Father's plea: Track down alleged killer

Father's plea: Track down alleged killer
BY DAN PROUDMAN CHIEF POLICE REPORTER
03 Sep, 2010 04:00 AM
The father of one of fugitive bushranger Malcolm Naden’s suspected victims has pleaded with authorities to do whatever it takes to hunt down the suspected double murderer.

Mick Peet, father of Naden’s missing cousin Lateesha Nolan, said yesterday that even the army should be used to comb the Barrington Tops to help look for the man who had led police on a five-year chase.

Naden, an expert bushman, is believed to be hiding out in the Barrington bush, with more than 20 remote properties reporting break-ins and thefts since Easter.

Naden is the nephew of Mr Peet’s former partner and is suspected of being involved in the 2005 disappearance of Ms Nolan and the murder of Kristy Scholes, the partner of another cousin, eight months later.

There is a $50,000 bounty for his arrest.

‘‘I want justice for my daughter and Kristy and that cannot happen until he is caught,’’ Mr Peet told the Newcastle Herald yesterday.

‘‘If the $50,000 isn’t enough, then people need to think of the six children who are attempting to move on without their mothers.

‘‘Those kids need to know.’’

Police have refused to confirm their suspicions on Naden’s whereabouts, despite mounting evidence to suggest he is following water courses and food sources between Scone and Gloucester and west of Wingham.

The Herald knows of at least one major search north-west of Gloucester in July where police dogs and an Aboriginal tracker were flown in to try to trace the fugitive.

‘‘The main thing for us is closure,’’ Mr Peet said. ‘‘We need to know what happened to my daughter.

‘‘My father [Len Peet] passed away recently never knowing what happened to his granddaughter. I have waited five years, I cannot wait another five years.’’

Mr Peet said he remembered Naden as being an expert bushman who had learnt his skills on camping trips since he was a child.

He said he believed he would be ‘‘living like a fox’’ and keeping low during the day before moving at night.