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http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2012/03/22/311771_todays-news.html
AUSTRALIA'S most wanted man, Malcolm Naden, is expected to appear before in court on a murder charge today after he was arrested last night in rugged bushland on the NSW mid north coast.
The armed and dangerous fugitive was found at a private property 30 kilometres west of Gloucester with police from the Tactical Operations Unit and Dog Unit making the arrest about 12.04am.
The arrest puts an end to an often embarrassing hunt for a former abattoir worker who has managed to evade police for nearly seven years.
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione told a Sydney news conference that no shots were fired and there were no injuries when Naden was taken into custody.
Assistant Commissioner Carlene York, the commander of Strike Force Durkin which was set up to capture Naden, said specialist officers drove into the bush after they were deployed in teams, before setting off on foot through difficult terrain.
"They then surrounded the house and there were indications of movement inside," she said. "Mr Naden came out of a doorway where he was confronted by the police, then quickly retreated back into the house."
Naden tried to escape out the back door, where he was again confronted.
"A short scuffle ensued, where he was then arrested," Ms York said, adding that Naden was bitten by a police dog during the arrest but was not seriously wounded.
Healthy after years on the run
He has undergone a medical examination and appears reasonably healthy, despite his years on the run. A semi-automatic rifle recently stolen from a nearby property was discovered inside the home.
Naden, a former abattoir worker, has been on the run since disappearing from his grandparents' home in west Dubbo in 2005, after his 24-year-old cousin and mother-of-two Kristy Scholes was found strangled in a bedroom of the home.
Naden is also a suspect in the disappearance of another of his cousins, Lateesha Nolan. He is expected to appear in Taree Local Court on charges of murder and indecent assault.
Asked what the charges would be Ms York replied: "Well, he was wanted on a warrant for a murder back in Dubbo six or seven years ago.
"He was also wanted on a warrant for an aggravated indecent assault upon a 15-year-old female.
"Those charges will be laid and there are also further investigations at the moment in relation to other events which may or may not be the subject of a charge."
Naden hit headlines last year after allegedly shooting and wounding an officer during a raid on a remote campsite near the village of Nowendoc in the state's north in December. Since the shooting, around 50 officers had been involved in the hunt for Naden.
Families have hope
The families of Kristy Scholes and Lateesha Nolan hoped Naden's capture would shed light on what happened to the two women.
Ms Nolan's father, Mick Peet, said he felt excited when police contacted him with the news about 1.45am (AEDT) on Thursday.
"I sort of felt like falling to the ground on my knees, I didn't know what to say," he told ABC Radio. "I had so many questions I wanted to ask (but) I didn't know where to start."
Mr Peet said he was worried the search would drag on "forever" but understood the police's frustration in trying to catch Naden.
"I'm just glad we're on the road to some kind of recovery to find out what happened to my daughter and some closure," he said. "There's a lot of family that's been affected."
Mr Peet said Naden's capture was a "giant step" but there was still a long road ahead.
"I don't know what it's going to lead to now, we just have to take one day at a time. But I'm just glad the whole seven years of trying to catch the person that's wanted for questioning over the disappearance of my daughter has happened.
"From this day on, we're just so glad we've got this major step in retrieving some information about my daughter."
Shocked and overwhelmed
Kristy Scholes' uncle said the family was overwhelmed by the news and had feared Naden would be on the run much longer.
"Overwhelmed, I'm just so shocked, we didn't expect it," Tony Scholes told the Seven Network.
"It's so soon, knowing that it's dense jungle out that way and we had been in contact with different members of the force and they had been telling us that it's a difficult situation that they are caught up in."
Mr Scholes, who is the spokesman for the family, said his brother David didn't know how to react.
"This is his daughter we are talking about, Kristy, 24 years of age taken from her children and the rest of her family," he said. "It's still a shock to him and I'm sure that in time he will start to feel more relieved."
He said the family felt it was on the way to getting the closure it needed.
"We know that there is going to be a court process. We know that there are going to be legal implications. We will follow this right to the end, we will close this."
Mr Scholes said the last seven years had been hard for the family. "My brother, and thinking about Kristy ... it's tough just looking at her photo."
