death certificate – Michmutters
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Wife of missing man Bruce Fairfax faces seven-year wait or Supreme Court for death certificate

The wife of a man missing since 2017 says she feels hamstrung by the fact she cannot obtain a death certificate and move forward with her life, almost five years after they were separated on a bush path in far southern Tasmania.

Louise Fairfax was with her husband Bruce when the pair set out to walk the track at Duckhole Lake, a flooded sinkhole surrounded by dense forest south of Hobart on October 14, 2017.

The pair, who were experienced hikers, were with their dog when they became separated on the path. The dog was later found.

A search involving police, SES volunteers and hikers was launched, with helicopter flyovers employing thermal detection methods to try and penetrate the thick scrub.

No trace of Mr Fairfax has ever been found.

Mr Fairfax, 66 at the time he disappeared, had Parkinson’s disease and would be unable to survive without his medication for more than a week, Tasmania Police said.

a woman in a pink top on top of a very tall mountain, with ocean and hills in the background
Louise Fairfax on top of Precipitous Bluff in south-west Tasmania.(Supplied: Louise Fairfax)

This week, police featured Mr Fairfax as one of the seven “long-term” missing people as part of Missing Person’s Week.

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