Kenneth John Giles search: Police made huge breakthrough in search for Mullewa gunman after vehicle find
Police have located the vehicle belonging to Mullewa fugitive Kenneth John Giles, who has been on the run for almost two months after allegedly shooting his partner in the hand.
But there was no sign of the 58-year-old gunman near the remote bush where his 4WD was discovered.
The extended manhunt began on January 7, when Giles fled a property north of the Midwestern town in a white Nissan Patrol.
Several shots were fired but only Giles’ partner Tanya Moran was injured.
On Wednesday – seven weeks after the shooting – Central West-Gascoyne Police Superintendent Neil Vanderplank confirmed there had been a breakthrough in the case after a member of the public found the getaway vehicle and reported it to police around 3.15pm on Monday.
The gun was found in an area called Nunierra, near Hackett Creek on the Carnarvon-Mullewa Road, about 40 kilometers north-east of where the alleged attack took place.
Some alcohol and drugs were found in the vehicle, but no firearm was found.
Heavy rain from former tropical cyclone Mitchell had also covered up any tracks or forensic clues that might have clued police into which direction Giles might have gone, so using police dogs proved “unimportant”.
Supt Vanderplank said investigators believed the vehicle had been abandoned for some time – “at least before the rain”.
“As you can appreciate, Tropical Hurricane Mitchell made this miserable for us,” he said.
“So the vehicle is a starting point and we spread out from there as a search location.
“If there was a smell there, it would have been gone a long time ago.”
The vehicle was taken to Mullewa for further inspection.
It wasn’t a swamp, it still had fuel in it, and it didn’t seem to have any mechanical problems.
“Our detectives started it, so that means something and got it there,” Supt Vanderplank said.
Supt Vanderplank said the vehicle discovery “doesn’t really tell us anything new” about whether Mr Giles is alive or dead.
“This gives us a place to start looking as the last known location,” he said.
Asked if police believed Mr Giles had any help to evade capture, Supt Vanderplank said: “We don’t have anything direct to suggest that, but it will always be in the back of our minds to think that this guy is either alive and someone is helping him, or the worst has happened.”
Police conduct line searches on the ground and use drones before expanding within a 300-meter radius of where the vehicle was found.
They will also revisit nearby stations and properties to check specific structures such as barracks, water tanks and windmills.
Mr Giles is described as an experienced bushman and Supt Vanderplank said there were sources of water and food in the immediate area, including kangaroos and wild boars, and someone could survive off the land if they were skilled enough.
Supt Vanderplank said Mr Giles’ partner and family had been kept up to date on the investigation, including this week’s vehicle discovery.
He said they felt “optimistic and anxious because of the unknown.”
Supt Vanderplank said there were no reports of theft, damage or trespassing in the area.
He said police would “leave no stone unturned” and again called on Mr Giles, if he is still alive, to surrender and bring this matter to a peaceful end.
“Obviously we want to put an end to this, we’re not going to go away. We have a dedicated team based in Geraldton,” he said.
“It will be resolved one way or another. We need to find him and deal with the matter at hand.”
