Coroner's Finding: MORTIMER-SHEARER Lochlan Brodie
Deceased
Lochlan Brodie Mortimer-Shearer
Demographics
18y, male
Date of death
2016-06-21
Finding date
2021-06-02
Cause of death
unascertained cause; possibly drowning, hypothermia, cold water immersion, or cardiac dysfunction secondary to methamphetamine abuse and physiological stress
AI-generated summary
Lochlan Mortimer-Shearer, 18 years old, died of unascertained cause after fleeing police in a stolen vehicle on 21 June 2016. He was evading apprehension after breaching bail conditions and curfew. Following a brief police pursuit (47 seconds, lawfully abandoned for safety), he drove recklessly at high speed, crashed twice, then fled into salt pans near Dry Creek. His body was found 24 days later submerged in a drainage ditch. Post-mortem examination revealed no significant natural disease or traumatic injury. Death likely resulted from drowning, hypothermia, cold water immersion, or sudden cardiac dysfunction secondary to methamphetamine abuse combined with physiological stress from high-speed driving and evasion. He had been using large quantities of methylamphetamine (1.75-3.5g daily) in the days before his death. The police response and search decisions were deemed appropriate given the circumstances, though the initial search focused on wetlands rather than the salt pans where he was ultimately found.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- heavy methamphetamine use (1.75-3.5g daily)
- cannabis use
- high-speed motor vehicle collision
- immersion in cold water in salt pan drainage ditch
- exposure to cold and wet weather conditions
- stimulant-induced cardiac stress
- physical exertion while evading police
- breach of bail conditions and curfew
Full text
Related cases
Source and disclaimer
This page reproduces or summarises information from publicly available findings published by Australian coroners' courts. Coronial is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any coronial court or government body.
Content may be incomplete, reformatted, or summarised. All court orders for redaction and non-publication are respected; documents with technically defective redaction have been excluded from the database entirely. Always refer to the original court publication for the authoritative record.
Copyright in original materials remains with the relevant government jurisdiction. AI-generated summaries and tagging are for educational purposes only, may contain inaccuracies, and must not be treated as legal documents. We welcome feedback for correction —