Heaps of “items of interest” found at a waste site in Swanbank in Ipswich have been confirmed as unrelated to Lesley Trotter, the 78-year-old Toowong woman whose disappearance in late March has prompted a massive police search.
Investigators said that the preliminary examination of the items of interest discovered at the rubbish tip were not tied to the ongoing investigations and that efforts to find Ms Trotter’s body will continue.
The Toowong woman disappeared on 28 March 2023 while her wallet, mobile phone and car were still at home. The police believe that she was killed around midnight and her body was dumped inside a wheelie bin, which was collected and compacted at two possible landfill sites.
Police started their search in Swanbank, where 3,000 tonnes of waste had to be sifted thoroughly, using rakes and other tools, from a landfill measuring 30 centimetres deep. Until her body is recovered, the police plan to examine over 200 tonnes of rubbish daily. Det Supt Massingham said that the process might take more than three weeks. Once recovered, Ms Trotter’s remains will still undergo forensic examination.
Meanwhile, Ms Trotter’s neighbours told “A Current Affair” that she was always “out and about” in their neighbourhood despite her age. They said they were shocked to learn about the strange circumstances surrounding her death.
“Toowong’s a very nice suburb (with) a lot of affluent people and properties,” said one neighbour, Kirby. “(It’s) very scary to think about what the sinister implications could be of this case.”
Ms Trotter was planning to move to a retirement facility after selling her unit, where she had lived for over 40 years.
Published 24-April-2023