Queensland police believe an elderly woman who has been missing for 12 days from inner-city Brisbane has died, and are investigating whether her disappearance is linked to her habit of removing recyclable waste from neighbourhood bins.
Homicide detectives have joined the search for Lesley Trotter’s remains after the 78-year-old last spoke to her family on 27 March and was not at her Toowong home when they visited the following day.
The Brisbane regional crime coordinator, Det Supt Andrew Massingham, said police suspect Trotter died between midnight on 27 March and midday the next day.
“Unfortunately, investigations yesterday afternoon and late into the evening, have led us to the conclusion that Mrs Trotter is in fact deceased,” Massingham said on Friday.
“The nature of that information specifically, I can’t go into great detail. Suffice to say it is credible information we’re acting on.”
Police believe Trotter died close to her Toowong home, with crime scenes established at her unit block and outside her apartment complex.
More than 40 detectives are probing Trotter’s disappearance, which police said may be linked to recycling practices.
“Mrs Trotter would often go to wheelie bins out the front of her residence or the neighbouring properties and remove recycling trash from general waste bins and transfer those into the correct bins,” Massingham said.
“We have not ruled out that this activity in some way is linked to her death.”
Police said Trotter was well known in the neighbourhood for ensuring rubbish was put into the correct bins.
“Whether that’s created some angst amongst the tenants, we’re working through that at the moment,” Massingham said.
Adding to the family’s distress was confirmation Trotter planned to leave the complex, only to go missing before a final property settlement.
“This was a lady looking forward to the next chapter of her life,” police said. “While she had some anxiety about moving into a retirement village, she was looking forward to that.
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“Something tragic has occurred on that Tuesday morning that’s taking that opportunity away from her.
“At this stage, we do not have a location of Mrs Trotter’s body, but we do have several lines of inquiry that may lead us to that location … we do not know if the death is suspicious or not. It will take us some days to work through the evidence.”
Trotter’s family have been advised and are “deeply traumatised” by the shift in the investigation.
They had feared the worst after Trotter’s mobile phone and wallet were found in the unit, with her car still parked in her garage.
Police initially focused their search at Brisbane’s Mt Coot-tha because Trotter is an avid hiker and bushwalker.
Massingham said anyone with information or dashcam footage – particularly between 5am and 7am on Tuesday 28 March, should immediately contact police.
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