The discovery of an unmanned boat near Burleigh, about seven hours after it was last seen, has left the local community concerned. The vessel belonged to Ash, a respected and well-known figure among the Gold Coast fishing community. He is not only the president of the local Gold Coast game fish club but is also celebrated as a skilled fisherman, as well as a devoted father and husband.

Reports suggest that Ash was on a daring quest to catch a marlin, a challenging endeavor even for the most seasoned anglers. Typically, he would bring along several fishing rods for such an expedition, yet intriguingly, authorities discovered only one rod aboard the boat.

Adding to the mystery, police noted that a life jacket was missing from the vessel, although it remains unclear if Ash was wearing it at the time of his disappearance. In response to these developments, the search efforts have been intensified, with authorities extending the search area further south, spanning from Byron Bay to Evans Head in hopes of finding any trace of the missing fisherman.

He was also known to pack multiple fishing rods but authorities only found one on board.

Police also found one life jacket missing, but were unable to confirm whether he had been wearing one at the time. 

Today, they expanded their search area further south from Byron Bay to Evans Head.

Both NSW and Queensland authorities have been out searching for Haigh, with five marine vessels and one aircraft scouring the waters.

Crews are asking anyone with information about Haigh’s location or welfare to come forward. 

“If anyone is out there and they do see anything at all, retrieve it and give it to one of our rescue vessels,” Marine Rescue NSW’s John Murray said. 

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