Ray and James Dempsey: Search ends in tragedy, with bodies of father & son prospectors found near Meekatharra

The bodies of father and son prospectors Ray and James Dempsey were found 1km apart on a remote Mid West station after desperate search crews had spent three days frantically trying to track the missing men.

The search in the outback near Meekatharra ended in tragedy when search crews discovered the men, aged 66 and 33, dead on Tuesday afternoon.

They were reported missing on Saturday night, but had not been seen since Friday.

“The deaths are being considered non-suspicious and a report will be prepared for the Coroner,” a WA Police spokesperson said.

The men went missing during a prospecting trip in the remote area surrounding Polelle pastoral station, about 60km south of Meekatharra, and were lost in “harsh and unforgiving” conditions, local police say.

Temperatures exceeded 40C during the weekend, while it’s reported Polelle station received up to 30mm of rain on Saturday, which hampered search crew’s efforts to track the men.

The exact circumstances of the pair’s disappearance and deaths remain a mystery at this stage, but police confirmed they left their campsite on foot and likely became lost. Whether there was an accident or medical episode is unclear.

Police said the Ray Dempsey’s body was located about 2.4km from the camp site and his son was discovered a further 1km away.

The Perth-based father and son were reported missing on Saturday night when a person responsible for the land noticed they had not returned to their campsite since Friday morning.

Police believe the men had been camped at the site since around Wednesday. It was reported that family expected them back in Perth on Tuesday.

The three-day search saw emergency services use land and air assets, including fixed-wing and helicopter support, drones, State Emergency Service personnel and highly trained trackers from the tactical response group.

Mid West-Gascoyne Supt. Steve Post said the recent tragedy was a timely reminder for people planning to travel through or visit remote areas.

“This tragic outcome highlights how unforgiving our country can be if we find ourselves in difficulty. It is a reminder for everyone to be prepared, not only with adequate food, water, supplies and protection but also a working and registered EPIRB,” he said.

The Dempseys deaths are the latest in a series of prospectors who have gone missing in the Mid West and Murchison.

The most high-profile case, and one of the State’s most baffling, is that of husband and wife Ray and Jennie Kehlet, who were prospecting with friend and colleague Graham Milne near Sandstone when they disappeared in 2015.

Mr Kehlet’s body was found in a mineshaft weeks later — and in 2020 State Coroner Ros Fogliani concluded he had been murdered at the base of the 12-deep shaft 18 days before he was found.

Mrs Kehlet’s body has never been found, and while the pair’s colleague, Mr Milne, is considered a suspect, no charges have ever been laid.

In 2021, 83-year-old Trevor McDonald went missing while prospecting south of Meekatharra and his body has never been found. He had failed to meet his wife at their camp site after they went prospecting in different directions.

In a case which had a positive ending, Brian Brady, 72, was found alive by search crews after being lost in the outback near Mount Magnet for four days in May last year. He had been prospecting with friends when he failed to return from a walk.