Elderly woman missing for eight weeks before she was found dead, likely died ‘within a day or so’, report finds

Shirley Warrington, 85, went missing on the evening of July 10 2021 after going for a drive with her husband, Wallace Warrington. Photo / Supplied

An elderly woman who was missing for eight weeks before she was found dead in dense bush in Christchurch’s Port Hills likely died “within a day or so”, a coroner’s report reveals.

Shirley Warrington, 85, went missing on the evening of July 10, 2021 after going for a drive with her husband, Wallace Warrington.

Despite a large-scale search, she was not found until September 6. Her husband died two days before she was found.

Coroner Heather McKenzie reviewed Warrington’s death and decided not to open an inquiry, noting an inquiry would not yield evidence disclosing the more specific circumstances leading to her death.

The coroner’s report, released to the Herald, said both Shirley Warrington and her husband, who lived in Christchurch, had symptoms consistent with dementia which affected their daily lives.

On July 10, they went for a drive and were seen by police in Rolleston at 7.20pm when their driving came to the attention of another motorist. About 8.30pm their vehicle was seen on a traffic camera travelling on Tunnel Rd, Ferrymead.

On September 6, 2021 Shirley Warrington's body was found about 15 metres from the Bridle Path track in Heathcote, Christchurch. Photo / George Heard

At some point, Shirley Warrington left the car and at about 10.20pm the vehicle was seen on a traffic camera travelling on Bridle Path Rd, Ferrymead with one occupant. The car was then seen on multiple cameras with just one occupant between 1.50am and 2.20am on July 11.

The report said the temperature was “sub-zero” the night of July 10 to 11. About 10.30am on July 11, Wallace Warrington told his daughter he did not know where his wife was, and police spoke to him.

He was unable to recall the circumstances of her leaving the car, and where she did so. A large-scale search and rescue operation then began.

More than 40 people and dogs - police dogs, search dogs and some worked both disciplines - combed Ferrymead, the surrounding areas, bush tracks, and waterways for her.

On September 6, Warrington was found about 15 metres from the Bridle Path track in Heathcote, Christchurch. She was down a bank in an area of “reasonably dense bush”.

A forensic pathologist did an autopsy on Warrington the following day. The pathologist believed Warrington died from probable hypothermia in a person with cardiovascular disease, lung disease, and dementia. She had no identifiable injuries.

The pathologist concluded she was likely to have died “within a day or so” of being reported missing.

“Based on the autopsy findings and the circumstances surrounding the death, as currently understood, death most likely resulted from exposure to the cold with her underlying health problems hastening death under the stress of environmental exposure. Given the lack of identifiable injuries, she is unlikely to have fallen off the cliff,” the pathologist said.

The pathologist concluded Shirley Warrington was likely to have died 'within a day or so' of being reported missing. Photo / George Heard

Police’s investigation found there was nothing suspicious about Shirley Warrington’s death.

Her family made a complaint to the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) relating to the search and rescue effort. The IPCA advised the coroner that police had spoken with Shirley Warrington’s son to discuss his concerns and to explain the actions they took in response to her going missing.

The son had acknowledged the explanation and had the officer’s contact details for any further questions in the future, the report said.

The IPCA believed it was an “appropriate response” to the complaint, and no further action was taken. Reviews were also carried out on the missing person investigation and the search and rescue operation.

Coroner McKenzie said no concerns had been raised in the coronial jurisdiction by Shirley Warrington’s family, and there was nothing suspicious or “relevantly concerning” about the circumstances in which she left the car.

“I am satisfied that opening an inquiry would not yield evidence disclosing the more specific circumstances leading up to Mrs Warrington’s death. This is due to Mr Warrington being unable to recall the circumstances in which Mrs Warrington left the vehicle and where she did so [Mr Warrington cannot now be asked for any further information, if he were able to provide it]; the search and rescue operation which examined this to the extent it could in real time; the extensive traffic camera analysis; and there being no witnesses apart from Mr Warrington to Mrs Warrington leaving the car.”

More than 40 people and dogs combed Ferrymead, the surrounding areas, bush tracks, and waterways for Shirley Warrington. Photo / George Heard

‘How long did she lie there?’

Shirley Warrington’s daughter, Karen Colville, visits the area where she was found every Mother’s Day and birthday, leaving flowers by a tree.

She told the Herald the eight-week wait for her body to be found was “traumatic”. She said a group of family members were parked in a car park a short distance from where Shirley Warrington would later be found, a day after her disappearance.

“[They] were trying to figure out where to go next and she was right there, but we had no indication, all we got told was Ferrymead… so of course you search everywhere around Ferrymead.

“It was like oh my gosh, we were so close but yet so far and it was no one’s fault.”

She felt a sense of relief the morning she got the call from the police to say she had been found, having read about families still searching for loved ones more than 10 years on.

In the days after her disappearance, Colville said she had thought over various explanations for what had happened.

“At the time when she went missing I would say to the police how about we look out at rivers, you hear of people they might’ve got picked up and dumped, that was the first thing in my mind...

“[She may have been] hiding in a house, someone had taken her in, and with her dementia she wouldn’t know what to say, they wouldn’t get anything out of her, she could’ve been anywhere, could’ve been washed up on a beach.”

Colville had hoped for a more definite time about how long Shirley Warrington was missing before she died.

“In your mind, you think how long did she lie there trying to call out for help? That’s always been in my mind, was it the first night, did the frost get her?” she said.

“The worst part is every time I look out to the Port Hills it’s that thought because you always look out there when you’re looking for her, it’s just one of those things.”

Colville would visit the couple every week. She knew her mother had dementia, but she was not going to split the couple up to put her in a dementia home.

“That wasn’t the right thing to do, they were happy. They’d been married 10 years and you could still talk to her… I always made them laugh.”

She thanked the police for the work they did and said the report gave her some closure.

“It’s been closed - there’s nothing I want to bring up about it, it’s .... it’s just putting things at rest really. You never close off the fact that gosh she went missing, you know, I probably hope that she was found in those first two days.”

Sam Sherwood is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers crime. He is a senior journalist who joined the Herald in 2022, and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.