The family of an Indigenous West Australian man who disappeared last month amid suspicious circumstances has called for more cultural collaboration with police ahead of a meeting with investigators tomorrow.
Jeremiah 'Jayo' Rivers, 27, is believed to have walked away from the group he was camping with near Wippo Creek, south of Noccundra, in south west Queensland, on the morning of October 18.
Six weeks later his desperate relatives from the East Kimberley continue to travel on rotation into the region, searching the harsh, hot landscape, but have so far found no trace of their loved one.
The initial police search lasted less than a week, soon after Mr Rivers' disappearance was deemed suspicious and it was revealed homicide investigators had joined the case.
Since then police have been guarded about many aspects of the investigation, only fronting the media to make specific appeals for assistance, while distraught family members say they have been largely left in the dark.
Investigators have said that the half dozen people in Mr Rivers' camping group were suspected of entering Queensland from New South Wales illegally by breaking through a gate, and that their stories about his disappearance did not match.
Complicating things further, the initial interviews with those involved were delayed by a COVID-19 outbreak among those at the camp group, putting both them and police officers into isolation.
Family seek answers at meeting with police
According to family members, investigators have agreed to meet with them in Cunnamulla on Wednesday, face to face and virtually, to discuss the investigation.
Mr Rivers' aunty Brenda Garstone has spent a week helping relatives in their search and said the lack of assistance from police was their main source of frustration.
"None of us are going to give up. And we want to exhaust all avenues so we feel in our hearts we have done the best that we can to advocate on behalf of Jayo," she said.
Ms Garstone said family members wanted to know why the initial police search did not seem to involve the time or resources used in other high-profile missing persons' cases.
"When you really analyse the days they've spent on site it basically boils down to being about six or seven at the most, which is just inequitable when you compare it to other people who've gone missing," she said.
She said the family would ask police to collaborate with Indigenous rangers and trackers.
"If he has walked off we need someone with a cultural lens," she said.
Queensland Police has been contacted for comment.
Ford Focus remains in spotlight
Another aspect of the case family members are keen to learn more about is the possible involvement of a white Ford Focus allegedly stolen from the Sunshine Coast and involved in fuel drive-offs in south west Queensland around the time Mr Rivers went missing.
Queensland Police released CCTV footage of the car a fortnight ago and appealed for witnesses to come forward.
Police have now confirmed a woman has been charged relating to the possession of the vehicle, however she is not one of the people in the car at the time of the petrol thefts in Western Queensland.
Police say it's unknown whether the vehicle and Mr Rivers' disappearance are linked but it remains a line of inquiry.
