OcUK Detectives/reported death in Sydney

doodah · 12 Jan 2015 at 10:38

In need of some OcUK detective skills.

We have had unconfirmed reports that a friend of a friend has passed away in a Sydney hospital but have been unable to confirm and details are extremely thin. The only point of contact at the moment is their mobile phone, which we have received some scattered texts from one of her friends.

To make matters worse, and somewhat strange, no information about which hospital she is at has been given. All we know is that she was in Intensive Care, the last message was supposedly from a doctor saying something along the lines of "I am afraid to say she has passed away".

My first question; do all hospitals report their deaths and publicise? I have checked the obituaries in Sydney/New South Wales with no luck. She is an Australian citizen but of Chinese heritage/birth.

I hope this is OK to post but it's a very precarious situation and somewhat difficult, with what I have seen in the past on here - we may be able to find some answers. I would appreciate help with my first question so we can be better equipped to find the information ourselves before providing more information. Thank you.

slinxy · 12 Jan 2015 at 10:39

please delete..

ikillbears · 12 Jan 2015 at 10:49

this is odd

Schizo · 12 Jan 2015 at 10:50

Wouldn't it be better to ring the hospital in the area she lives ?

benjii · 12 Jan 2015 at 10:50

If you don't know where she's been admitted you could contact the Australian Department of Human Services. Give them her details and see if her death has been reported, if not, they might be able to advise you on who to contact to find out more.

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/

Xordium · 12 Jan 2015 at 10:51

From what I remember of my time over there then yes the hospital will keep a record of the deaths but that is for internal use rather than external examination. It was basically the same as here - death is confirmed by a doctor and a certificate given then the funeral director tends to collate the info for the territorial office etc within a week. As to how you then access that information I am clueless maybe a search on a Geneology site may give you good info?

doodah · 12 Jan 2015 at 10:54

I realise this seems odd, it really is!

There is a slim chance this is a very sick act

- I honestly don't know.

NickK · 12 Jan 2015 at 10:57

If you know their name then use the births and deaths register.

It's odd but peoples births and deaths are available to the public for an administration fee normally. Although there may be a 'cool off period' between the death and when it becomes available.

Schizo · 12 Jan 2015 at 10:58

I'm quite sure the doctor will not text someone to say the person has died.

doodah · 12 Jan 2015 at 11:04

schizo - this rung alarm bells with us as well. They simply do not do this as I have been told. I am trying my best not to hang our their laundry but as it stands, a minority of us over here are questioning aspects of the whole thing whereas the others have taken the news at face value and are mourning.

I have found plenty of details (but nothing on what could be found through some people on here) relating to her online profile but wanted some more concrete proof regarding her death before anything.

rubberduck · 12 Jan 2015 at 11:31

schizo said:
I'm quite sure the doctor will not text someone to say the person has died.

Yeah... Surely sounds more like a lost/stolen phoen to me? :confused:

doodah · 12 Jan 2015 at 11:37

The phone has not been stolen.

linktoinsanity · 12 Jan 2015 at 11:38

rubberduck said:
Yeah... Surely sounds more like a lost/stolen phoen to me?

I have a feeling that this is more likely.

Do you have another means of contacting her not using her phone, such as Facebook or Landline number?

If she has died though, I am sorry for your loss.

Ayahuasca · 12 Jan 2015 at 11:40

I'd be very surprised if a doctor text that, never heard of it being done over here.

SiriusB · 12 Jan 2015 at 11:56

You would expect a doctor to actually call, rather than send a text.

Does this friend not have any other means of communication? Social media, landline telephone, email? What about trying to contact neighbours or other friends/family who may live nearby?

Also, how do you know the phone was not stolen? If it hasn't been stolen, and you don't believe what you have been told, who would legitimately have that phone and then claim the owner has died?

doodah · 12 Jan 2015 at 12:13

I have met this girl once so know very little about her.

Whilst I can't be 100% sure I am confident it hasn't been stolen as the content of the messages she has sent to my friend (this is the friend that knows her quite well, lets call him Jake) could only have been from her. She also messaged another mutual friend, again the content/tone could only have been from her.

Jake is in pieces and believes she is dead, he hasn't really processed or considered the possibility it might not be true. A few us, including a doctor, are the only ones who are a little dubious. This makes getting information like where she lives in Sydney, friends etc difficult as Jake is the only one who may know this.

I have her Pinterest and some other things, she doesn't appear to have Facebook. However do East Asian people have alternatives (e.g. they seem to use WeChat more than WhatsApp)?

Terminal_Boy · 12 Jan 2015 at 12:23

Is the OPs friend next of kin/close relative to the person claimed to be deceased?

Xordium · 12 Jan 2015 at 12:45

SiriusB said:
You would expect a doctor to actually call, rather than send a text.

You'd expect a nurse to call. Not something doctors do especially by text.

rubberduck · 12 Jan 2015 at 13:50

Well lets presume some of the story is true and she was indeed in hospital and it was her texting Jake... At some point could the phone not have been taken while she is still in the hospital and then the thief looked over her old texts and thought it would be 'funny' to text her contacts saying she is dead.

Has the 'Doctor' given his name? Why not try ringing the hospital and asking if he/she works there? I think the probibility of a legit doctor texting unknown perople from a deceased victims phone is almost 0... Seems much more likely to be a hoax, scam or wind-up.

doodah · 12 Jan 2015 at 14:21

We don't know what hospital she is at. I would normally consider a thief but she communicates with Jake in English and Mandarin - something the supposed thief did. Furthermore the nature of which she contacted the other friend (picking this particular friend is unlikely if it wasn't her) would require the thief to have read 2 years of messages, know the dynamics of several relationships and talk in the same way she does. It just seems highly unlikely.

I will continue my search using the information nearer the start of this thread.