A distraught mom is looking for answers after she found out about the death of her son via social media.
Sue Bedey is calling for someone to take responsibility after she found out that her son, Luke Fergusson, 28, had died via a Facebook post.
Luke, who was autistic, had gone missing in June 2023 after going for a walk from his family's property in South Burnett, Queensland, Australia.
Ms. Bedey explained that when he became very distressed or upset, he would go for a walk afterwards to clear his head.
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Speaking to 7News, she explained: "Any change for Luke created enormous angst. He really struggled with things changing."
On this occasion, he had suffered a 'significant' meltdown.
Ms Bedey said: "It was over a little thing. We couldn't find a particular set of spoons. He had ... quite a significant meltdown. Usually, we hold him until he's settled enough."
Luke had gone for a walk after calming down, but his mom said that he must have 'walked a little bit too far and got lost'.
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After reporting him missing to the police, a search was started in the area.
But despite the search, police didn't find him and scaled back their search after around two weeks.
Three months later human remains were found, however it was not clear who they belonged to.
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At the time, Ms. Bedey was not told much about the remains as there was still doubt about their identity. And around December, she was told that she would be contacted by police when there was an update.
Ms. Bedey said that this was the moment she understood she was not the only person in the area waiting on a DNA test for a missing loved one.
But while she was waiting on an update, she made a horrifying discovery.
Police had updated a missing persons report, which had then been published on social media by a news outlet.
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Ms. Bedey said she had no warning from the authorities and no-one had contacted her, which was how she found out that her son was dead.
"I simply picked up the phone and flicked through social media. It was the first thing I read," she said. "It made us feel like we just didn't count.
"I know police made every effort to find Luke but, after the two weeks, they drove off, went onto their next job and we were just left."
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It has been reported that Australian Federal Police had been brought in to help Queensland deal with a backlog in DNA testing in the state.
Ms. Bedey is still looking for answers about why she wasn't informed of her son's death, describing the circumstances as a 'drawn-out nightmare'.
She said: "You get to a point where there is no sleep, there is no rest, there is no peace."
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help raise funds to give Luke the send off he deserves. If you wish to donate, click here.
UNILAD has contacted the Australian Federal Police for comment.
Topics: News, Australia, Social Media