Search for missing Kalbarri kite surfer John Laverack resumes as daughter holds out hope

The daughter of a kite surfer missing near Kalbarri says she is still hopeful he will be found alive, as the search resumes this morning. John Laverack was first reported missing around midday, after he was seen by a member of the public falling into the water near the mouth of the Murchison River. A desperate search was launched and local Marine Rescue volunteers managed to spot the 72-year-old in the water, but lost sight of him before he could be rescued, according to Mid West-Gascoyne District Superintendent Roger Beer. The search including marine, land and air resources, resumed again this morning — but rough waves prevented the Volunteer Sea Rescue crew from leaving the bay. However, as rain subsided and the conditions improved, the rescue boat able to venture out a bit further at about 10.30am. It is understood John’s pet border collie-cross Sasha, who is being cared for by one of his friends, had been waiting by the water’s edge for him to come back. “He takes (Sasha) everywhere and when he didn’t come in from the surf she was pining ... it’s so sad,” Mr Laverack’s daughter Kylie Edward told The West Australian. Ms Edward said she was feeling emotional but had not lost hope of a good outcome. “I still have some hope that dad’s alive but of course at this stage I haven’t had any news of them finding him,” she said. “Obviously I’m very appreciative of the rescue people involved in his search and the effort put in by helping ... a lot of his town’s people have reached out, which is very touching.” Ms Edward said her father was a former ranger in Kalbarri and was very passionate about his town and nature. The 72-year-old loved keeping active by fixing dunes, weeding and picking up rubbish around town . Kalbarri SES manager Steve Cable personally knew Mr Laverack and said every possible resource has been thrown into locating the missing father, including concerned locals. “Everyone knows John, he was well-known around town,” he said. “Some of the locals have been using their quad bikes for the search. The community has been through a fair bit recently and everyone pulls together to looks after each other. I think everyone is just feeling quite jaded at the moment.” Wendy Hunter, from Kalgoorlie, has walked her kelpie Susie along the beach where Mr Laverack went missing every day for the past three weeks while in town helping with cyclone recovery efforts. She said she would see John most days with Sasha cleaning up the area. “He’s always here with his wheelbarrow and rake and shovel cleaning up the walkway up to the peak where you can sit and look out at the ocean,” she said. “He’s just such a lovely fellow and wanted to help the town after the cyclone get cleaned up. “The conditions yesterday were awful... we were in the caravan park and the night before I thought I was going to be like Mary Poppins or blown away off to Kansas or something! It was so windy.” The Bureau of Meteorology yesterday issued a gale-alert predicting strong 35 to 55km per hour winds as a deep low pressure system moved through the region, with swells peaking at 3 to 4m last night. “Given the conditions we are obviously very concerned,” Supt Beer said. Today’s conditions are predicted to ease slightly, despite a possible thunderstorm during the morning and afternoon, with north to north-westerly winds reaching up to 20 to 25 km per hour.