Breaking: Body found in cattle dip is identified as missing grandmother

By Lachie McLeodBy Bruce MacKenzieABC North CoastTopic:HomicidePosted Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 11:43amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 11:43am, updated Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 12:18pmTue 13 Oct 2026 at 12:18pmA body found in a Tweed Valley stock dip has been identified as Yvonne Whear. (Supplied)In short: A woman's body was found on Monday, October 5, partially submerged in a disused livestock dip at Terragon, 20 kilometres south of Murwillumbah.Police have identified the body is that of missing grandmother Yvonne Whear.What's next?NSW Police has formed a taskforce to investigate her death, which is being treated as a homicide.The body of a woman found in a cattle dip near Murwillumbah in northern New South Wales last week has been identified as that of missing grandmother Yvonne Whear.The 73-year-old was last seen driving near Murwillumbah, on Thursday, February 19.A pair of trail bike riders found the body while riding on a track through a property at Kyogle Road at Terragon around 11:20am on Monday, October 5.Ms Whear's badly decomposed body was found submerged in a tank used to treat livestock for ticks and other parasites. NSW Police Acting Superintendent Matt Zimmer said a strike force had been formed to investigate her death. "We are now treating her death as a homicide," he said."The news of Yvonne's death in these circumstances is tragic. Her family is devastated."We spoke to her family a short time ago and they have described this loss as unimaginable grief."Forensic and specialists officers were called to examine the body and the scene. (ABC North Coast: Lachie McLeod)Acting Superintendent Zimmer said Ms Whear's body was found in a "very isolated" location."It's about 300 metres down an overgrown fire trail," he said."The fact that Yvonne's been missing for the last eight months, we're very interested in that location."Particularly people that might have frequented that location between February 19 and when her body was located last Monday." The gold Ford Escape SUV belonging to Yvonne Whear was found in the Rous River in the Tweed Valley. (Supplied: Gillian Hallac)Ms Whear's family had held grave fears about her welfare since her disappearance eight months ago.They were heightened when her gold Ford Escape SUV was pulled from the Rous River near Dulguigan, less than 10 kilometres from her home, on Saturday September 12.It was discovered by an independent search organisation using a fish-finder device.Acting Superintendent Matt Zimmer says Ms Whear's family is devastated. (ABC News.)Acting Superintendent Zimmer said Ms Whear had "no criminal history". He said she was a mother of three, grandmother of 10, and great grandmother of one child.