An Adelaide father, Max Parkin, has described the devastating moment he found his 26-year-old son Josh dead at his workplace, after the newlywed failed to return home on Tuesday night. Max grew concerned when Josh did not come back to complete the census, and drove to his son's worksite in Charleston, in the Adelaide Hills, early the next morning, where he discovered the body. The tragedy has left the family in shock just months after Josh married his high school sweetheart, and has prompted a formal workplace safety investigation.

Josh is understood to have been operating a large tree chipper that developed technical problems shortly before his death; his body was found where it had lain overnight. His mother, Tanya Thomson, who had to attend the site to identify him, described her son as hardworking, funny and deeply loved by those around him, and said the family had spent two days struggling to comprehend the loss. Josh had married his wife Mekayla Jane in April, having been "almost inseparable" with her since they met at school. SafeWork SA is now investigating the circumstances of his death.