The story behind the disappearance of Wylie Oscar

Australia Broadcast Center

3 days ago

Have you ever felt a heat that sits in your chest?
It's harder to take a deep breath, and every movement is a monumental effort.
Every emotion sits at a simmer.
One afternoon, in an outback town three years ago, it boiled over.
WARNING: The following story contains information that may cause distress to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers, who are advised to exercise caution.
Wylie Oscar was frustrated.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, he was at a family member's house in Junjuwa.
He was close with his family, a tight-knit and well-known clan who live in the central Fitzroy Valley, but Wylie had become slowly tired of escalating tension throughout the day.
It was the hot season in the central Kimberley in Western Australia, known as Barrangga in the Bunuba language.

Tempers were high and nerves were frayed, and the 22-year-old stockman decided he had had enough for the day.
Exasperated, hot and drunk, he walked out onto the dirt streets of the town-based community and climbed into an old, dusty red Toyota Landcruiser.
It grumbled under him, and he hit the accelerator.
That was the last time anyone saw him.
Junjuwa is a community in the central Kimberley town of Fitzroy Crossing.
It is about 2,500 kilometres away from the state's capital, Perth, and 1,500 kilometres from Darwin.
It comprises a main street, a bridge, a grocery store, two petrol stations, and a local park, known for its spirited card games.
It serves as a central service hub for dozens of surrounding remote communities and dozens of the region's lucrative cattle stations.
Wylie's family is part of the Bunuba language group, and generations have lived in this part of the country.
Fitzroy Crossing is about 400km east of Broome. ( ABC: Andrew Seabourne )
The Oscars are an integral part of Fitzroy Crossing's inner workings.
Some sit on boards, run local businesses, and play a huge role in the town's major export — cattle.
Fitzroy Crossing is located in WA's Kimberley region. ( ABC: Andrew Seabourne )
For as long as cattle stations have run in the Fitzroy desert, the Oscars and Bunuba people have managed, owned, and worked on them.
The stations are owned by a mix of offshore conglomerates, or Australia's elite and well-known cattle barons, including Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart.
But it is the Fitzroy Crossing people who have station country in their blood, and this was where Wylie Oscar hoped to work one day.
Family friend Natalie Davey watched as Wylie grew from a shy, quiet young man to a formidable horse-rider and stockman.
"I had a bull skull mounted in my shed, and when they were just little kids, the Oscar boys found it," she said.
"One day, I went in the shed to find it out because I wanted to [paint] it, and I couldn't find it anywhere.
"I came outside yelling — because I knew exactly who had taken it."
Natalie marched outside to find Wylie and his brothers had strung up a 44-gallon drum between two trees and had placed the skull at one end to mimic a real bucking bull.
Watercolour illustration of two indigenous children, one riding a 44-gallon drum tied between two trees.
"They wanted to be in the rodeo," she laughed.
"It was actually a really cool idea — it made it authentic and got them really in the spirit of bull-riding."
In adulthood, Wylie continued to devote time to this passion.
He also loved spending time with his brothers and cousins, working as a caretaker at a local school.
Wylie Oscar was a loving and doting uncle. ( Facebook )
Wylie loved the outdoors and was a skilled bushman. ( Facebook )
Without a trace
The days after Wylie left the Junjuwa house passed by in a blur.
It wasn't uncommon for him to go out bush, but the weather was stiflingly hot, and the humidity was unforgiving.
His family was growing concerned about his whereabouts.
His aunt, June Oscar, took to social media on November 11, 2022 — a week after his disappearance — to ask if anyone had seen him.
"Has anyone seen or heard from Wylie Oscar?" she posted.
"He took off in the red 100 series 1EMU078 last Friday.
"Can people let family & friends know ASAP, please."
Wylie Oscar hasn't been seen since November 4, 2022. ( Supplied: Facebook )
Wylie Oscar was an experienced bushman and loved fishing and hunting. ( Facebook )
Wylie Oscar is remembered by his family as kind and sensitive. ( Supplied: Facebook )
June is a commanding figure and most recently worked as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner.
She had far-reaching contacts through her time working with the Human Rights Commission and on the board of the Bunuba Dawangarri Aboriginal Corporation.
Her post began to spread throughout the Fitzroy Crossing community.
However, no one had seen or heard anything.
Wylie was nowhere to be found.
The days ticked by.
Three days after June's plea on social media, he was formally reported as missing to WA Police on November 14, 2022.

