Heartbroken family of missing Woogenellup farmer Mark Adams describe the difficult loss of ‘cherished’ grandad

Much-loved Woogenellup farmer Mark Adams has been named as the 62-year-old man who went missing while fishing off Albany’s coast on Tuesday, with his family writing a moving tribute after his disappearance. Albany Sea Rescue Squad alerted Mr Adams family at 6.20pm on Tuesday, when he failed to return from his solo fishing trip. A desperate search was launched immediately. His 8m catamaran was found adrift near Michaelmas Island, more than 10km off the coast of Albany, on Tuesday night with no one on board. Mr Adam’s grieving family wrote a statement remembering him as “cherished and irreplaceable”. “Our much-loved husband, father and grandfather, Mark Adams went fishing on Tuesday afternoon and did not return as expected,” the family statement said in the statement released on Thursday. “His boat was found unoccupied, prompting an extensive and highly professional search by police, marine rescue crews and volunteers. “Despite their dedicated efforts, Mark has not been found. “Given the time that has passed and the circumstances, our family is now facing the heartbreaking reality that Mark has tragically died at sea. We are devastated by this loss. “He will be deeply missed by all who knew him. “We sincerely thank everyone involved in the search for their tireless efforts, care and compassion. “We are also incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support shown to our family during this difficult time.” A large-scale search operation — including Water Police, police air wing, drones, Department of Transport vessels, volunteer marine rescue crews and the RAC Rescue helicopter — was launched on Tuesday night and continued throughout Wednesday. Police continued a scaled back search by land, sea and air on Thursday. “The Department of Transport boat has been out on the water all day searching for any signs, and our drone has been up in the air as well,” Great Southern Police acting inspector Dave Rudd said. “The police helicopter will be back in their air this afternoon to continue the search from the air, and we’ve had police searching the beaches this morning on foot as well.” He said the use of police divers remains a possibility, but a decision has not yet been made whether to bring them in. Police confirmed on Thursday that Mr Adams had not been located after “extensive air and sea searches”. They will continue to patrol beaches around the Nanarup area. Mr Adams, along with his wife Heather, ran a mixed farming enterprise Yaralla Farms, in Woogenellup, more than 20km east of Mt Barker, across thousands of hectares. He had been grain farming for about four decades in the Great Southern on the southern edge of the Stirling Range National Park. An instrumental member of the region’s Stirlings to Coast grower group, which was brought to life in 2009, Mr Adams is well-known in the farming and Mt Barker communities. A statement from WAFarmers expressed the organisation’s condolences to the Adams family, saying his death has left a hole in the industry. “Mark Adams was a long-serving member of the WAFarmers grain council since 2010 and a highly respected farmer from Mt Barker,” the statement said. “He will be sorely missed by the WA farming community. “Mark contributed more than 15 years of service to the council, was a large and innovative grain grower who was deeply involved in the Stirlings to Coast grower group and his local community. “His leadership, integrity and commitment to the grains industry was respected by growers from across the State. “Our heartfelt condolences go to his wife Heather, brother David and his family.” In his spare time, Mr Adams was an avid fisherman, vice-president of the Mt Barker Co-operative board and a volunteer firefighter. Albany Sea Rescue Squad Commander Colin Bairstow was aboard one of two ASRS vessels searching for Mr Adams until the early hours of Wednesday morning. “We were out there conducting a grid search pattern, and conditions were pretty ideal in that there was no wind, until about 10.30pm when a heavy mist came in and obstructed our vision, just as the helicopter arrived,” he said. “We stayed out until 1am to continue searching to no avail.” The incident marks the second tragic loss in the Great Southern farming community this week, after Shire of Ravensthorpe deputy president Mark Mudie died in a front end loader, trying to created a firebreak during the intense West River blaze on Monday afternoon. Mr Mudie was attempting to defend his beloved farm, which ran with his wife Elaine and son Nathan.