Inquest into the Suspected Death of Nicholas PAVLIDIS
Inquest into the Suspected Death of Nicholas PAVLIDIS
Delivered on :18 August 2022
Delivered at : Perth
Finding of : Deputy State Coroner Linton
Recommendations :Yes
I recommend that the WA Police Force amend WA Police Force Policy TR 01.04 (relating to abandoned vehicles), to require members to consider not only whether the vehicle is stolen or involved in criminal activity, but also whether there are any serious welfare concerns for the owner of the vehicle or the known occupants, before diverting the responsibility for the abandoned vehicle to the relevant local government authority.
Orders/Rules : N/A
Suppression Order : N/A
Summary : Nicholas Pavlidis (Mr Pavlidis) was last seen on 14 October 2015. His vehicle was reported to police on 24 October 2015. It had been abandoned in the Pine Planation in Yanchep and was progressively being damaged and stripped of parts. Police attempted to call Mr Pavlidis a number of times, but were unable to make contact with him. As the vehicle was not reported as being stolen and Mr Pavlidis had not been reported as a missing person, police referred the matter to the relevant government agency to deal with the abandoned car.
Mr Pavlidis’ friend had not seen Mr Pavlidis since mid-October and was unsuccessful in trying to contact him since that time. The friend became aware that Mr Pavlidis’ car had been abandoned in the pine plantation and so he reported Mr Pavlidis as a missing person to police on 8 November 2015. Police then coordinated a search, based around Mr Pavlidis’ car, and they also searched his house. Both searches failed to locate any sign of Mr Pavlidis and none of his belonging were found in a 20 kilometres radius of his car. Police investigations revealed Mr Pavlidis had withdrawn a reasonably large amount of money in the month leading up to his disappearance, but there were no banking transactions made after the date he was last seen by his friend. Mr Pavlidis was known to be frugal and had mentioned to his friends that he had plans to live off the grid and travel around Australia. However, it was thought unlikely he would do so without first seeing his friends.
Mr Pavlidis’ family and friends have not had any contact with him since mid-October 2015 and there have been no other known sightings of him by members of the public. He has not used his bank accounts or been in contact with any government departments. The state of his house and the abandoning of his car were inconsistent with Mr Pavlidis leaving on a long planned journey He had also been noted to be in a deteriorating stat of mental health prior to his disappearance.
The Deputy State Coroner was satisfied beyond all reasonable doubt Mr Pavlidis is deceased and that he died on an unknown date, sometime in the ten day period between when he was last seen by his friend on 14 October 2015 and his vehicle was first reported abandoned on 24 October 2015. As Mr Pavlidis body has not been found, and the exact circumstances around his last moments are unknown, his cause of death must remain unascertained, and the manner of his death will be open.
Catch Words : Long Term Missing Person : Land Search and Rescue : Police Policy Abandoned Vehicles : Open Finding
Last updated: 13-Dec-2022
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