Tribute to Mayo woman who died while hiking in Australia

An Irish nurse turned paramedic with a passion for hiking has lost her life while exploring the scenic Hellfire Bay area in western Australia.

The victim has been named as Fiona Lavelle (41), formerly from Keel, Achill Island.

She emigrated from Ireland some years ago with her husband John McLoughlin from Islandeady, Castlebar, following their marriage and resided in Perth.

Relatives and friends of the respected St. John WA ambulance paramedic, both in Ireland and Australia, are being comforted today on their immense loss.

Police are treating the death as ‘non-suspicious’.

Fiona went missing on Tuesday while hiking in the Cape Le Grand National Park, east of Esperance where temperatures hit 43.9 degrees.

She may have been accompanied by another female and was driving her Nissan Navara vehicle.

Councillor Martin McLoughlin, a member of Mayo County Council, an uncle of Fiona’s husband, John McLoughlin, said the exact details of what happened are still unknown.

“Fiona was a lovely person. She loved the outdoor life, especially hiking in her spare time. Her death is an absolute tragedy," Councillor McLoughlin commented.

Fiona’s body was discovered by a search team yesterday (Wednesday) after her unoccupied car was discovered in a car park.

It is understood that she has been doing relief ambulance work in the Norseman area of Western Australia in recent weeks.

According to Councillor McLoughlin, Fiona rang her husband, John, around 11 a.m. on Tuesday and told him she was about to start hiking.

She told him she would make contact later in the day but failed to do so.

When Fiona failed to make contact, John contacted the police and a major search operation was mounted.

A report is being prepared for the relevant coroner and a post mortem will be carried out.

It is expected that the remains will be repatriated to Ireland for burial here.

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