Emergency service crews have been praised for their “persistence” during the 12-day search for a hiker who set off on an ill-fated midnight mountain walk in sub-zero temperatures while wearing sandals and a blouse.
NSW Deputy State Coroner Rebecca Hosking has found the death of Esther Marie Wallace in the Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area in December 2022 was not suspicious.
She found it was “abundantly clear” the search operation combed the “arduous terrain” near Orange, in the state’s Central West, with the hope of finding the 47-year-old alive.
“Even after it was clear that Esther was not going to be found alive, the dedicated officers and volunteers continued the search well beyond the period a search would ordinarily be terminated,” she determined.
The search for Ms Wallace included specialist teams to navigate the technical terrain. (ABC News: Lani Oataway)
“They recovered Esther so the mourning and grieving process of Esther’s family could run its full course.”
Missing in freezing conditions
Ms Wallace and her partner Alan Smith drove to the Mount Canobolas Lookout late in the evening of November 29, 2022.
Judge Hosking found they had smoked marijuana earlier that night.
The pair made their way to the Federal Falls car park and embarked on the 4-kilometre loop walk about midnight.
The court heard it was minus 4-degrees Celsius at the time.
Esther Wallace was last seen walking the Federal Falls trail with her partner. (ABC News: Lani Oataway)
Ms Wallace left her phone and handbag in Mr Smith’s car, and the court heard she slipped several times on the trail in her sandals.
After reaching Federal Falls about 1am, the duo began walking back to the car but veered off the trail.
“Esther became scared and started to panic,” Judge Hosking noted in her findings, which were handed down late last week.
“They continued uphill but a short time later Esther sat down and refused to move.“
As the sun started to rise, the pair argued about where the path was and Mr Smith left Ms Wallace sitting on his orange hi-vis jacket with a torch while he hiked uphill.
Esther Wallace’s body was found on a Sunday afternoon in bushland near the walking trail in December 2022. (Supplied)
He returned twice to convince her to join him but she refused.
Mr Smith arrived at the car park, charged his phone, and walked back down to find her.
He reported her missing just before 8am.
Large-scale search launched
NSW Police officers and NSW State Emergency Service (SES) personnel began searching for Ms Wallace a short time later, and set up a command post at the Federal Falls campground.
Emergency services were combing a 5-kilometre radius from where Esther Wallace was last seen. (ABC News: Lani Oataway)
Officers determined one of her last locations in the snow gum forest and described it as steep and “extremely arduous” with “dense tree canopy”.
Visibility was limited and in areas it was less than a metre.
Across the next 12 days, the operation recruited members of the police, SES, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Rural Fire Service and Forestry Corporation NSW.
The search party navigated the technical terrain on foot, patrolled forestry roads and ordered several aerial searches over the bushland and surrounding pine forests.
NSW Police launched a large scale search for the 47-year-old mother in the State Conservation Area. (ABC News: Lani Oataway)
On day five, the orange hi-vis jacket Ms Wallace was sitting on and her black headband were found.
Four days later the white blouse she was wearing was discovered, and the day after her red underwear and Mr Smith’s torch were found to the east of Federal Falls.
Body discovered
On the final day of the search, the SES specialist Bush Search and Rescue unit was sent with police officers to areas of interest not previously searched.
They detected a smell they thought could be coming from a dead body.
The 3.4km Federal Falls loop weaves down steep slopes to reach the waterfall running down volcanic rock. (ABC News: Lani Oataway)
Line searches were conducted throughout the day near the odour, which led to the discovery of Esther Wallace’s remains later that afternoon.
She was found wearing a black bra and long active-wear pants that were inside out, about 150 metres from a fire trail.
Her body was covered by fallen logs and displayed signs of decomposition.
A forensic examination of her remains determined her death was not the result of suspicious circumstances.
‘Appropriate’ search
Judge Hosking found the search for the 47-year-old was adequately resourced and appropriately conducted.
“The persons and teams deployed were suitably qualified and equipped given the arduous terrain and the complexity of the search areas,” she concluded.
Police officers described some of the terrain as “extremely arduous” with “dense tree canopy”. (ABC News: Lani Oataway)
She could not determine the cause of Ms Wallace’s death, although listed factors such as exposure, hypothermia and dehydration as plausible explanations.
“Esther became lost in dense bushland at night,” she found.
“Despite the best efforts [of all involved], Esther was unable to be located before she died.“
