Finding into death of Kim Cherie Teer
Deceased
Kim Cherie Mary Teer
Demographics
17y, female
Date of death
1979-09 to 1979-10
Finding date
2015-03-11
Cause of death
unknown causes
AI-generated summary
Kim Cherie Teer, a 17-year-old woman, disappeared between mid-September and 1 October 1979 while travelling in Australia. She had maintained close contact with her mother through letters and phone calls while hitchhiking across the country, but became unreachable after late August 1979. In her final letter, she expressed concern about the dangers of hitchhiking. The coroner found no evidence of suicide or voluntary disappearance, and excluded involvement by her last known associates. The investigation was hampered by significant deficiencies in the original 1979-1982 police response, including delayed missing person reporting and poor documentation. The most likely scenario is that Ms Teer died as a result of contact with an unknown person while hitchhiking, a high-risk activity she had increasingly recognized as dangerous.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- involvement of unidentified person or persons
- high-risk activity of hitchhiking
- deficiencies in early police investigation
- delayed missing person report
- lack of contemporary documentation
Coroner's recommendations
- No specific recommendations directed at individuals or agencies; coroner acknowledged investigative deficiencies were product of policing standards and technology at the time and made no criticism of police forces or individuals involved; coroner noted provision for reopening investigation under section 77 of Coroners Act if new facts become available
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