A grieving mother who attended her son's funeral in NSW is desperate to get back to her Queensland home, despite tough border restrictions keeping her trapped at the border.
The only reason Jo Harradine travelled to NSW was because her youngest son Nathan had vanished in July.
"He rang me the day he went missing and he said: 'mum there's something wrong with the car', so I said take it to your uncle's place," Ms Harradine told 9News.
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"He wanted me to come and get him and I was one day too late."
The 31-year-old's body was discovered in a river on July 31 and now the mother-of-four is still stuck in NSW, just minutes from a border checkpoint, and a two-hour drive from her remote property in Queensland's south-west.
After her son's death, Ms Harradine's husband took Nathan's car back to Queensland and she stayed in NSW for the funeral.
"We had his funeral in Gunnedah with 10 people, including two of his children and we cremated him so I could take him home," she said.
The 62-year-old went through the appropriate exemption process, telling authorities she had a medical condition and ongoing mental health issues and would quarantine at home.
But with her applications continuing to be rejected, Ms Harradine was desperate to return home and after she was turned away at the border, she copped a $4000 fine trying to cross at another border checkpoint.
"I assumed once I got the fine I could go home and quarantine, but they said no and told me I had to go back to NSW," she said.
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While Ms Harradine was refused entry to Queensland, NSW Police allowed her to hand them Nathan's ashes so they could return him to her husband at their Queensland property.
Ms Harradine originally didn't want to share the circumstances around her story, hoping she could return home to grieve in private.
"I am fighting to get across the border and I am scared to go home and see my son in a box in his room – I've got to deal with that when I get home."
Despite being minutes from the border, Queensland Health told Ms Harradine she needs to travel to Sydney and fly to Brisbane to quarantine in a hotel for 14 days before she can go back to her home, just two hours from where she is currently holed-up.
While Queensland Health say they know border restrictions are inconvenient, factors must be balanced against "the serious health risk to more than five million Queenslanders".
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"I have seen a number of cases reported today of people coming forward and telling their stories of wanting to come to Queensland – we understand and we will reach out and work with people about their applications for exemptions," Queensland Health Minister Yvette D'ath said when questioned about Ms Harradine's specific situation.
"I can't talk about particular circumstances of individuals and their cases."
Since speaking with 9News, Ms Harradine says she has had a call from Queensland Health who are reviewing her exemption application.
