Ben Chisholm's mysterious island disappearance to be probed by inquest and new podcast
Ben Chisholm disappeared on Magnetic Island two years ago with only scattered clothing found, but his family's quest for answers faces a critical moment.
A journalist investigating the disappearance of missing man Ben Chisholm says his family still live with the weight every day.
A pre-inquest conference scheduled for later this month will begin proceedings before a full coronial inquest is held in early next year - but one of the women who was on the ground at the time will also be following along with the case.
Former Townsville Bulletin journalist Bethany Ross will produce a long-form, investigative podcast into Mr Chisholm’s mysterious disappearance, after becoming embroiled in the case during her time as a print journalist.
“For the family who are still on the island, they hear people talking about Maggie’s missing man all the time - it’s just kind of local gossip down the pub,” Ross said.
“But for them, they told me, it’s their life every single day.
They said it’s like a backpack they can never take off. They just want answers.
They just want to be able to lay Ben to rest and have some closure.”
Ben Chisholm was reported missing on July 13, 2022 after being last seen in Nelly Bay, with his disappearance sparking an island-wide search involving police dogs, aerial craft and countless volunteers.
“I was living on Magnetic Island at the time,” Ross said.
“I was the only journalist the family really had a proper sit-down interview with. Largely, I think, because I was living on the island and I was part of the community.”
Those search efforts were eventually terminated a year later, with the only remnants of Ben found being pieces of his clothing discovered on a trail - his hat and shirt were recovered early on in the search, then a jacket and shorts several days later.
While praising the on-the-ground volunteers who assisted in the search, the family of Ben have previously harshly criticised the higher ups in the police operation, a factor that will play a key part in Ross’ analysis of the case.
“I realised there was a lot of unanswered questions around Ben’s disappearance, particularly the fact that he went missing on the island, but we can’t find a body, we really can’t find any trace of him,” Ross said.
“I think the family deserves to be able to tell their story and if we could do anything by getting the story out there, that would potentially help the case.
“If anything, what this has highlighted for me is that the way we currently handle missing persons cases might not be the best way.
“I spoke to a couple of experts in that space - one professor who has a PhD in missing people, and she pointed out to me that it’s not a crime to go missing. Yet, police are the ones who primarily deal with these missing persons cases.
“That raises a lot of questions of whether we have the right support networks in place for families when they do lose a loved one.”
Now working for the Australian Radio Network, Ross pitched the project as a part of their iHeart Network.
“We’ll start releasing episodes next year ahead of the inquest, and then we’ll have a follow-up episode which goes into what happened in court,” Ross said.
Originally published as Ben Chisholm's mysterious island disappearance to be probed by inquest and new podcast
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