At 11.30am on 13th October 1867, Jessie, four years and five months old, wandered away from her home which was located in Webbs Hills Rd just south of Buninyong next to “Strawberry Glen”, the property of David Kerr. Her father saw her leave, heading into the thick bush but thought she was looking for her older brother and sister who had left just before. When his son returned without Jessie he raised the alarm and began the search.
At 12.30 she was seen by Edward Jenner 100 yards in the bush near the Old Hopeful Mine . Mr Jenner did not realise she was lost, and it was not until 5pm that afternoon after hearing of a lost girl that he notified the police. Further searches were unsuccessful.
On October 20th, in an attempt to recover the body, several major searches took place, starting at the Greenhill Flat Bridge and the bridge across King Gully . These were all unsuccessful.
On Tuesday the 23rd October 1867, 10 days after she went missing, a local miner
John Hodges was cutting mine props in King Gully near the National Mine about 5 miles south of Buninyong (now Sand Rd, Durham Lead). He discovered the remains of Jessie McIntosh “right at the top of the range at the south side of King Gully” . The inquest noted " One of her boots lay at a little distance from her body, having been taken off possibly to relieve pain from the travelling"
Her body was identified by her grief-stricken father.
The inquest found that little Jessie had likely died of cold and exposure within the first couple of days as the weather had been cold and wet with persistent rain.
Jessie is buried in the Buninyong Cemetery, Presbyterian Section Plot No 25. ( The north- eastern corner- near the Buninyong end of the cemetery)