AUSTRALIA'S most wanted man, Malcolm Naden, is expected to appear before in court on a murder charge today after he was arrested last night in rugged bushland on the NSW mid north coast. The armed and dangerous fugitive was found at a private property 30 kilometres west of Gloucester with police from the Tactical Operations Unit and Dog Unit making the arrest about 12.04am.
The arrest puts an end to an often embarrassing hunt for a former abattoir worker who has managed to evade police for nearly seven years.
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione told a Sydney news conference that no shots were fired and there were no injuries when Naden was taken into custody.
Assistant Commissioner Carlene York, the commander of Strike Force Durkin which was set up to capture Naden, said specialist officers drove into the bush after they were deployed in teams, before setting off on foot through difficult terrain.
"They then surrounded the house and there were indications of movement inside," she said. "Mr Naden came out of a doorway where he was confronted by the police, then quickly retreated back into the house."
Naden tried to escape out the back door, where he was again confronted.
"A short scuffle ensued, where he was then arrested," Ms York said, adding that Naden was bitten by a police dog during the arrest but was not seriously wounded.
Healthy after years on the run
He has undergone a medical examination and appears reasonably healthy, despite his years on the run. A semi-automatic rifle recently stolen from a nearby property was discovered inside the home.
Naden, a former abattoir worker, has been on the run since disappearing from his grandparents' home in west Dubbo in 2005, after his 24-year-old cousin and mother-of-two Kristy Scholes was found strangled in a bedroom of the home.
Naden is also a suspect in the disappearance of another of his cousins, Lateesha Nolan. He is expected to appear in Taree Local Court on charges of murder and indecent assault.
Asked what the charges would be Ms York replied: "Well, he was wanted on a warrant for a murder back in Dubbo six or seven years ago.
"He was also wanted on a warrant for an aggravated indecent assault upon a 15-year-old female.
"Those charges will be laid and there are also further investigations at the moment in relation to other events which may or may not be the subject of a charge."
Naden hit headlines last year after allegedly shooting and wounding an officer during a raid on a remote campsite near the village of Nowendoc in the state's north in December. Since the shooting, around 50 officers had been involved in the hunt for Naden.
Families have hope
The families of Kristy Scholes and Lateesha Nolan hoped Naden's capture would shed light on what happened to the two women.
Ms Nolan's father, Mick Peet, said he felt excited when police contacted him with the news about 1.45am (AEDT) on Thursday.
"I sort of felt like falling to the ground on my knees, I didn't know what to say," he told ABC Radio. "I had so many questions I wanted to ask (but) I didn't know where to start."
Mr Peet said he was worried the search would drag on "forever" but understood the police's frustration in trying to catch Naden.
"I'm just glad we're on the road to some kind of recovery to find out what happened to my daughter and some closure," he said. "There's a lot of family that's been affected."
Mr Peet said Naden's capture was a "giant step" but there was still a long road ahead.
"I don't know what it's going to lead to now, we just have to take one day at a time. But I'm just glad the whole seven years of trying to catch the person that's wanted for questioning over the disappearance of my daughter has happened.
"From this day on, we're just so glad we've got this major step in retrieving some information about my daughter."
Shocked and overwhelmed
Kristy Scholes' uncle said the family was overwhelmed by the news and had feared Naden would be on the run much longer.
"Overwhelmed, I'm just so shocked, we didn't expect it," Tony Scholes told the Seven Network.
"It's so soon, knowing that it's dense jungle out that way and we had been in contact with different members of the force and they had been telling us that it's a difficult situation that they are caught up in."
Mr Scholes, who is the spokesman for the family, said his brother David didn't know how to react.
"This is his daughter we are talking about, Kristy, 24 years of age taken from her children and the rest of her family," he said. "It's still a shock to him and I'm sure that in time he will start to feel more relieved."
He said the family felt it was on the way to getting the closure it needed.
"We know that there is going to be a court process. We know that there are going to be legal implications. We will follow this right to the end, we will close this."
Mr Scholes said the last seven years had been hard for the family. "My brother, and thinking about Kristy ... it's tough just looking at her photo."
