POLICE suspect a man who went missing from Belmont Hospital and whose body was found on the banks of Lake Macquarie may have drowned.
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The body of Mark Walker was found by a man in a fishing boat in the water on the foreshore of the lake at Dilkera Avenue at Valentine on Wednesday afternoon, nearly 36 hours after he disappeared from hospital.
Mr Walker, 45, had last been seen leaving Belmont Hospital around 3am on Tuesday.
Lake Macquarie Police District chief inspector Peter Vromans said it was a sad end to a two-day search for Mr Walker.
"Yesterday at about 1.30am we know that Mark Walker left the Belmont Hospital and later on that morning around 5am, police were notified after he wasn't found anywhere," he said on Wednesday afternoon.
He said Mr Walker's walking aid was found in Green Point Reserve around 1pm on Tuesday.
"Police commenced a multi-agency search including the SES, RFS and a number of other agencies ... the search was continued until about 2am.
"The first thing this morning it resumed."
Around 1.30pm on Wednesday, he said police were "notified that a person was found floating in the water near Valentine".
"Subsequent inquiries have identified that that person was deceased and it is the person, Mark Walker," he said.
"We suspected it may be a drowning but we don't know that yet because there has got to be an examination.
"I understand that he had been at the hospital for around 48 hours. He decided to leave of his own accord, the exact motivations again will form part of our investigation.
"We know that he did leave the hospital and through certain items that were found we believe that he was generally making his way through the Green Point Reserve in the direction of the water. The exact path that he took and how he got there will be part of our investigation."
He said the family were "devastated" at the news.
A report will be prepared for the information of the coroner.
Lake Macquarie Police District acting inspector Paul Battley told the Newcastle Herald earlier that uncovering the walker and clothes had helped teams focus their search efforts to an 800m by 200m area.
"Over 20 SES are here assisting us to search the walking tracks plus bushland off those walking tracks, and we also have the water police in the lake doing a search," he said.
"It [the terrain] does make it harder, as you can see it's quite thick lantana in some areas and the SES have been trudging through all that."
The walking aid was found on Tuesday afternoon about 1pm near Sea Eagle Lookout and Mr Walker's partner has confirmed the T-shirt, pants and the hospital blanket found in the search belong to him.
NSW Police Rescue coordinated the search and have spent more than 30 hours combing the bushland for clues with the help of SES volunteers, PolAir, the Dog Unit and Surf Life Saving NSW and Fire and Rescue NSW drones.
Mr Walker was a Belmont local and police believe he had sound knowledge of the walking tracks at Green Point Reserve.
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Madeline Link
Madeline Link is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald, with a focus on Lake Macquarie City Council. To keep up with my stories, follow my Twitter @madeline_link, for tips email madeline.link@newcastleherald.com.au.
Madeline Link is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald, with a focus on Lake Macquarie City Council. To keep up with my stories, follow my Twitter @madeline_link, for tips email madeline.link@newcastleherald.com.au.
