Police have called on clinically insane killer Enoch Samuel Walsh to hand himself in to police so he can be referred to appropriate mental health care.
As the manhunt continues across the state, Acting Police Commissioner Steve Brown pleaded with Mr Walsh to surrender to the nearest police station or call WA Police to disclose his whereabouts so he can receive expert healthcare.
"We continue to have concerns for his welfare as do many people, (including) many of his friends," Mr Brown said. "We simply want him to walk into a police station or ring up WA Police on 131 444 and let us know where he is so that we can come and meet with him and return him to care."
Mr Walsh, also known as Sam, has been missing since Sunday after he failed to return to a Claremont psychiatric hostel where he has lived for the past four years.
Mr Walsh, formerly known as Enoch Samuel Wright, killed his mother Patricia during a psychotic episode in Kalgoorlie in 2005 but was acquitted of murder in 2007, after Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Miller ruled he was not criminally responsible for his actions.
He spent three years at a secure psychiatric hospital on a mandatory custody order before being granted supervised release by the Mentally Impaired Accused Review Board in 2008. The leave order meant he could leave Graylands Hospital and live independently in supervised accommodation at Romily House.
Mr Brown said police had established that Mr Walsh left Romily House between 8.30am and 9am on Sunday, October 5, despite initial reports by Romily House to the board suggesting he had left at 6pm to go to a church service.
He said while the investigation had centred on Kalgoorlie and the WA Goldfields, police had no confirmation that Mr Walsh was actually there. Reported sightings, including one of a man walking along a road in Coolgardie carrying a jerry can, have not been substantiated.
"In the last three or four days he could have travelled the length and breadth of the state. He could be anywhere in the state, well and truly by now," Mr Brown said.
"I say that because I want the community to understand if they see or have a sighting of Mr Walsh in Narrogin or Port Hedland, then he could well and truly be there at the moment because so much time has elapsed."
Fears are held for Mr Walsh's state of mind because he has not had the medication needed to manage his schizophrenia since Sunday. Police have warned the public not to approach him.
Police in Kalgoorlie are searching local hostels, motels, caravan parks and monitoring other places of interest such as the cemetery where his mother is buried and former family home in Hanbury Street.
On Wednesday, Fairfax Media revealed several discrepancies in the timeframes established by police and those provided by Romily House to the Mental Impaired Accused Review Board.
Contrary to information given to the board by Romily House management that Walsh left the hostel at 6pm on Sunday to attend a church service, it has now been established by police that the last sighting of him at the hostel was at 8.30am and 9am that day.
About 11.30am, a Merredin-based police traffic vehicle with a hi-tech automatic numberplate recognition system detected Walsh's silver Hyundai Excel about 240km east of Perth at Hines Hill, near Merredin, travelling east towards Kalgoorlie.
But the vehicle had not been flagged as "wanted" at the time so police did not intercept.
But it was not until Monday morning that staff at Romily House notified the board, which advised police on Monday afternoon.
Mr Brown said police received official notification at 5pm on Monday. Two hours later, downloaded data from the Merredin traffic police vehicle identified that his car had been in the Hines Hill area the previous day.
He declined to say if delays in reporting the matter to police had hindered the search for Mr Walsh.
"My focus is not around the timeline. That's the history of the matter. Our focus since we were notified, since 5pm on Monday night, has all been about finding Mr Walsh and returning him to care. If we are going to have some dialogue around what happened and who did what, let's have that after Mr Walsh is located and returned to care."
Police sources have questioned why it took mental health authorities 36 hours to alert WA Police that Mr Walsh was missing.
A spokeswoman for Attorney-General Michael Mischin said the Mentally Impaired Accused Review Board was informed on Monday morning that Walsh had left Romily House at 6pm on Sunday to attend a church service, but had not returned. The board then notified police on Monday afternoon.
On Tuesday, Mr Mischin said: "As far as I am aware, Mr Walsh's failure to comply with the condition to return to Romily House was dealt with in a timely and appropriate manner but I shall...seek a report on how the situation has been handled once the immediate issue of securing his return to detention is resolved".
Romily House have refused to comment to Fairfax Media about the investigation.
Mr Walsh is described as being 182cm tall, of slim build with brown hair and blue eyes. It is not known what he is wearing.
He is believed to be driving a 1998 silver Hyundai Excel hatchback, registration 1AFY124 and he may be around Kalgoorlie or the Goldfields.
Police have warned the public not to approach Walsh, saying he is unpredictable. Anyone with information is urged to call police on 131 444.
Source: WAtoday
