The Star: December 21, 2023

The Star Thursday December 21 2023
10
NEWS
Probe into
Chch mum’s
death in
detention
• By Anna Leask
THE DEATH of former
Christchurch woman at an Australian
detention centre is under
scrutiny by a senior New South
Wales coroner.
Leah Porter, 53, was found
dead in her room in May 2022 at
Villawood Immigration Detention
Centre in Sydney.
Porter’s visa had been
cancelled after she served a
12-month prison sentence for
assaulting a police officer.
The mother of two was originally
from Christchurch but she
had lived in Australia for more
than a decade.
It is thought Porter took her
own life as she awaited deportation
to New Zealand.
Her family told media after
her death that she “should never
have been in detention”– and
her mental illness became worse
when she didn’t take her prescription
medication.
9 News in Australia reported
there were conflicting reports as
to whether Porter had refused to
take her medication – or denied
access to it.
– NZ Herald
• From page 1
The group then retraced their
journey on bike and on foot.
There was no sign of the small
pooch and the family was devastated.
“It was just a really horrible situation,
I just felt sick and because
I’m still in Christchurch working,
getting through the last of my
work before Christmas, I just felt
helpless, like I just couldn’t do
anything,” Nichol said.
Then, when it felt like all hope
was fading, Sharon received a
message, suggesting she contact
Don Schwass, who runs the Nelson
search dog/tracking page.
Schwass, who has a background
in tracking from 30
years of search and rescue land
tracking experience, first began
helping people find lost dogs 20
years ago.
“He rang me and asked me to
send him a pin drop of the start
and finish points of the journey
that they took in the Hilux, and
he came back to me this morning
with an idea of where Roo would
most likely be found,” Nichol
said.
“Part of his theory was Roo was
unlikely to be in the area of the
Hanmer Springs Village, based on
the fact that no one had seen him.”
Sharon’s father Gary Rule, from
Hamner, also played a major part
in finding the young pup.
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
‘I’m just massively relieved’
RECOVERY: Roo resting after his ordeal. Above – master
tracker Don Schwass helped the family find their dog.
“My dad, in an absolute piece
of brilliance, decided to contact
the local police officer to see if
they had any camera footage of
the road where they were travelling
yesterday morning – and
they found footage of the truck
with the dog on it and without
the dog.”
The CCTV footage helped
narrow down the search to a few
hundred metres.
It was then, after 24 anxious
hours, Cam found Roo at Dog
Stream Reserve under a log, inside
the Hanmer Heritage Forest.
“It was probably a 60 or 70km
trip and he would have landed
on the road but he’s literally got
nothing, no injuries, no scars or
anything, he was just a little bit
hungry,” she said.
She described how she felt
when she heard Roo had survived.
“You know that feeling when
you have a near miss in your
car and it’s like your body is just
flooded with adrenaline and
relief.
“(I’m) just massively relieved,
so proud of my dad and both
of my kids, you know, they just
didn’t give up looking for him.”
– NZ Herald
• People who wish to
support Schwass’ efforts
tracking down lost dogs
can donate at his Givealittle
page,https://givealittle.co.nz/
cause/help-us-to-help-youor-someone-close-to-you
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