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The body of 31-year-old Payge Leembruggen was found in dunes near Mackay Harbour North Wall. Police are treating her death as suspicious and trying to fill a four-day gap since she was last seen.
The death of a Mackay mother whose body was found on a beach is being treated as suspicious. Payge Leembruggen, 31, was last seen alive four days before her body was discovered on Tuesday morning.
A local dog walker found Leembruggen's body shortly after 8am in bush growing along the dunes near the Mackay Harbour North Wall. She had been last seen on September 11 near a hair salon on Celeber Drive, in Mackay's northern suburbs. Detective Inspector Emma Novosel of Mackay Whitsunday Police said the investigation is focusing on the four-day gap between the last known sighting and the discovery of the body.
Police have classified the death as unexplained and are treating it as suspicious until proven otherwise. We don't know the cause of death at the moment, Inspector Novosel said. An autopsy has been scheduled, and after that we'll have further insight. She said police were trying to fill in the gaps since Leembruggen left the hair salon last Friday.
Leembruggen was a mother to a five-year-old boy and lived with extended family in a multigenerational home on a property at Mount Jukes, about 40 kilometres north-west of Mackay's city centre. She was not living with a partner at the time of her disappearance. Payge would often travel from her Mount Jukes address to the Mackay city and take up with associates, Inspector Novosel said.
Police, including State Emergency Service volunteers, have been searching dense bushland at the top of the sand dunes, which they said was difficult to navigate. Inspector Novosel said officers combing the dunes and beach around the harbour wall had not uncovered any clothing or items they believed were linked to Leembruggen's death. She did not say whether officers suspected the 31-year-old's body might have been moved after she died. The beach is safe for everyone to use, she said.
When Leembruggen was last seen, she was described as Caucasian, about 178 centimetres tall, with long dark hair tied up with a red bow or scrunchie. She was wearing white shoes, distinctive red yoga pants with dark markings, and a white shirt that was tucked in or tied up at the front. She also had a small backpack-style handbag, which she was wearing on her back.
Police have asked anyone who saw or spoke to Leembruggen between September 11 and 15, or who has relevant dash cam footage, to contact them.
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brisbanetimes:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Mackay North Wall Beach Mackay Harbour Queensland Police Payge Leembruggen Mackay Death Investigation Mount Jukes Mackay Harbour North Wall
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