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Speaker 1: So what we do know is that a major search

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Speaker 1: is currently underway for that thirty five year old Jessica

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Speaker 1: Louise Stevens. And joining me on the line is acting

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Speaker 1: Senior Sergeant Steve Langdon from the Northern Territory Police. Good

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Speaker 1: morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. How are you today?

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Speaker 1: Yeah? Really well, thank you so much for your time, Steve.

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Speaker 1: Can you talk us through where things are out this

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Speaker 1: morning with this search, Katie.

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Speaker 2: So far we've searched one hundred square kilometers of the

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Speaker 2: National park using a helicopter in and around Nalandi Rocks.

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Speaker 2: We've done sixty fourth squad kilometers by foot and we've

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Speaker 2: also had vehicles on the roads in relation to the

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Speaker 2: firebreaks being quad bixatvs etc. Currently, we have forty three

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Speaker 2: persons in the location in various aspects of foot search,

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Speaker 2: so that is broken up with fourteen police and twenty

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Speaker 2: nine rangers, and we do have one helicopter in the

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Speaker 2: air we speak, and we've also deployed four drones in

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Speaker 2: the location using them to get into those harder parts

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Speaker 2: of the rocks and the crevisers where walking and searching

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Speaker 2: would be very very time consuming. We're trying to speed

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Speaker 2: up the process using the drones to be able to

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Speaker 2: get in some of those harder locations within the Nalangi Rocks.

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Speaker 1: Now we know that temperatures in the area are forecast

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Speaker 1: to reach up to forty one degrees today we're just

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Speaker 1: hearing from the Bureau of Meteorology. I mean, how big

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Speaker 1: a part is that having to play right now?

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Speaker 2: That is a concern obviously for our missing person. Our

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Speaker 2: missing person in the park obviously is believed to be

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Speaker 2: in the park and would be experiencing those temperatures, and

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Speaker 2: it's also a consideration for the searchers and the rotations

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Speaker 2: that we do in relation to the searchers bringing them

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Speaker 2: back to an area of respite and allowing them to rehydrate.

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Speaker 2: We've also obviously used the indigenous ranges within the within

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Speaker 2: the park to also help us in locating areas that

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Speaker 2: would still possibly have water in them and or provide

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Speaker 2: some element of shelter. So they are also part of

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Speaker 2: our search process using the local knowledge that we've been

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Speaker 2: able to get from within the park.

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Speaker 1: Now, Senior Sergeant, yesterday you had said that the operation

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Speaker 1: remains a search and rescue with items collected, suggesting that

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Speaker 1: Jessica was mobile as early as I believe the morning

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Speaker 1: before yesterday. Can you talk us through what leads you

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Speaker 1: to believe that she is still mobile? At this point, we.

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Speaker 2: Are completing this or doing this search and rescue as

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Speaker 2: exactly that a search and rescue. Our focus is on

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Speaker 2: the fact that our missing person is able to still

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Speaker 2: move around the park. We found various items that will

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Speaker 2: form part of the investigation as we continue in locations

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Speaker 2: that does suggest that there has been some movement. However,

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Speaker 2: it doesn't take away from the fact that obviously the

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Speaker 2: temperatures and the stream conditions to make very very hazardous

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Speaker 2: for somebody moving around the park, and we obviously do

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Speaker 2: hold concerns because of the temperature and as stated at

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Speaker 2: the moment, this is can be conducted as a search

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Speaker 2: and rescue mission. We are using what we can to

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Speaker 2: as fast as possible to try and identify locations that

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Speaker 2: we haven't actually searched in an attempt to find her.

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Speaker 1: It is an incredibly difficult situation from what I can see.

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Speaker 1: Her mum has spoken to the ABC at some point

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Speaker 1: in the last twenty four hours and had said that

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Speaker 1: she'd sought some treatment at Royal Darwin Hospital in the

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Speaker 1: days prior to going out to Kakad, Senior Sergeant, is

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Speaker 1: there I mean, is there any suggestion here that she

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Speaker 1: may not want authorities to find her?

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Speaker 2: We certainly don't have that information to say that she's

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Speaker 2: actively avoiding. We are aware that there was contact through

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Speaker 2: through our health department here in the Northern Territory. We are,

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Speaker 2: as stated, doing this as a missing person. Anybody that

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Speaker 2: goes out into those parks or any area where a

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Speaker 2: missing person goes missing. Disorientation comes from a whole heap

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Speaker 2: of things, being dehydration, lack of food, and so on.

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Speaker 2: Some of the medical information we've had won't actually change

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Speaker 2: the way we need to do our search pattern because

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Speaker 2: of those known scientific facts with dehydration affecting our decision

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Speaker 2: making along with lack of food.

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Speaker 1: Goodness, May I really hope that you're able to locate her.

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Speaker 1: As we've discussed, it is so warm out there today

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Speaker 1: and it has been over the last couple of days.

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Speaker 1: How is everybody going, you know that's involved in this

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Speaker 1: search and rescue mission right now?

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Speaker 2: Look, from talking to those that I have spoken to,

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Speaker 2: everybody is in a very positive mindset. The act of

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Speaker 2: actually being involved to get out there and try and

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Speaker 2: locate it person as fast as possible. Still remains very

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Speaker 2: much a high priority and the morale within the team

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Speaker 2: is quite good. They are working in very very trying

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Speaker 2: conditions and we obviously are doing the best we can

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Speaker 2: to keep our resourcing up to those on the ground

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Speaker 2: looking for Jessica at this point in time.

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Speaker 1: Well, all the very best to you and to all

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Speaker 1: of the crews out there searching for Jessica, and no

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Speaker 1: doubt you'll keep us up to day as any further

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Speaker 1: info comes to hand. But we really appreciate you having

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Speaker 1: a chat with us this morning.

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Speaker 2: No worries. Thank you very much for having me, Katie.

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Speaker 2: And look, if anybody has any information that they wish

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Speaker 2: to pass on to police, they can do so in

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Speaker 2: relation to this by calling one three one triple four

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Speaker 2: and I'll give you a reference number that they can

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Speaker 2: quote sure, which is one zero four nine zero two

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Speaker 2: six five and that will link it directly related to

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Speaker 2: this particular search for Jessica as our missing person.

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Speaker 1: Well, Acting Senior Sergeant Steve Langdon, thank you so much

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Speaker 1: for your time this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thank you for having me Katie.

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Speaker 1: Thank you