A coroner has officially confirmed that the body of a missing Tasmanian man was discovered by a YouTube missing persons squad, less than 2 kilometres from his home where he was last seen.
Human remains belonging to 61-year-old Dale Nicholson were found during the search of the Derwent River earlier this year, almost seven years after he was last seen leaving his house to buy a newspaper in December 2016.
The divers, Daniel Prichard and William McIntosh, were filming for the Adventures with Purpose and Downunder Dan Diving YouTube channels, which carry out free underwater searches for missing people’s families.
Coroner Simon Cooper said the divers initially combed Lake St Clair, where Nicholson was known to fish, before concentrating their efforts on the Derwent at New Norfolk.
During their search, they uncovered a vehicle in the river near the New Norfolk swimming pool.
Inside the driver’s seat, they discovered human remains along with a fishing rod, spectacles, coins, a cigarette lighter, clothes and keys.
The divers removed the number plate from the vehicle, which was confirmed to be registered to Nicholson and called the police.
A DNA sample provided by Nicholson’s sister was matched to the remains.
In his investigation, Coroner Simon Cooper said he was “satisfied” that the divers found Nicholson’s body in January.
Due to the condition of the remains, the cause of death could not be determined, but no suspicious circumstances were identified.
“The circumstances in which his body were found suggest he probably died of drowning,” Cooper said.
“The evidence does not allow me to conclude that Mr Nicholson caused his vehicle to enter the water with the intention of taking his own life.”
“It is equally possible to my mind that Mr Nicholson lost control of his vehicle and entered the river by accident and was unable to extricate himself.”
