Suzie Ratcliffe, sister of abducted sibling Joanne, suspects person of interest is linked to missing Beaumont children

THE sister of Joanne Ratcliffe, who was abducted from Adelaide Oval in 1973, suspects a dead man who is a person of interest in the case of the missing Beaumont children could be responsible for both crimes.

• Man named ‘person of interest’ in missing Beaumont children case
• Special report: Where did they go on that fateful day?
• Police to dig at North Plympton in search for Beaumonts
• Parents talk of their pain over the Adelaide Oval abduction

THE sister of Joanne Ratcliffe, who was abducted from Adelaide Oval in 1973, suspects a dead man who is a person of interest in the case of the missing Beaumont children could be responsible for both crimes.

Major Crime detectives are preparing to excavate a new site in relation to the Beaumont case, at a North Plympton factory formerly owned by Frederick Henry ‘Harry’ Phipps.

Suzie Ratcliffe, 43, has told Sky News that Mr Phipps, who died in 2004, could have been involved in abducting her sister, then 11, and four-year-old Kirste Gordon.

“He was in Adelaide at the time the girls went missing,” she said.

Suzie Ratcliffe at Adelaide Oval, from where her sister Joanne was abducted.

“The young suspect (photos of a young Mr Phipps) looked similar to that of the photo fit in our case.”

But police have urged the public to “temper expectations” about the planned dig, saying there could be a “perfectly innocent explanation” for why it appears a hole was previously dug there.

Ms Ratcliffe agreed, urging others with missing family members not to get their hopes up. “It builds up your hope and then if it doesn’t turn out it’s heartbreaking all over again,” she said.

Inside the lives of the Beaumont children

VIEW GALLERY

Detective Superintendent Des Bray said Mr Phipps was among a dozen persons of interest in the disappearance of Jane Beaumont, 9, her sister, Arnna, 7, and brother Grant, 4, on January 26, 1966.

Police will be launching a new excavation of a 6sq m area of the Castalloy factory, where Mr Phipps operated as chairman and co-founder in 1966.

The latest chapter in the five decade long search is expected to begin within the next fortnight. Phipps has been investigated in relation to the disappearance numerous times since 2007.

“In these cases, whenever we have a person of interest, it is our job to prove whether the person was responsible or not,” Det-Supt Bray said.

“Sometimes the matter remains unresolved and that is the case with Mr Phipps.”

An investigation in 2007 was inconclusive but was renewed in 2013 when two men came forward and said they had dug a large hole at the site at Phipps’ request.

One of those men, David Harkin, last night told Channel 7 he and another boy were asked by Mr Phipps to dig a hole at the rear of the factory three days after the Beaumont children went missing.

“It was approximately two yards long, a yard wide, and about our height,” he said.

“As kids, we dug a hole at the back of the factory.”

Det-Supt Bray said Mr Harkin and the other man were “helpful and truthful” but were only boys at the time and may have told police the wrong location. “There could be an innocent explanation or it could be the hole,” Det-Supt Bray said.