Police say an Australian chief executive who was found unconscious on the side of the road had not been assaulted or robbed, as initially thought.
Colin Bettles, head of farming association Grain Producers Australia, was found unconscious on the side of the road during a solo work trip on July 4.
He was found with a fractured eye socket and serious head injuries before a passerby helped him.
He was rushed to hospital before being put into an induced coma.
It was initially believed Bettles had been assaulted, but San Francisco police now say they do not believe that to be the case.
‘SFPD reviewed surveillance video from the scene and found no indication that Bettles had been assaulted or the victim of a crime.’
Mr. Bettles reportedly has no memory of what happened that night.
Colin Bettles, head of farming association Grain Producers Australia, was found unconscious on the side of the road during a solo work trip on July 4.
Mr Bettles’ worried family were unable to reach him for four days as he was in an induced coma.
Mr Bettles’ friends initially reported his phone and wallet had been stolen before a good Samaritan called emergency services.
However, police said he had his belongings with him at the hospital.
“San Francisco police officers have been working diligently on the case to find Bettles and investigate how he was injured, including seeking out witnesses and reviewing surveillance footage,” police said.
‘The San Francisco Police Department wishes Mr. Bettles a speedy recovery.’
His colleague, who works in an Australian region with limited phone reception, only realised something was wrong when he failed to get on a plane to New York.
He reportedly contacted Bettles’ friend of 15 years and former employer, Nationalist MP McCormack, who raised the alarm with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Secretary Penny Wong on Monday.
US authorities tracked Mr Bettles to his hospital bed, where he was in intensive care for five days.
Bettles’s friend of 15 years and former employer, Nationalist MP McCormack (pictured together), is reported to have been contacted by his partner, who raised the alarm with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Secretary Penny Wong on Monday.
Mr Bettles began his career as a journalist and eventually worked as a national rural affairs reporter based at Parliament House for Fairfax.
Mr. Bettles is known to have been traveling alone but conducting business in his capacity as CEO of GPA.
His shocked colleagues only learned of his plight after their colleague raised the alarm.
Mr Bettles began his career as a journalist and eventually worked as a national rural affairs reporter at Parliament House for Fairfax between 2006 and 2018.
After leaving journalism, Mr Bettles worked as a media adviser to former National leader, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack, including during the 2019 federal election campaign.
Mr Bettles comes from a family of dairy farmers in Western Australia and is a keen cricket fan.
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