NSW:Bad weather continues to hamper manhunt

AAP General News (Australia)
12-11-2011
NSW:Bad weather continues to hamper manhunt

SYDNEY, Dec 11 AAP - The hunt for one of NSW's most wanted men, Malcolm Naden, continues
to be hampered by poor weather conditions and dense bushland, police say.

Extra police have been poured into the search for Naden, who allegedly shot a 33-year-old
police officer on Wednesday morning as an attempt was made to corner the fugitive at a
remote campsite near Nowendoc, in northern NSW.

On Sunday, specialist police and officers from local area commands continued to work
out of a command post at Nowendoc Memorial Hall.

But operation commander Assistant Commissioner Carlene York said police continued to
face challenges.

"The area includes rugged terrain which can be physically gruelling."

The dense bushland reduced visibility both on the ground and from the air," Ms York
said in a statement on Sunday.

Nowendoc, which has a population of about 150, is surrounded by state forests and national parks.

Since the manhunt began, heavily armed officers, tracker dogs and two heat-seeking
PolAir choppers have moved into the area.

Sandra Cartwright, the wife of local senior constable Michael Cartwright, claimed the
discovery of Naden's campsite came after months of intelligence work by her husband.

"I want these victims of that guy (Naden) to know that it wasn't just put in place
because of the shooting of the police officer," Ms Cartwright told News Limited on Sunday.

Locals in Nowendoc have been setting up barbecues and providing coffee and tea to police
searching the area.

The search for Naden will continue on Monday, a police spokeswoman told AAP.

Naden, 38, disappeared in June 2005 from his grandparents' home in west Dubbo, days
before 24-year-old mother-of-two Kristy Scholes was found strangled in his bedroom.

He is also wanted over the indecent assault of a 15-year-old girl in Dubbo in 2004
and for questioning over the disappearance of another 24-year-old woman in January 2005.

He has evaded police on six previous occasions to capture him.

The state government last week increased the reward for information leading to Naden's
capture from $100,000 to $250,000.

AAP lcf/tab/bwl

KEYWORD: NADEN

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.