The cousin of Gordon Copeland has told an inquest into his death that the treatment of the family by police throughout the search was “disgusting and pure disrespectful."
The Gomeroi man's body was found in the Gwydir River at Moree, three months after he was reported missing, following an interaction with New South Wales Police on July 10, 2021.
He was travelling in a black sedan in the early hours of the morning, when police officers briefly followed the car, suspecting it was stolen.
The inquest has previously heard he either jumped or fell into the flooded and fast-moving river after an officer tried to apprehend him.
Earlier this week, Detective Bradley Beddoes admitted to the inquest it was wrong to call off the immediate search for Mr Copeland after a matter of hours.
Lesley Fernando, Mr Copeland's cousin, today recalled an interaction she had with Beddoes on the morning of July 12 as the family continued to search for him.
“He basically told us that he had conducted some type of investigation the day before about the case at the river, and he was satisfied with his findings and he would not be doing anything further,” she said.
Ms Fernando recalled telling the officer that “Gordon’s a very tiny person and he’s out there and it’s cold, we need to find him."
“Detective Brad Beddoes rolled back on his chair, leant to his left and smirked at me and said, 'I know Gordon very well.'," she said.
“That indicated to me that the information he was providing, that he wasn’t willing to go any further was a [biased] decision..."
Mr Copeland was found in the Gwydir River three months after he went missing. Source: NITV: Sascha Estons
'I was mortified'
After leaving to continue the search, Ms Fernando stated that she called the Moree Police station to ask them where the family should search, telling them 'We have no idea where to look."
She said she was told to stop calling and that 'there’s nobody here to talk to you'.
Ms Fernando said she eventually went back and spoke with the Sergeant on duty Henry Trow, where she begged him to speak with Detective Brad Beddoes about reactivating the search.
“He came back and said Detective Beddows declared he would not be doing anything further,” she said.
Asking Sergeant Trow for help, Ms Fernando said he gave them a post-it note that said: “500 meters west of the bridge”.
“That was the resource that we were given to look for our loved one,” she said.
After resuming the search, Ms Fernando said inspector Helen McWilliams pulled up in marked vehicle, introduced herself and explained that she will be taking over the investigation and will have every resource that she can get.
Ms Fernando also recalled a later moment, once the police search was reactivated, when an officer said.
"I went pigging a few weeks in the area and caught a pig and came back a day later and the other pigs ate that pig, so you really want to hope that Gordon is in the water and not on land.”
Ms Fernando said she was "disgusted" at the exchange.
“My gut turned, to have that vision in my mind as he’s speaking those words there was nothing to describe my feelings, I was mortified” she said.
Mr Copeland's mother, Narelle, also gave evidence, describing the resources the family put thousands of dollars into to help them conduct the search which included boats and drones.
She also described Mr Copeland's relationship with the police.
“He was scared, he didn’t trust them at all," she said.
The inquest continues.
