Parents urge fire suspect to come forward
The parents of the man sought for questioning over the Childers backpacker hostel fire today made an impassioned plea for their son to come forward.

Sid Long urged his 37-year-old son Robert to phone him and his wife Norma so they could talk through the events of the past week.

'Robert, your mother and I are ready to listen and talk with you at any time,' Mr Long said from Wollongong, where the couple live, this afternoon.

'We need to hear that you are safe and well.

'Remember Robert, your mother and I love you. We are ready to help you work through the events of the last week. Let us help.'

Meanwhile, Queensland detectives were today investigating a suicide note believed to have been left by Long in the wake of the blaze at the Palace Backpackers Hostel which has claimed at

least 15 lives.

The note, penned just days before the fire, has not yet been verified as being written by the wanted man.

The nationwide hunt for Long, who was evicted from the hostel days before the fire, is continuing, with police appealing for locals, truck drivers and highway commuters to report any activity.

Wollongong Local Area Commander Jim Ballie today told reporters New South Wales police were continuing to cooperate with their Queensland colleagues.

However, they had no intention of launching an independent inquiry into Long's whereabouts, Supt Ballie said.