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Missing woman's body found at Mapleton Falls |
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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 31 May 2005 |
The body of a woman who had been missing since Friday was found by
police divers in the rock pool at the base of Mapleton Falls
yesterday. About 50 searchers had been combing rainforest around
Mapleton Falls for Anita Ali- Haapala, 41, of Palmwoods, who
disappeared on Friday.
A local resident said everyone involved in the search was sad but also relieved. "The thing is the relief is huge because while ever she wasn't found there was so much doubt and worry,'' she said.
"Just the not knowing, somebody being hurt. We went through buildings and visited and revisited the same areas in case we'd missed something. There's just a slight glimmer of hope that she's alive so of course you leave nothing unturned. There's a peace now, I suppose, that you just know."
The resident paid tribute to the massive search which included volunteers. "The huge search that these people put on - I admire them so much,'' she said. "It's 120 metres from the top to the bottom of the falls. It's very rough terrain. There's a lot of creeper lantana and wait-a-while. It's not just going for a stroll on the beach. And the fact is many of these people are volunteers. "It was a huge extensive search involving dogs and everything else from the falls north and east in case she had gone for a walk."
Police had also used a helicopter to aid the search. Ms Ali-Haapala is reported to have been suffering anxiety and depression. Reports say shewas released from Nambour Hospital Mental Unit on weekend release on Friday when she alerted one of her parents she was going for a drive. The search for Ms Ali-Haapala, who had failed to answer her mobile phone, switched to the falls area after her car was found there on Saturday.
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Range News 2005 - ON 
