The body of 73-year-old Yvonne Whear, a grandmother who disappeared from Murwillumbah on February 19, was found decomposed in a livestock tank on a rural property last week. Police confirmed the identity after forensic examinations and announced that a homicide investigation is underway. Ms Whear's disappearance sparked an extensive search involving drones, helicopters, and divers; her car was later found submerged in the Rous River in September. The article details her last known activities before vanishing, including buying orange juice and adding credit to her phone just hours before she was seen driving towards her hobby farm.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-13,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Yvonne Whear, a 73-year-old woman from Murwillumbah, New South Wales, was identified by police as the body found in a disused livestock dip on a rural property near Terragon. The partially decomposed remains were discovered on October 5 last week and have been confirmed to be those of Whear, who had gone missing eight months earlier. On February 19, she was last seen buying orange juice and topping up her phone credit at a Shell service station in Murwillumbah before driving toward her hobby farm near Dungay. NSW Police are treating her death as a homicide and have formed a taskforce to investigate the case, urging anyone with information to come forward.
Written for “Missing Grandmother Found Deceased” on 2026-10-13,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
The body of a woman found partially submerged in a stock dip on a rural NSW property has been identified as 73-year-old grandmother Yvonne Whear.
asserted
body → find → Whear
Ms Whear disappeared from Murwillumbah, in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, on February 19, 2026.
asserted
Whear → disappear → February
Her body was discovered in an advanced state of decomposition by two trail bike riders on Monday last week.
asserted
body → discover → Monday
Police said she was found in a tank used to treat livestock for ticks and other parasites.
asserted
she → say → ticks
Forensic and post-mortem examinations carried out over the past week confirmed her identity, which police publicly announced on Tuesday morning.
asserted
police → carry → morning
NSW Police have confirmed a homicide investigation is underway.
asserted
investigation → confirm → ?
Ms Whear's disappearance sparked an extensive search after she was last seen on CCTV in Murwillumbah on February 19.
asserted
she → spark → February
At about 3.15pm that day, she was captured buying orange juice and adding credit to her mobile phone at a Shell service station.
asserted
she → capture → station
The body of a woman found partially submerged in a stock dip on a rural property in NSW has been identified as 73-year-old grandmother Yvonne Whear
She was last seen on February 19 buying orange juice and topping up her phone credit at a Shell service station
Security cameras later captured Ms Whear driving north along Queensland Road towards her hobby farm on the outskirts of Dungay, near the Queensland border, at about 3.20pm.
asserted
Whear → find → 3.20pm
Phone records indicated she watched YouTube videos that afternoon before accessing her voicemail shortly before 5pm.
asserted
she → indicate → pm
The final signal from her phone was detected by a mobile tower near Dungay at about 10am the following day, February 20.
asserted
signal → detect → am
It has not been detected since.
asserted
It → detect → ?
Ms Whear maintained regular contact with her family, prompting her daughter, Gillian Hallac, to grow concerned when two days passed without hearing from her.
asserted
days → maintain → her
Investigators initially considered whether Ms Whear had been involved in an accident on the region's winding roads.
asserted
Whear → consider → roads
However, fears for her safety mounted as searches failed to find either her or her gold Ford Escape.
asserted
searches → mount → her
Police launched an extensive search operation, deploying drones and helicopters while divers combed the Rous and Tweed rivers.
asserted
divers → launch → rivers
A breakthrough came in mid-September when divers discovered the missing SUV in the Rous River at Dulguigan, not far from Ms Whear's home.
asserted
divers → come → home
The vehicle was pulled from the water for forensic testing and a mechanical inspection.
asserted
vehicle → pull → testing
Items believed to belong to Ms Whear were also recovered.
asserted
Items → believe → Whear
NSW Police have confirmed a homicide investigation is underway
In September, seven months after her disappearance, NSW Police found her car submerged in a river
asserted
car → confirm → river
Ms Whear was embroiled in a long-running dispute over the lease for the farm she had rented for 23 years, where she kept ducks, chickens, dogs, rabbits and cats.
asserted
she → embroil → ducks
She was scheduled to attend a hearing at the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal the following week.
asserted
She → schedule → Tribunal
Her daughter, Gillian Hallac told the Sydney Morning Herald in August that despite the legal proceedings, her mother had no reason to abandon her life and responsibilities.
'She had a life with plans and responsibilities and people who loved her,' Ms Hallac said.
asserted
Hallac → tell → her
'We don't believe she had any ordinary reasons to leave the property that evening.'
Tweed/Byron Police District Commander, Acting Superintendent Matt Zimmer, said investigators remained determined to find those responsible and provide answers for Ms Whear's family
'
asserted
investigators → believe → family
Yvonne's family has endured many months of uncertainty, and they deserve answers.
asserted
they → endure → answers
We are committed to pursuing every line of inquiry and urge anyone who can assist to contact police.
asserted
who → commit → police
As inquiries continue, anyone with information is urged to contact Tweed Heads Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
asserted
anyone → continue → 000
The Aporia
