A distraught mother wants someone to take responsibility after finding out her missing son was dead via social media.
Making matters worse, Luke Fergusson’s remains had already been identified almost two months before his mother, Sue Bedey, read about them on a newspaper’s Facebook page.
Fergusson, 28, who was autistic, went missing in June 2023 after running away from his family’s property in Queensland’s South Burnett region.
“Luke was a very special person to us,” Mrs. Bedey said 7News about her son, who had done that the mental age of an eight year old.
‘He didn’t have the capabilities to be a normal 28-year-old. For us, as an eight or nine year old, he was always stuck.”
Distraught mum Sue Bedey (pictured) wants someone to take responsibility after finding out her missing son was dead via social media
Luke Fergusson (pictured), who was autistic, went missing in June 2023 after running away from his family’s property in Queensland’s South Burnett region
The family had recently moved to the area before Mr Fergusson went missing.
His mother said this caused him to have a ‘meltdown’.
“Every change for Luke caused enormous anxiety. He really had trouble with things changing.’
She said the day he got very upset, “it was over a little thing.”
‘We couldn’t find a particular set of spoons.
“He had… quite a meltdown. We usually hold him until he’s settled in enough.’
Ms Bedey said her eldest child would normally have gone for a walk until things calmed down, but that time he might have ‘walked a bit too far and got lost’.
She said police initially searched very thoroughly for Fergusson but scaled back the operation after about two weeks.
Three months later, human remains were found but could not be identified.
The family was told very little at the time as there was doubt over whose body it was, but in December they were told that as soon as authorities knew anything they would contact her.
Ms Bedey said she realized they were not the only family with a missing person, or waiting for DNA results.
Without warning from state authorities, she learned about her son’s death last Friday after police updated a missing person’s report and it was published on social media by a news channel.
“I just picked up the phone and scrolled through social media. It was the first thing I read,” Ms Bedey said.
She called the newspaper that published the story and the police, but received no response.
Finally, the coroner called her and confirmed it was Luke’s remains.
No one had contacted the family before this.
“It made us feel like we just didn’t count,” she said.
‘I know the police did everything they could to find Luke, but after two weeks they drove away, went to their next job and we were just left behind.’
Ms Bedey said it felt like ‘Luke didn’t matter, that he wasn’t an important person.’
She is now demanding answers as to why it took two months to tell her her son was dead and why she had to read about it in the media.
The Courier mail has previously reported that the Australian Federal Police was called in to help Queensland deal with a huge backlog of DNA testing in the state.
This was probably the case one of the reasons for the delay in formally identifying Mr Fergusson’s body.
Ms Bedey said it felt like ‘Luke didn’t matter, that he wasn’t an important person.’ The photo shows Luke Fergusson
The family now has one GoFundMe page to give their beloved son and brother the farewell he deserves.
The mother said the terrible conditions felt like a ‘long nightmare’.
“You get to a point where there’s no sleep, no rest, no peace.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Queensland Health Minister Shannon Fentiman for comment.