Inquest into the Death Suspected Death of Jeanne Christine D'ARCY
Inquest into the Disappearance and Suspected Death of Jeanne Christine D’ARCY
Delivered on : 20 June 2025
Delivered at : Perth
Finding of : Acting State Coroner Linton
Recommendations : N/A
Orders/Rules : N/A
Suppression Order : N/A
Summary : Jeanne D’Arcy (Jeanne) was last known to be alive on 13 April 2022, when she was captured on CCTV footage walking across Marine Parade, Cottesloe and heading in the direction of a footpath that leads to the northern end of Cottesloe Beach.
Jeanne was reported missing by her family on the following afternoon, being 14 April 2022. Police commenced an investigation, including an extensive land and sea search in the area where Jeanne was last seen. Some of Jeanne’s personal belongings were found on the beach, but no sign of Jeanne herself was found.
Jeanne had been staying at the Ocean Beach Hotel on the night of 13 April 2022. That evening she went to the Cblu restaurant at the Ocean Beach Hotel, where she ordered a takeaway coffee and cake, which she took back to her room. Staff who served Jeanne at the time noted that she seemed fine. Later that evening, Jeanne spoke to the receptionist at the Ocean Beach Hotel and said she was having difficulty using her swipe access card to enter her room. The card was checked and appeared to be working properly. The receptionist recoded the swipe card and reminded Jeanne which floor she should go to in order to find her room. Jeanne responded in a way that suggested she might be a little intoxicated, although she did not seem to be drunk and was described as being lovely and polite.
The last confirmed sighting of Jeanne alive is the CCTV footage of her leaving the Ocean Beach Hotel at 11.09 pm. She crossed the street and appeared unsteady on her feet. She walked down the footpath about 10 metres before crossing the road to the beachside of Marine Parade. She then disappeared out view of the CCTV camera. Jeanne’s shoes, hotel room key and bottle of water were found approximately 800 metres south of the Cottesloe Groyne, placed next to a fence post at the end of the path leading to the beach. There was evidence before the Court that Jeanne had a special connection with Cottesloe from her youth and had made past comments to her family and friends about walking into the ocean to end it all.
Jeanne had seemed intoxicated and upset on the night of her disappearance when talking to family and friends on the phone. When one of her friends tried to contact her the next morning, she didn’t answer her phone. They went to the hotel and found her personal belongings packed up in her room and her car still in the hotel car park. Her son then reported her missing to police. An extensive search was undertaken, including a multi-agency response with aircraft from the WA Police Airwing searching the beach and waters from City Beach to Port Beach and a Water Police vessel conducting a shoreline search one nautical mile either side of the last known location of Jeanne at the beach. An emergency alert was also sent out to the people in the local area. Calls from members of the public about police sightings began to come in and all possible sightings were investigated, but none led to a confirmed sighting of Jeanne. The evidence all pointed to Jeanne having voluntarily entered the ocean on the night of 13 April 2022. The search was scaled down after 16 April 2022 and was officially terminated on the morning of 18 April 2022. The Acting State Coroner was satisfied that the extent of the search was reasonable and appropriate, given the known circumstances.
The Acting State Coroner was satisfied beyond all reasonable doubt Jeanne is deceased and she died in relative proximity to the time of her disappearance. The Acting State Coroner concluded Jeanne’s death was likely due to drowning but there was insufficient evidence to be able to be satisfied of a cause or manner of death to the required standard. The Acting State Coroner made an Open Finding as to the manner of Jeanne’s death.
Catch Words : Long Term Missing Person : Possible Drowning: Open Finding
Last updated: 28 July 2025