About 12 kilometres outside of Fitzroy Crossing is Brooking Springs Station.
Located on a dirt road to the east of the town, it covers an expanse of about 2,000 square kilometres and sits partially on native title currently held by Wylie's language group.
The silence out in this part of the country is oppressive, and despite its proximity to town, it is rarely traversed by local people because it is private property and monitored by closed-circuit television.
It was November 15, 2022, when a station worker doing their duties noticed something among the shrubbery.
A dusty, red Toyota Landcruiser broken down, with two of its tyres buried deep in a ditch.
It was filled with food and water, but abandoned.
The worker phoned the local police.
They might want to come down here.
The discovery of Wylie's car on Brooking Springs Station was not particularly surprising to locals.
A never-before-seen image of Wylie's car when it was found by police. ( Supplied: WA Police )
His family and police believed he likely had tried to cut through the private property station to reach his family's bush block before breaking down.
However, local police were concerned the 22-year-old was still nowhere to be found.
The land where Wylie's car was discovered has a long history in the Fitzroy Valley, particularly within the Oscar family.
Indeed, June Oscar and her two siblings were born there.
June's family, including Wylie, would continue to work and live on the property over the years.
In 2017, the Oscars helped formalise a native title claim over parts of the station, including a culturally significant creek at the bottom of the Brooking Springs catchment.
In the Kimberley, it is common for cattle stations to overlap with Country and occupy land that holds deep cultural meaning for local people.
For some, it's a welcome agreement where communities live side-by-side.
For the Oscars and Brooking Springs, the relationship could sometimes be fraught.
Years of history
It was a characteristically steamy day in October 2000 at the Broome courthouse when a man in cream-coloured pants and a blue button-up shirt made his way up the old rusted steps.

