Beaumont children search: Police end today’s dig, having found no human remains

IN all-too-familiar scenes, the search for the missing Beaumont children ended in more questions being created than answers.

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IN all-too-familiar scenes the search for the missing Beaumont children ended in more questions being created than answers.

At 5.30pm weary detectives, forensic specialists and SES volunteers called off the search at the New Castalloy factory in North Plympton, with no plans to return to the site in the coming weeks.

Workers take a water break during the dig at the Castalloy factory for the Beaumont children. Picture: Dylan Coker

After more than eight hours of work in the heat and dust, detectives unearthed bones, but not the remains they were looking for. A specialist forensic anthropologist quickly ­confirmed that the bones were not those of Jane, 9, Arnna, 7, and Grant, 4, who disappeared from Glenelg Beach on Australia Day, 1966.

In fact the bones weren’t human. The anthropologist told police the bones filling their sieves came from a large animal like a horse or cow.

Police examine items unearthed during the dig at the Castalloy factory. Picture: Dylan Coker

In scenes reminiscent of a 2013 dig at the same suburban Adelaide site, detectives were once again forced to call off the search.

The head of the Major Crime division, Detective Superintendent Des Bray, expressed his disappointment at the result but said his detectives remained committed to solving the case, which has hung over police – and the state – for more than 50 years.

“It is disappointing but not surprising and we will continue to work to find the Beaumont children,” Supt Bray said.

“I can confirm that we found bones of various animals, possibly cows, horses and sheep, but nothing human has been located at the site.”

A forensic crime scene investigator with an evidence bag. Picture: Dylan Coker

Supt Bray said the latest chapter in the five-decade search had left Beaumont parents Jim and Nancy, now aged in their 90s, without the closure and answers they had long sought.

“Sadly, this means for the Beaumont family that we still have no answers,” he said.

Supt Bray said police were confident the secluded area at the sprawling Castalloy factory had been used as a dump for household waste and discarded bones.

The refuse created the soil anomaly noted by Flinders University researchers during examinations of the area in January 2018.

Early in the day Detective Chief Inspector Greg Hutchins urged caution on jumping to conclusions about the anomaly.

“There are explanations for this anomaly but clearly we need to excavate the site to identify what that anomaly is,” Chf Insp Hutchins said.

“The parents of the three Beaumont children have suffered significantly over the last 52 years. We have our fingers crossed. We hope for the best.”

Supt Bray broke the news at 5.30pm that there was no sign of the children.

“At some point the hole has been filled in, but there is nothing at all found today to link the hole with the disappearance of the Beaumont children,” he said.

“I can confirm after speaking with (Flinders University archaeologist) Dr Ian Moffat that this is the only site warranting exploration in this area and we are satisfied that this brings the search here to a conclusion. I don’t think there is anyone in the country who doesn’t want to find the Beaumont children.”

“We still have a lot of work to do and a lot of Crime Stoppers calls to investigate. We will always do everything humanly possible to find the Beaumont children and take them home to their families.”

The excavation began at about 8am with an excavator clearing a metre of hardened top soil from a large area in the “sandpit” of the factory.

The large grassy area at the back of the factory had been used as a dumping site for sand mouldings from the factory. Once the excavator was through the top layers, the dig progressed quickly.

As the excavator approached the seam of the anomaly, the pace slowed and detectives and experts descended into the pit to examine the items as they were unearthed.

As small bones in the bottom of the pit were discovered and evidence bagged for further analysis, tension rose among the crowd gathered outside the factory.

However, police were quick to convey confirmation that the bones were not human, bringing an end to the rising hope created after the dig was announced last week.

Jane, Grant and Arnna Beaumont.

In a case like this, there can never be a satisfying result

THE disappearance of the Beaumont children became an obsession for the detectives who pursued the case and the journalists who covered it.

Yesterday, as police once again broke ground in the latest search for Jane, 9, Arnna, 7, and Grant, 4, people captivated by the mystery of the three missing children gathered outside.

Former South Australian police detective Bill Hayes, who has pursued the case relentlessly for more than a decade, said he had to consciously fight the compulsion to become obsessed with the case.

“The difficulty is becoming obsessed by it and there is a tendency for that to happen,” Mr Hayes said.

“I made it very clear when I came on board that I would not become obsessed, I would treat it like any other investigations. I wouldn’t become obsessed with the outcome because that is when you start trying to make the evidence fit.

“There hasn’t been another case like this where three siblings went missing never to be seen again anywhere in the world.”

People walking through the park opposite the dig site said they and their families had vivid memories of the disappearance of the children and many hoped the mystery would finally be solved.

But for Mr Hayes, solving the mystery would mean acknowledging a grim reality.

“I’ve asked myself about what is a successful outcome, what is a successful day,” Mr Hayes said.

“Is a successful day finding something, which means that three small children met a terrible death?

“I wouldn’t class that as successful, it would be very, very sad.

“On the other hand there is the aspect of finally having the answers and that’s the whole point, to find the children and finally have answers.”

- Andrew Dowdell