A court asks about police mistakes in the search for Tallis Ahfat
Introduction
A court is looking at the case of Tallis Ahfat. He is a 22-year-old Indigenous man. His family last saw him in Mount Isa, Queensland, on December 16, 2022. The court heard that police made mistakes. These mistakes may have made it harder to find him. Coroner Melinda Zerner leads the court. The court started again in Brisbane on Thursday. An expert talked about the search.
Main Body
His family last saw Tallis Ahfat at his home at 4:00 AM on December 16, 2022. Police searched for him. They used helicopters, drones, and divers. They did not find him. Dr. James Whitehead is an expert. He said the police officer did not finish the paperwork. This meant police could not start a search right away. An earlier search could have helped find Tallis. But by December 19, it was probably too late. The officer may not have known he needed to fill a form. Many police officers in Mount Isa are new. They do not have enough training. Police started the search on December 23. The search was good, but there were not many volunteers. Police stopped the search on December 25 after a false sighting. They did not start again because police did not finish the reports. Whitehead said the search should have continued. He also said Queensland Police has the best search and rescue in Australia. A medical adviser said Tallis likely died by suicide on December 16. His family thinks differently. The coroner also thinks someone may have hurt Tallis. Tallis had a mental illness called paranoid schizophrenia. He was stable and took his medicine. But his mental health got worse in the weeks before he disappeared. He had many sad events in his life. He started using methamphetamine again. He told a close family member he wanted to kill himself. He said he heard voices. He said he wanted to go into the bush to clear his head.
Conclusion
The court found that police made mistakes. They started the search late. They did not finish paperwork. This may have made it harder to find Tallis. The court will start again on June 15 in Brisbane. It will look at more evidence about his death.