General News
30 June, 2026
Mine believed to be Terry Floyd’s final resting place damaged in “sickening” incident
Police are investigating an incident at a mine suspected to contain missing boy Terry Floyd’s remain.
Police are investigating after objects were thrown into a mine suspected to contain missing boy Terry Floyd’s remains causing “devastation” to his brother’s search.
A person allegedly threw large stones down an active mine shaft near Box Flat Track in Avoca on May 31.
Daryl Floyd has long suspected the mine is the final resting place of his brother who went missing in 1975.
A coronial inquest in 2001 found Terry had been abducted and murdered, although his body was never found.
However, retired detective Charlie Bezzina believes they have “nowhere else to look” but the mine.
“We’ve got credible information the remains of a 12-year-old innocent boy are in the bottom of that mineshaft,” Mr Bezzina said last year.
It’s meant Daryl, alongside many local volunteers, have searched the site for years.
However, their efforts were devastated when a person allegedly went past the security fence and smashed the lock covering the mine shaft’s entrance.
On-site cameras appear to capture the person throwing objects down the mineshaft.
Daryl said expensive infrastructure used for the search has now been destroyed.
Included is the ladder, landings, and air ventilation needed to safely explore the “horrendous” mine.
“What do we do now? We haven’t got the funds to fix all this broken infrastructure. It’s deflating,” he said.
It’s the latest obstacle in a search Daryl said had stalled because the State Government hadn’t followed through on their funding promise.
According to the ABC, then-premier Daniel Andrews said in 2017 the Labor government would fund the dig.
Daryl had spent more than $120,000 of his own money, alongside donations from the public and financial support from Victoria Police, when he recieved the offer.
“We want to ensure that the focus remains on finding Terry and not on finding the money to do so,” Mr Andrews said at the time.
Daryl said he’s still waiting.
“We’re struggling because of the broken promise from the government, and now to have this on top, we just don’t know where we’re going to go to get this fixed,” he said.
“We can’t go forward and we can’t get this mine search finished unless we get those promised funds from the government.”
Daryl said the damage has undone years of hard work.
“To have this sort of destruction happen at his final resting place is just absolutely sickening,” Daryl said.
“There’s a huge amount of cost, devastation and destruction that’s been done.
“It just breaks your heart.”
Daryl said anyone visiting the mine to do the “wrong thing” needs to think twice.
“This job is hard enough on its own for what it represents and we just don’t need any more pressure than we already have,” he said.
Victoria Police encourage anyone with information or footage to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report to crimestoppersvic.com.au