Tag: search and rescue

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First written and published by Nature Trail in May 2025. Nature Trail is a trading entity of Wistmans Wood Trust [ABN 51 965 308 493] Contact Information: A:  5 Kundibar Street, Katoomba, NSW 2780. Australia. T:  +61-2-4782 1300 E:   steve[at]naturetrail.com.au B:   >MISSING GARY TWEDDLE PART 1: FRONT COVER   (book address) W:  >https://naturetrail.com.au/ All concepts, text, (many) images, design, typesetting, publishing, […]

Photo: NSW Waratah in the bush at Blackheath (Photo by Nicole Schmidt} “BALM FOR THE SOUL IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS & BEYOND“ [SOURCE: ^https://paulineconolly.com/2019/balm-to-the-soul-in-the-blue-mountains/ ] “If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart. I’ll stay there forever.”   – Winnie-the-Pooh  [by A.A. Milne, Hampstead, England] >Go Back To Top of This PART […]

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Content Warning:   This book contains an account of a person who has died under tragic circumstances and also of the reported grieving accounts of that person’s family and loved ones. Disclaimer: The contents and information presented in this book is drawn from published media sources which are publicly available records accessed online mostly at the time of the event in […]

We dedicate this book to all visitors to the Blue Mountains.  May they enjoy their trip here, be careful and stay safe. We also dedicate this book to those still lost and missing in the Blue Mountains. This book is particularly dedicated to the 200-odd unsung rescue service paid workers of the NSW Government (Police Rescue, Police Officers, Air Ambulance […]

The idea for writing this web-book evolved from writing an article for Nature Trail’s community blog ‘Mountains Drums‘ under the category of ‘Deaths in the Mountains‘.   ‘Mountains Drums’ Blog >https://naturetrail.com.au/blog-category/deaths-in-the-mountains/ The particularly bizarre circumstances and tragic outcome of this true story of the Blue Mountains captured the intrigue of many locals and the media at the time back in […]

Click link to Go To a Book PART: >Front Cover >Back Page Blurb >Title Page >Copyright >Epigraph >Frontispiece >Foreword >Disclaimer >Dedication >Acknowledgements >Table of Contents >Preface >Introduction: Gary Tweddle >Chapter  1:  A limited backstory >Chapter  2:  Oracle’s 2013 sales conference >Chapter  3:  Gary’s state of mind? >Chapter  4:  Blue Mountains massive search >Chapter  5:  Critique about the search >Chapter  6:  […]

This is the wild environment associated with this topic we’re talking about here: View of Sublime Point Leura toward the Jamison Valley below.  [SOURCE:  ^https://www.truebluemountains.com.au/] It was in the days immediately after Gary Tweddle, apparently some young male corporate IT sales executive, had been last seen at 12:15 am (just after midnight) on Wednesday 17th July 2013 as reported by […]

Mr Gary Tweddle’s unexplained disappearance in the winter of 2013 sparked the largest search for a missing person in Blue Mountains history…well at least to date at the time. Hereon, this author through this article, since web-book, chooses to refer to Mr Gary Lloyd Tweddle, more familiarly just be his first name ‘Gary’.  Few these days ever use their full name […]

Gary was a new recruit at Oracle, new to Australia and wholly dependent upon his new employer Oracle Corporation Australia for his work, income, and welfare, like survival – everything.  Young Gary (at just 23) was beholden to Oracle. May be this is how Oracle management preferred it, so they have a young keen naive lackey, achieve through magic (none […]

During a cold wintry July of 2013, Gary, along with Oracle’s Australian sales force (team), were required to attend Oracle sales ‘team’s fully-paid 3-day mid-week conference at the 4-star Fairmont Resort and Spa in Leura in the famous Blue Mountains 100km west of Sydney. It was a compulsory work function for Gary. SO A QUESTION: Why did Oracle choose to […]

Upon return to the Fairmont Resort, Gary’s work colleagues accountED that Gary went to his room where he spent a short time with a few of them.  They claimed that Gary spoke about him going to get drugs (more drugs?) (and presumably return).   Apparently, Gary was on a mission to ‘keep the party going’. So was Gary at the time […]

The next morning daylight of Wednesday 17th July 2013, an immediate and extensive search was officially sprung into operation.   This was ultimately co-ordinated by local Blue Mountains Police Rescue (nearby Katoomba-based) with the assistance of volunteers from the NSW State Emergency Service, Rural Fire service volunteers and experienced local bushwalking clubs’ members familiar with the area. NSW Police Senior Constable […]

So the search for Gary was a complete failure.  The search had failed to find Gary alive nor his body, nor work out what happened to him  – where he was still alive, dead or had taken off elsewhere for some reason.  Then search command just gave up. Blue Mountains Police closed the search effort from Wednesday 17th July after […]

There were a number of clues in the media as to the reason for Gary’s departure and subsequent disappearance and to where he went and to what likely happened, before the massive search even began.  We have raised many of these already in the above chapters in this article.  And that’s before we apply investigative insight and analysis.  It’s not […]

As we’ve previously stated, NSW Police ‘Riot Squad’ Senior Constable De Jong on Monday 12th August 2013 had announced to the media that the official NSW Police search for Gary Tweddle (alive or dead) was being called off altogether. However, exactly three weeks later to the day, on Monday 2nd September 2013, an unrelated helicopter training flight of the NSW […]

As we have highlighted, the physical road chosen by Gary, Sublime Point Road, is very dark at night such that Gary had to use his smartphone torch feature to navigate walking along the road in such pitch black physical darkness. Then starting with his frequent use of his mobile phone probably during the course of the day, such as contacting […]

So, Gary’s deceased body had ultimately discovered on Monday 2nd September 2013 by fluke at around 4pm, just over six weeks (47 days) after he had gone missing.  Due to fading light he could not be safely recovered until the following day by authorities. Once Gary’s body was recovered (after being propped 6 weeks in a remote cliff-side tree), police […]

Before Gary’s body was found, police had deduced that narcotics had been a factor in his odd running behaviour and sudden disappearance from the Oracle sales conference at the Fairmont Resort near midnight on 16th July 2013. In hindsight, the police investigation, to ensure legally effectiveness in a court prosecution, kept details close to their chest and undisclosed to keen […]

At this juncture in this story, this author as an outsider, logically asks why would a clever, successful and presumably well paid sales executive like Gary employed with such a global leading IT corporation like Oracle, delve into illegal use of narcotics? Clearly, Gary was a team player within the Oracle Sales team in Sydney.  Gary had never made contact […]

Hindsight has its benefits.  Had Gary and his family been aware of the drug use culture in Oracle Sydney sales at the time, and indeed of the extent of drug use particularly in Sydney (and across other Australian cities); the encouragement and decision for Gary to go from London to Sydney would probably not have gone ahead. But hindsight also […]