NSW:Naden search scaled down over Xmas

AAP General News (Australia)
12-19-2011
NSW:Naden search scaled down over Xmas

SYDNEY, Dec 19 AAP - The manhunt for alleged killer Malcolm Naden could be scaled down
over Christmas.

NSW Assistant Commissioner Carlene York, who heads the operation for Naden's capture,
says police will decide over the next few days whether to reduce the number of officers
on the ground.

"Christmas is a difficult time and obviously everyone wants to be with their family
and loved ones," Ms York told Fairfax Radio on Monday.

"Christmas is also a busy time for police, particularly in the northern region."

But Ms York said there were resources she could call upon if new information or intelligence
comes through.

Naden, 38, disappeared in June 2005 from his grandparents' home in west Dubbo, days
before 24-year-old mother-of-two Kristy Scholes was found strangled in his bedroom.

He is also wanted over the indecent assault of a 15-year-old girl in Dubbo in 2004
and for questioning over the disappearance of another 24-year-old woman in January 2005.

A policeman was shot in the shoulder when officers raided a remote campsite near Nowendoc
in northern NSW, perhaps the closest they have got to the fugitive who has been on the
run since June 2005.

Officers believe the skilled bushman remains in northern NSW.

The state government has more than doubled the reward for information leading to Naden's
capture from $100,000 to $250,000.

AAP lxs/tr/jsh/jmt

KEYWORD: NADEN

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