Inquest into the Suspected Death of Ian Steven TOLLI
Inquest into the Suspected Death of Ian Steven TOLLI
Delivered on : 28 May 2025
Delivered at : Perth
Finding of : Acting State Coroner Linton
Recommendations :N/A
Orders/Rules : N/A
Suppression Order : N/A
Summary : Ian Tolli was last confirmed to be alive on the afternoon of 15 December 2020. He left his home to go kayaking at Point Peron and was seen by a number of witnesses entering the water in his orange/red kayak. He had indicated his intention to paddle around Garden Island, despite less than favourable weather and marine conditions and a shark sighting in the area.
Mr Tolli was reported missing to police at midnight by his housemate after he failed to return home and his car was found still parked in the Point Peron carpark.
Earlier that afternoon, Mr Tolli’s unmanned kayak had been found by a tub boat Captain in the water a few hundred metres offshore from the Kwinana refinery. The Captain had reported his find to police but at that time it had been assumed it had been blown from the shore or lost from a boat while untended. When Water Police were informed of the missing person report for Mr Tolli, they connected the lost kayak with Mr Tolli. A fullscale marine, land and aerial search was immediately commenced for Mr Tolli, on the assumption he had become separated from his kayak that afternoon in the water between Point Peron and Garden Island.
In the early hours of 16 December 2020, a fisherman heading out to check craypots near Garden Island found Mr Tolli’s paddle floating in the water near Woodman Point Boat Ramp. The fisherman was aware a kayaker was missing, so he reported his find to police.
Two other fisherman checking craypots that morning near Garden Island saw an object floating in the water with sharks around it. After hearing that a kayaker had gone missing in that area the previous day, they later realised the object may have been a body part associated with Mr Tolli, so they reported what they had seen to police. An aerial search failed to find any sign of the object.
Members of the public came forward to advise police that they had seen a person matching Mr Tolli’s description kayaking in the water near Garden Island on the afternoon of 15 December 2020. They had taken notice as the winds were strong and the ocean was rough, so the kayaker had appeared to be struggling to return to the boat ramp on the shore, although he was slowly making headway.
Mr Tolli’s family and friends spoke to police and advised he had been experiencing a number of person issues, including serious health issues and difficulties associated with some problematic housemates he wanted to evict from his house. However, there was nothing about his behaviour on the day to suggest he had an intention to end his life. He loved going out on the ocean and was known to be something of a risk-taker, so it was felt he may have underestimated the difficulty of the weather conditions that day, particularly given his poor health.
The Coroner was satisfied beyond all reasonable doubt Mr Colley is deceased and he died within a short window of time on the afternoon of 15 December 2020 while kayaking in the waters off Point Peron. The Coroner was unable to determine the cause of death and made an Open Finding as to the manner of Mr Tolli’s death, noting he may have died as a result of natural causes or accident.
Catch Words : Long Term Missing Person : Kayak : Marine Search : Shark sighting : Open Finding
Last updated: 2 July 2025