Peter Robert Camm, the manager of Brooking Springs Station, had been charged with eight counts of cattle theft — a crime that could attract up to seven years in jail.
Cattle theft can attract up to seven years in jail.
He was accused of stealing 500 cattle from the adjoining Leopold Downs Station and placing the Brooking Springs brand on them after he came into possession of them during a routine muster.
It was estimated that the allegedly stolen cattle were worth about $150,000 at the time.
Leopold Downs was owned by the Bunuba Dawangarri Aboriginal Corporation, and the courthouse resembled a ringer's homestead for the days the trial ran.
Cattlemen in akubras milled outside as they waited for their turn to give evidence.
Broome Courthouse in 2024. ( ABC Kimberley )
One witness who gave evidence was Kevin Oscar, Wylie's uncle and director of the Bunuba Dawangarri Aboriginal Corporation.
He told the court he had found the carcass of a bullock belonging to his station in one of his neighbours' paddocks with its ear cut off.
On investigation, police said they had found Leopold Downs cattle rebranded with the Brooking Springs moniker.
He was eventually found guilty and given a four-year suspended sentence in what police called "the biggest theft of cattle in almost a decade".
The damage was done.
What followed was years of gripes and rumours.
Some even made their way to the government and police.
In 2016, there was frustration in the community yet again when a local boy alleged he had been tied up after he was found trespassing with his friends on Brooking Springs property,
The Bunuba boy had broken onto the private property to steal motorbikes.
Watercolour illustration of boys tied to a fence at night with motorbikes left on the ground.
He was caught, alleging he was cable-tied to a fence and warned off the property.
The incident was reported to police, but no charges were laid.
In 2018, Wylie's language group again accused Brooking Springs staff of restricting their access to the land.
They claimed staff had dammed part of Brooking Creek, which had stopped it from reaching a Bunuba local community.
The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation resolved the complaint with a letter of education to the station, but in such a small community, the tensions held on.
But when Wylie Oscar's car was found abandoned on the property, the two sides were forced to quickly come to an understanding.
Officers issued a call for help.
"Concerns are held for Wylie's welfare and police urge anyone who sights Wylie or has information relating to his whereabouts, to contact police immediately on 131 444."
Rangers and trackers, police from Derby, Broome, Looma and Fitzroy Crossing, emergency services, a drone, a helicopter, and even the Australian Marine Safety Authority jet descended on the Great Sandy Desert.
Watercolour illustration of a range of emergency service people standing in a circle, including a police car and a helicopter.
It was an extensive search that covered the cliffs of Dan͟ggu Geikie Gorge, the low shrub of the station, and the houses of the Fitzroy Crossing town site.
Searching police, family, and friends were asking questions in quick succession.
Why had Wylie left a car full of food and water and wandered off?
Why did he leave the car at all?
Why didn't he walk to town? The glow of Fitzroy Crossing's lights can be seen where his car was found.
And where was he?
'Confusion' early in search
Police privately expressed frustration about how the long history between Wylie's language group and the station muddied the waters of the search.
The land ownership — still split between traditional ties and colonial contract — meant there was confusion in the early days of the search.
One traditional owner told ABC Radio some Bunuba searchers believed they had been "locked out" from helping emergency services at Brooking Springs gates.
"I think there's a lot of confusion around being able to communicate with … [Brooking Springs Station staff]," Joe Ross said.
Mr Ross said that while some family had been let onto the station in the early days of the search to help, some had missed the window of the open gate and had to wait to hear from the pastoralists to get access.
A huge station spanning hundreds of kilometres, family had to wait for staff to drive back and let them on to the private property.
The abandoned vehicle was found on a remote station property with two flat tyres. ( Hannah Murphy )
The car was found abandoned on station property. ( ABC Kimberley: Hannah Murphy )
"[Staff] might be busy doing their normal day of business, and people might not be aware of that," Mr Ross said.
"And sometimes you might have to wait over half an hour at a time [for the gate to open], is what I'm hearing.
"That's where the frustration is in some places,"
Meanwhile, WA Police said they were making steady progress with all the resources they had.
"WA Police have been assisted by local relatives of Mr Oscar familiar with the area, rangers, SES, and the management and staff of the Brooking Springs Pastoral Station, and we are grateful for all the assistance received in a remote and complex environment," a spokesperson said.
Brooking Springs Station did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
A search with no leads
As the station, family, and emergency services continued searching into an eighth day, there was still no sign of Wylie.
The official search was called off on November 23.
"Please be advised the land search for Wylie Oscar has been suspended, pending any new information received," a spokesperson said.
"Police from the Kimberley district will continue to make inquiries in relation to his whereabouts and welfare."
Detectives were called in from Broome, where they were tasked with sorting through all the community innuendo, frayed relationships, and rumour that the young man's disappearance had stirred up.
But, they said, that was life in small towns.
The theories ranged from Wylie wandering off into the desert to an altercation with an unknown person.
However, the most widely believed theory in Fitzroy Crossing is one steeped deep in blackfella culture.
It is thought Wylie has been taken by spirits.
The ABC cannot expand on this for cultural reasons, but it is one theory locals believe to be true.
Police have held a reinvestigation into his disappearance, conducted by the Major Crime Division, but have found no information as to his whereabouts.
It has now been three years since Wylie first went missing from that home in Junjuwa in November 2022.
Wylie's family continues to ask questions.
"It doesn't make sense that he was 12 kilometres from town," sister Amarillo Oscar said.
Watercolour illustration of night sky, trees, and town lights on the horizon.
"If you're driving into town at night, even if you're 20 to 30 kilometres out of town, you can see the lights of Fitzroy.
"He would be able to see that.
"That and he knows this is an area — he always used to go hunting with my uncle.
"He knows there is a creek nearby — a spring.
"He had plenty of food and water.
"It just doesn't make sense that someone who grew up hunting and fishing in that area [disappeared] 12 kilometres out of town and didn't come back."
Family described Wylie as deeply spiritual and afraid of the dark, making it unlikely he would leave his car after it broke down.
June Oscar has her own concerns and spoke about them at a rally held for missing Indigenous people in Broome last year.
"We say no black man can get lost by his own country, and we know somebody knows something," she said.
Wylie Oscar worked on stations. ( Facebook )
Wylie Oscar's family miss him deeply. ( Supplied )
Wylie was a keen hunter and fisher. ( Facebook )
"He knew he could climb a limestone range and see the lights of Fitzroy Crossing, and he could walk there.
"It was five kilometres directly from the Great Northern Highway.
"He knew the car was packed with food, water, swag, and everything so he wouldn't starve.
"He had everything he needed to stay alive for a very long time out there if he wanted to stay there."
Hope remains strong
Wylie's case was recently included in a Western Australian march for missing Indigenous men.
WA Police maintain there is no evidence of criminality in his disappearance and no body has been located.
June Oscar, whose nephew Wylie Oscar went missing in Fitzroy Crossing in 2022, addressed the crowd in Broome. ( ABC Kimberley: Esse Deves )
At the rally, June captured her family's grief in the broader discussion about missing Indigenous people.
"It's a mystery for us, and our hearts here are all connected, because we don't have answers," she said.
"We don't know what happened… so we cry every day.
"Their bodies have left us, but their spirits will never leave us, and their spirits remain with us.
"Feel our pain, feel this uncertainty about not knowing."
Wylie's disappearance has not been referred to the WA coroner.
For the Oscars, Wylie must be honoured for who he is.
"It's been three years now since hearing that he had driven off with the car, and he hasn't been found," Amarillo said.
"He was very well respected, he was loved by his family, and the main thing is, we need answers.
"He's not someone we're going to forget.
"He'll always be there."
Amarillo Oscar says it's important police keep looking for her nephew. ( Hannah Murphy )
Helen Oscar and Montana Williams are hoping to see find out what became of their relative. ( Hannah Murphy )
His sister Montana echoes Amarillo's sentiment.
"I just miss his smiling face and feeling his presence," she said.
Amarillo said it's hoped that in time, they get their answers.
"It was very hard for me to accept that he wasn't around, but I'm still holding on to hope that he will just walk out from the bush and through the door and say hello."
June Oscar did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Credits