Family of missing model resume search for answers

Fifty years after Lucille Butterworth disappeared from a Claremont bus stop, her brother has dived into the River Derwent and is “confident of finding something.”

THE search is back on to find the remains of Lucille Butterworth, 50 years after she vanished from a Claremont bus stop.

The disappearance of the 20-year-old model and beauty queen in August 1969 is possibly the most documented cold case investigation in Tasmanian history, and has puzzled police, media and Lucille’s family for five decades.

Seven years after her disappearance, key suspect in the case Geoffrey Charles Hunt allegedly confessed to murdering Lucille while he was being questioned by police about the murder and rape of 24-year-old Susan Knight — a crime for which Hunt served 22 years in prison.

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But no record of Hunt’s admission of guilt was made, as it is alleged police believed a confession about Lucille’s murder would hinder the Susan Knight investigation.

The case of Lucille’s disappearance lay dormant for years before eventually reopening in 2011 under Detective Inspector David Plumpton.

In 2015 police dug up an abandoned riverside car park between Granton and New Norfolk, but the two-week excavation found nothing.

A year later a coronial inquest concluded Lucille was a victim of homicide.

John Butterworth (pictured in the Derwent River at The Millbrook Rise Boat Ramp), brother of Lucille Butterworth, flew to Tasmania from Queensland to search for the remains of his sister. His friend and master diver, Phil Shepherd (left) assisted in the search. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

Memorial for Lucille Butterworth unveiled today at Claremont Park. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE.

Lucille Butterworth's disappearance remains unsolved. Picture: Supplied

Lucille’s younger brother John, now 65, lives interstate, but he is back in Tasmania this week seeking answers for his sister’s death.

Mr Butterworth was yesterday joined by friend and dive expert Phil Shepherd as the pair searched parts of the River Derwent near New Norfolk where Mr Butterworth believes Lucille’s body may have been dumped.

John Butterworth, brother of Lucille Butterworth, right, flew to Tasmania from Queensland to search for the remains of his sister. His friend and master diver, Phil Shepherd (left) assisted in the search. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

A police search of the river for Lucille’s remains has never been conducted.

Mr Butterworth said while the on-and-off police investigation was no longer active, the family’s search for answers had never ceased.

He said an alleged confession by Hunt to a fellow inmate at Risdon Prison, describing the area where the incident occurred, gave him reason to believe Lucille’s remains could be found in the Derwent.

Mr Butterworth said before his dive yesterday that he was feeling anxious, but he was “confident of finding something”.

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Originally published as Family of missing model resume search for answers