Concerns for competency of elderly woman rescued in WA outback then arrested

Tjuntjuntjara is 700 kilometres north-east of Kalgoorlie.  (Supplied)

Concerns have been raised about the competency of an elderly Indigenous woman facing a charge of unlawful wounding from 2024, after she was rescued and then arrested by police in Western Australia’s outback this week.

Narlbinka Simms, 68, lives in the remote Aboriginal community of Tjuntjuntjara, about 650km north-east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in WA’s Great Victoria Desert.

Ms Simms and an 80-year-old man left Tjuntjuntjara on Sunday and were reported missing before being rescued by police in the early hours of yesterday.

They had spent three nights stranded in the bush after their vehicle became bogged on a remote bush track.

Jon Lark, the chief executive of Paupiyala Tjarutja Aboriginal Corporation, which manages the community where Ms Simms lives, said she had been on a regular bush hunting trip with her partner when they became stranded.

The pair spent three days without food and water, he said.

Ms Simms was taken into custody later that day on an outstanding arrest warrant that had been issued for failing to appear in court, and she was then flown by police to Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Mr Lark said the plane with Ms Simms left just after midday, only hours after she was rescued.

Police escort Narlbinka Simms off a plane after arriving in Kalgoorlie from the remote community of Tjuntjuntjara (ABC Goldfields: Katrina Tap)

Today, Murray Stubbs, from the Aboriginal Legal Services of WA, represented Ms Simms in the Kalgoorlie Magistrate’s Court, where it was revealed she has been diagnosed with dementia and was wheelchair-bound.

She had three charges before the court — two counts of breaching bail from 2024 and 2025, and a charge of unlawful wounding related to a 2024 incident at the remote community of Warburton, 1,200km north-east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

The allegations were not disclosed in court.

While Ms Simms was due to appear in court from custody, Magistrate Donna Webb excused her from appearing in person due to poor health because she was in a wheelchair.

Mr Stubbs sought a two-week adjournment on her behalf and asked that she be granted bail to fly home to Tjuntjuntjara.

“How do I grant non-conditional bail on someone who is not competent?” Magistrate Webb said.

“She cannot sign bail.”

Police did not oppose bail, and it was granted with a $20 surety.

During the adjournment, Mr Stubbs said he would liaise with carers for Ms Simms, who is due to turn 69 on May 23.

He said he would provide medical records to the court to verify her diagnosis.

Ms Simms is due to appear in court again on May 18 and was granted permission to appear via videolink from Tjuntjuntjara.

“There is a possibility this may all disappear … and I don’t want her travelling 700km on a dirt road again,” Mr Stubbs said.