A heartbroken father has recalled the moment he found out his daughter had died while bush-walking on a remote mountain.
Felicity Shadbolt, 36, disappeared on Sunday after going for a run on Mount Nameless, near Tom Price in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
The mother-of-two’s body was found about 7pm on Wednesday just 500m from a caravan park after a frantic search by dozens of volunteers in 46C heat.
Heartbroken father David Dick (right) has recalled the moment he found out his daughter Felicity Shadbolt, 36, (left) had died while bush-walking on a remote mountain
An hour later her father, David Dick, at his house in Ms Shadbolt’s hometown of Shepparton in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley, got a call from his older daughter Jennifer he’ll never forget.
‘I was just getting in to bed when the phone rang and it was Jen saying they found her and… it wasn’t good,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘It took so long to find her that we realised after two or three days that it didn’t look good and were resigned to it ending terribly.
Mr Dick, 64, said he hadn’t seen much of Ms Shadbolt since she (right) and her husband Drew (left) moved to the outback mining town three years ago
Their last contact was when he wished her a Merry Christmas as she and her seven-year-old twin daughters played on the beach with friends in Exmouth, WA (pictured Ms Shadbolt marrying her husband Drew in October 2009)
‘But when I got the call I was just numb.’
Mr Dick, 64, said he hadn’t seen much of Ms Shadbolt since she and her husband Drew moved to the outback mining town three years ago.
Their last contact was when he wished her a Merry Christmas as she and her seven-year-old twin daughters played on the beach with friends in Exmouth, WA.
‘She sent a lovely text back with a photo of her and the twins, which I’ll keep forever,’ Mr Dick said.
The former dairy farmer said the whole family was struggling with not knowing how Ms Shadbolt died, alone at the foot of the mountain.
Felicity Shadbolt, 36, disappeared on Sunday after going for a run on Mount Nameless, near Tom Price in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. The mother-of-two’s body was found about 7pm on Wednesday just 500m from a caravan park after a frantic search by dozens of volunteers in 46C heat
There were fears she succumbed to heatstroke in scorching temperatures, but police have also refused to rule out foul play as homicide detectives fly in to investigate.
‘We’re in the dark about what happened to her, it could be days or longer until we find out,’ he said.
‘She’s incredibly fit and had two litres of water with her so it’s hard to tell what happened.’
The former dairy farmer said the whole family was struggling with not knowing how Ms Shadbolt (pictured) died, alone at the foot of the mountain
Ms Shadbolt regularly ran the numerous trails around Mount Nameless, knowing them well, and was in such good shape she competed in Tough Mudder and Spartan races.
Mr Dick said he was ‘hanging in there’ and leaning on good friends, but planned to go back to work on Friday as he needed to stay busy.
‘If I stay home I’ll just be sitting around with just my cat stewing about it all day and there’s nothing worse, I’d go mad,’ he said.
Felicity Shadbolt, 36, disappeared on Sunday after going for a run on Mount Nameless, near Tom Price in Western Australia’s Pilbara region
‘At work I can concentrate on something else, take my mind off it, and cope better.’
Jennifer flew to Tom Price from her home in Howlong, near Albury, during the search along with Mr Dick’s ex-wife and Ms Shadbolt’s mother Barbara.
They described to him how dozens of locals volunteers to help police and the SES look for Ms Shadbolt, one of whom eventually found her.
Ms Shadbolt (pictured with her twin girls Macie and Harper) regularly ran the numerous trails around Mount Nameless, knowing them well
‘The whole town went out to look for her and I’m just so thankful. Especially since I imagine the scene is pretty devastating in that heat, it would be pretty ugly,’ he said.
‘People have been great here [in Shepparton] too, I’ve lived in this town nearly all my life and the support has been unbelievable.’
Mr Dick said police told the family Ms Shadbolt’s body would be transported to Port Headland then to Perth for a post-mortem.
The main track to the summit of Mount Nameless for a breathtaking view of the landscape and Rio Tinto iron ore mine is 4.5km and takes three hours.
Her car was found parked in a car park at the base of the mountain soon after her disappearance, but she was nowhere to be found.
Police said she was wearing an Apple watch for her run, but it was not connected to the internet and so couldn’t be used to trace her movements.
Eight years before her disappearance, Ms Shadbolt miraculously had given birth to twin girls 10 weeks early
Ms Shadbolt moved with her family to become a senior site manager at recruitment and labour hire firm WorkPac.
Friends and family flooded social media with tributes to the recruitment officer, along with best wishes for her husband and children.
Eight years before her disappearance, Ms Shadbolt miraculously had given birth to twin girls 10 weeks early.