Yvonne WHEAR

 

'Serious concerns': Urgent appeal to find missing 73-year-old woman

By Joseph Sahyoun NINE News
Police are appealing to the public as they continue to search for a missing 73-year-old woman whose family believe her disappearance is "out of character".
Yvonne Whear, 73, was last spotted at the Shell Service Station on Tweed Valley Way at Murwillumbah at about 3.15pm on February 19, 2026.
It's believed she was heading north on Queensland Road in Murwillumbah.
Authorities were alerted to her disappearance two days later, leading to an investigation into her whereabouts.
Police say there are serious concerns for her whereabouts, as her family believes the disappearance is out of character.
It was believed that the last sighting of Yvonne was on Wednesday at Dungay however, police established that she was seen at the Shell Service Station last week.
On February 19 at about 3.22pm, her gold Ford Escape wagon was spotted heading north on Queensland Road towards Dungay.
The wagon has an NSW license plate with the registration EWS28P.
The 73-year-old has not been seen or heard from since.
Whear is known to frequent both the Murwillumbah and Dungay regions.
She is described as being of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern appearance, with grey/brown hair, around 154cm tall, of a medium to solid build, possibly with a large scar on her right arm.

 

Search for missing Murwillumbah woman Yvonne Whear continues in northern NSW

By Emma Hannigan and Lachie McLeod

Police searching for a missing woman in northern New South Wales say that they cannot rule out foul play as the cause of her disappearance.

Yvonne Whear, 73, was last seen was on the afternoon of February 19, when her car was recorded on CCTV travelling along Queensland Road in the direction of her farm near Murwillumbah in the Northern Rivers.

She was driving her gold-coloured Ford Escape SUV and had previously been seen at the Shell service station on Tweed Valley Way at Murwillumbah at about 3:15pm that day.

Neither Ms Whear nor the vehicle have been since since and her daughter Gillian Hallac says the family is desperate for answers.

"We just want to know where Mum is and what happened to her," Ms Hallac said.

"If anyone saw anything unusual, no matter how small it may seem, or has any information at all, we urge them to come forward and tell police. Even the smallest detail could make a difference."

Tweed-Byron Police Detective Inspector Gary Sheehan told reporters that foul play has not been ruled out as the reason for Ms Whear's disappearance.

"We are looking at all circumstances. In missing persons cases like this, police have to keep an open mind as to what may have occurred, and that's part of the inquiry that we're looking at, along with many other inquiries," he said.

Ms Hallac said the family "strongly believe that someone came to the farm that Thursday afternoon".

"Mum never liked driving at night and we have no evidence of any reason for her to suddenly leave of her own accord," she said.

"There were no calls or messages that would explain her leaving. After returning home from her art class at TAFE, she was watching art tutorials, and then after 4:46 pm, everything stopped. She didn't contact her family again and she did not respond to any messages."

Police have been searching an area along the Rous River where Ms Whear's phone was last active and the dive unit is continuing to search the rivers in the area.

"We've conducted a number of searches along that area of roadway just in case she's run off the road, come to some sort of foul play, and we've done both sides, so both the north and south along that road, because we simply don't know," Inspector Sheehan said.

"We've utilised helicopters from both New South Wales and Queensland police forces. We've had drones in the air from our rescue squad and we've had community organisations like SES doing foot and line searches in the area."

Anyone with information related to Ms Whear's whereabouts is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Murwillumbah Police Station directly.