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Still no trace of missing Ballandean man as floodwaters recede

Granite Belt man Keiren Wilson is still missing after his empty car was found in a floodwaters near Stanthorpe last week.

May 17, 2022, updated May 17, 2022
A Ballandean man remains missing after last week's floods and heavy rain in Queensland. (AAP Image/Russell Freeman)

A Ballandean man remains missing after last week's floods and heavy rain in Queensland. (AAP Image/Russell Freeman)

A search involving police, State Emergency Service volunteers and a LifeFlight Rescue helicopter scoured the area near Stanthorpe, where there has been extensive flooding over the past five days, on Monday.

However, a police spokesperson said the search had failed to find any trace of the 26-year-old on Tuesday.

Wilson was last seen wearing a hi-vis fleece jumper and driving away from his Ballandean home in his brown Holden Commodore on Friday morning.

He was reported missing after he didn’t make contact with friends and family, and his car was later found near Bents Rd, Ballandean.

RACQ LifeFlight Rescue said it’s feared Mr Wilson may have tried to cross floodwaters on foot to return to his property.

“There are concerns for his safety, as there has been extensive flooding in the region,” the organisation said in a statement.

Police are also keeping an eye out for a bald man described as being in his mid-40s and wearing shorts who was seen by onlookers entering Brisbane River on Sunday afternoon.

PolAir and Water Police conducted a coordinated search, but had to scale back due to poor visibility and have found no sign of him.

Floodwaters were receding in Queensland’s southern interior on Tuesday after the state’s sixth deadly flooding event since December.

The unseasonal intense May rainfall led to inundated homes and businesses, with roads and bridges swamped across Queensland.

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One woman was killed when a car was submerged in floodwaters near Mackay on Wednesday.

She was still wearing her seatbelt when her body was found.

The rain has eased but the Bureau of Meteorology has issued flood major warnings for the Condamine, Balonne and Thomson rivers and Cooper Creek.

The Balonne River is likely to peak about 10.5m at Surat on Tuesday night, higher than the February 2022 peak, while the Thompson River is about 5m at Jundah but likely to fall later on Tuesday.

Moderate flooding is also occurring in the Mary River, north of Brisbane, the Macintyre and Weir rivers in the state’s south, and the Georgina River in far western Queensland.

The floods damaged hundreds of homes and businesses in the Lockyer Valley and the Mary River inundated Gympie and Maryborough for the third time this year.

While the immediate cost of repair is still being counted, Australians have been warned the price of fresh fruit and vegetables will increase in the wake of the disaster.

Farmers who risked planting after the February deluge lost entire crops and face financial ruin after the second deluge.

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