Wylie OSCAR
Wylie OSCAR
Wylie's abandoned car
MISSING MAN
15 November 2022 - ABC
WA Police are asking for the public's help to locate missing man
Wylie Oscar.
The 22-year-old was last seen leaving the Junjuwa Aboriginal
Community on November 4.
He is described as 170cm tall, of slim build with short curly
hair, black facial hair and brown eyes.
He is believed to have been travelling in a red Toyota
Landcruiser, which has since been located with two flat tyres north of Fitzroy
Crossing.
Anyone with information should contact police on 131 444.
Wylie Oscar, 22, was last seen at the Junjuwa Aboriginal Community, on the outskirts of Fitzroy Crossing, in November.
The nephew of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner June Oscar, Wylie's disappearance came just over a month before the town and surrounding region were devastated by once-in-a-century floods.
The ABC understands Wylie was at a home in the community on November 4 when there was a disagreement between family members.
He took a car from the address and drove away.
He was reported missing a week-and-a-half after the last sighting, when the red Toyota LandCruiser he had been driving was found abandoned with two flat tyres on Brooking Springs cattle station, just outside of the Fitzroy town site.
The vehicle was filled with food and water from a previous camping trip but it appeared Wylie had not taken any supplies with him.
Police held concerns for his welfare and a search ensued, which included a group of Indigenous trackers, WA Police, and state emergency service volunteers.
Despite the extensive search, no trace of Wylie was found and the search effort was formally suspended on November 23.
He has not been seen since.
Wylie's brother, Keel, was involved in the initial search for him.
He said despite those involved having extensive knowledge of the land, they had been unable to find his brother.
"We tried our best but we couldn't find any sign or nothing," the 20-year-old said.
He said he was not giving up hope.
"I reckon the [police] should keep looking – we tried our best but some people … they're giving up slowly," Keel said.
"We're not giving up, but we do need help to find him."
Keel said there were many theories around what happened to Wylie and his family hoped to get to the bottom of where he was.
"For me, [he's ended up in] the wrong spot at the wrong time," he said.
Keel's mother Michelle Armstrong has also helped search for Wylie.
"[When he went missing] I was really terrified, I could not believe what happened," she said.
Ms Armstrong said the one-week search carried out to find him hadn't been enough, and she would join her son in also keeping an eye out for his brother.
"My favourite memory was him coming around to my house," Ms Armstrong said.
"Having yarns with us, joking around. We miss him and the smile he had on his face all the time.
"We want him to just come home and be around family."
Keel agreed.
"He's a good bloke and miss him every day; he taught me everything I know," he said.
"I love him and I miss him every day. I play songs that he used to play because it makes me think of him."
WA police said while the land search was suspended, they would act on any new information.
"Regardless of weather, Kimberley police will continue to take information from the public in relation to welfare and whereabouts of Mr Oscar," a spokesman said.
Wylie is about 170 centimetres tall with a slim build, short curly black hair, black facial hair and brown eyes.
Friends and family describe him as shy and quiet, and an experienced bushman and stockman.
There's an eerie silence in this part of Australia.
Just outside the gates of Brooking Springs Station, around 15 kilometres from Fitzroy Crossing in WA's north, it's overwhelmingly quiet.
It's also stiflingly hot, as the build up — or Barrangga season to the area's Bunuba traditional owners — has driven temperatures into the high thirties, with little relief overnight.
It was in these conditions, one year ago today, 22-year-old stockman Wylie Oscar disappeared.
The ABC has spoken to multiple members of Wylie's family and friends, as well as authorities investigating what happened to the young man.
All were unanimous in their desire for answers.
Wylie was last seen in Junjuwa, a town-based community just outside Fitzroy Crossing, home to some of his family, on November 4 last year.
They had returned from a camping trip, the mercury had risen to 38 degrees Celsius, and tensions were high.
An argument broke out between his relatives.
Wylie — a quiet, sensitive man uncomfortable with the fighting — left the house and took the first car he saw; a dull-red, old Toyota LandCruiser.
He hasn't been seen since.
The details of what happened next are the subject of an ongoing police investigation.
Family circulated the story of Wylie's disappearance among themselves and conducted searches, before a breakthrough was made.
The Landcruiser Wylie had been driving was found abandoned on Brooking Springs Station.
It had two flat tyres and was still packed full of food and water, which had been taken on the previous camping trip.
The car was reportedly found on the outskirts of the property along a fence line, among low shrub that covers most of the station landscape in the central Kimberley.
Only a few kilometres outside of Fitzroy Crossing, locals were confused as to how no one had spotted the bright red car sooner.
With the 22-year-old now missing for more than a week, local police were called in.
Land and air searches were conducted with the help of emergency services, Indigenous trackers, family and friends.
But with no sign of Wylie, the search effort was formally suspended on November 23.
Following his disappearance, police spoke to family and friends, and authorities even deployed specialist heat-seeking equipment to find any sign of the stockman.
By all accounts the young man was well mentally, and had no reason to take off without notifying his doting family.
They have questions that have been voiced continuously over the last 12 months.
Wylie didn't like being in the dark alone, so why did he leave his car?
An experienced bushman, had he decided to leave the car, he would also have known to take food and water if he had chosen to keep going on foot.
Even then, locals say you can see the lights of Fitzroy Crossing from the fence line of Brooking Springs station.
Why didn't the young man just walk toward the town?
Did December and January's late rains and subsequent flooding disaster wash away any potential clues?
Police say in the case of the missing young man, absolutely nothing can be ruled out.
The result has been a drawn-out, complex investigation, and a lingering question: if Wylie is dead, where is his body?
Wylie's case file was recently handed to the missing persons squad, a branch of WA police that works closely with those in major crime.
A review of the investigation has been completed, and detectives recently travelled to the Kimberley to retrace their colleagues' steps.
They stress the investigation is active and ongoing.
Wylie is around 170 centimetres tall with a slim build, short curly black hair, brown eyes and facial hair.
He was last seen wearing a light blue shirt and beige shorts.
Anyone with information as to his whereabouts should contact Crime Stoppers, or WA Police.