Dad found dead four days after vanishing on camping trip
Donations have poured in from concerned Australians after a beloved father was found dead four days after going on a camping trip with friends north of Sydney.
Dean Gray, 25, went missing from a property in Narrabri on October 16.
Friend Katt Armour said Mr Gray had been swimming 50 metres across a river when he began to struggle, news.com.au reported. Friends told him to stop as they searched for help but when they returned he was gone.
His fiancée Taylor Baxter wrote on Facebook on October 18 that she needed him to come home.
“The search will continue for Dean today,” she wrote.
“I’m praying that today’s the day. My heart can’t take it anymore.”
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The pair have a child together, a little boy named Bostin.
There were a number of appeals from family and friends to find Mr Gray, described by Ms Armour on Facebook as “the sweetest and funniest boy”.
But last Wednesday, police divers found his body after four days of searching.
A report is now being prepared for the coroner.
Donations pour in for grieving family
On Facebook, Mr Gray’s fiancée paid tribute to him after learning of his death.
“My heart is broken. I will never be the same without you,” she wrote.
“May you always be by our sides guiding us through a life that will never be as bright without you.”
A GoFundMe page was created late last week to help support Ms Baxter and her son.
As of Wednesday, it has raised more than $25,000 – more than doubling its initial goal of $10,000.
The page hit the target in just three hours and was continuing to receive donations on Wednesday.
"You are all remarkable," family friends wrote in an update.
"Thank you to everyone who has donated and is going to donate. Every dollar counts and words cannot express the many thanks."
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