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Lee Kirkham: Father of missing Mandurah man in emotional plea for answers

Brianna DuganThe West Australian
Police are seeking information regarding the whereabouts of missing 50-year-old man Lee Kirkham.
Camera IconPolice are seeking information regarding the whereabouts of missing 50-year-old man Lee Kirkham. Credit: The West Australian

The father of missing man Lee Kirkham has made an emotional plea for help to find his son.

Lee Kirkham, 50, went missing on the night of January 4 and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.

The missing father lives alone in a rural part of Mandurah, in Barragup, where police have sparked a massive land search and water search.

Mr Kirkham’s father, Michael, on Thursday made a desperate plea for anyone with information regarding his son to come forward.

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Mr Michael Kirkham said that he just wants his son to reach out and let his family know he is okay.

“I am here today to appeal to people to come forward if they have any information regarding my son Lee,” he said, breaking down in tears.

Mr Kirkham was in such distress he was unable to finish reading his statement, with lead investigator Inspector Peter Morrissey continuing for him.

“Lee is my youngest son, and a much loved son, brother, and father,” Inspector Morrissey said on behalf of Mr Kirkham.

“We want to know he is okay. This is not typical of him, and we have never gone this long without contact from him.

“We hold great concerns for his welfare and safety. And his 10-year-old son is worried about him.”

Inspector Morrissey said it is unclear why Mr Lee Kirkham has not been in contact with his family.

“If Lee’s decided to take himself off the radar for a little while, we just would like him to contact us and tell us that he is okay. Or contact dad,” he said.

The inspector said the missing father had made no suggestion to family or friends that he was going to leave.

Inspector Morrissey said a vast land and water search had been undertaken for the missing man, and had played out over multiple weeks.

“We’ve undertaken a land search and we’ve had horses and the like in that vicinity,” he said.

“We’ve had the water police in searching the lake.

“We are continuing to tick off a lot of those search areas and we’ve done door knocks in the area..

The investigation will face some challenges considering the amount of time Mr Kirkham has been missing.

“That long in time, people’s memories might not be as good as they were and particularly the vicinity he was last seen in there is not a lot of people, there is not a lot of traffic,” Inspector Morrissey said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 131 444.

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