with her usual shoes by the door. Food was found in her slow cooker, and clothes were neatly folded on her bed, suggesting she had planned for the following day’s activities. Hallac emphasized that her mother would never leave her animals unattended overnight.

The last recorded location signal from Whear’s phone was at 1:00 a.m. the following morning, originating from a tower near the area where the car was found. Hallac, who maintained regular contact with her mother, described her as someone who showed no signs of distress or mental health issues and who would have communicated if she was unhappy.

Tweed-Byron district’s crime manager, Acting Inspector Chris Elliott, stated there is no evidence indicating that Whear voluntarily disappeared. Based on the circumstances, Hallac suspects that someone may have taken her mother and concealed the vehicle. The investigation remains ongoing as police continue to search for further clues to resolve the mystery surrounding Yvonne Whear’s disappearance.