Victoria police have said they are unlikely to find missing Melbourne woman Elisa Curry alive if she is in the bush.
Water police spent Thursday searching Painkalac Creek close to Curry’s holiday home at Aireys Inlet, near the Great Ocean Road. Curry, 42, was last seen by a female friend who went to Curry’s home on Saturday night.
Police Inspector Peter Seel told reporters on Thursday that Curry and her friend, who lived in the neighbourhood, had discussed a “personal matter”. But there was no incident that night that would have caused Curry distress, her friend told police.
Curry is believed to have gone missing on Saturday night or Sunday morning. Her husband and children were not with her at the time because they had returned to Melbourne to watch the AFL grand final.
Her husband, David Curry, and the couple’s children arrived back at Aireys Inlet at 9am on Sunday morning and reported her missing.
Curry is a marathon runner and it was initially believed she may have become lost in surrounding bush while going for a run with the family dog on Saturday night. The dog was found in a neighbour’s backyard on Tuesday.
But Seel said police had discounted that theory and it was likely the dog had escaped the home on its own.
“Unfortunately the best medical advice is that if she is in the bush, that the chances of her being alive are very remote,” Seel told the Seven Network on Thursday.
Police have narrowed their search to an area of about 150 metres around the holiday home, and have been door-knocking the area and searching backyards and sheds. They also searched Curry’s family home in Surrey Hills, 11km east of Melbourne.
“We don’t know what she was wearing, we don’t know at the time what her state of mind was, so it’s difficult to gather all of that together and know what happened,” Seel told reporters as the search continued.
He told radio 3AW in Melbourne Curry’s family were struggling.
“They’re doing pretty badly at the moment, especially the children,” he said. “My hope is … we can give them some answers. If we can give them those answers, at this stage I don’t know.”
On Tuesday her husband made a plea for information.
“I, my kids, we just want her to come home,” he said. “Elisa, if you’re out there, can you please contact us. If anyone has seen anything, just please contact us.”
