Joanne Ratcliffe’s sister Suzie speaks of pain of being born after her Adelaide Oval abduction

When Suzie turned 11, she became the same age her sister Joanne was when she was snatched in one of SA’s greatest mysteries. So her parents took an astonishing step.

Suzie Ratcliffe was three and a half years old when she asked her parents who the little girl in the photos around the house was.

Even as a young child she had realised it wasn’t her and someone was missing from the family.

The girl was her big sister Joanne Ratcliffe who had disappeared in one of South Australia’s most notorious mysteries – the Adelaide Oval abduction – 14 months before Suzie was born.

What began as a trip to the footy on a cold August day in 1973 had ended in tragedy when Joanne, 11, and Kirste Jane Gordon, 4 went to the toilet together in the third quarter.

Panic set in when the girls hadn’t returned by the fourth quarter with their parents searching all over the oval and calling out for them over the PA system.

But it was too late and the children had vanished without a trace.

Joanne Ratcliffe, 11, who disappeared from Adelaide Oval. Picture: Supplied

Kirste Gordon, 4, who disappeared from Adelaide Oval. Picture: Supplied

Now 50, Suzie describes being born into a feeling of “ambiguous loss” after losing her sister under the most peculiar and mysterious circumstances.

“I would ask questions about Jo and my mum, dad, and my brother, they all tried to put a sincere front on and – not exactly sweep it under the carpet – but brave it out,” she said.

“They were always forthcoming with information if I asked for information but it wasn’t something we would just chat about around the kitchen table.”

Parents Les and Kathleen remained hopeful the case would be solved until their last days.

But the gaping wound left them living in fear another one of their children would be snatched away from them “so abruptly” and “so unfairly”.

“My parents were really strict,” Suzie said.

“Unless they could be with me, I wasn’t allowed to do the things the other kids could do. I wasn’t allowed to go to friends’ houses or walk to school on my own.

“They were just very overprotective which now as an adult I understand considering their circumstances and the challenges they had to face.”

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Les Ratcliffe, wife Kathleen and daughter Suzie, almost 3, at home in Mundon Street, Campbelltown. Picture: File

Suzie said her mother’s fear reached its peak when she turned 11 – the same age Joanne was when she disappeared – and the Ratcliffes moved away.

“When I was 11-years-old my mum subconsciously thought that it could happen again,” she said.

“She uprooted my brother’s and my life and moved us nearly 900km away from Adelaide and into Coober Pedy.

“At the time it felt like a punishment, to move away from all my friends, but I know mum was just too scared of losing a child.”

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Suzie Ratcliffe never met her sister Joanne Ratcliffe who disappeared at 11 years old. Picture: Tony Gough

Suzie said growing up in this shadow has caused “a depth of pain that you wouldn’t understand unless you’ve been through it yourself” with a kaleidoscope of “conflicting emotions”.

To transform her obsession and pain for good, she launched Leave a Light on Foundation, an organisation dedicated to raising awareness for missing people and connecting the families left behind.

“The Oval Abduction case is fortunate enough to at least to be somewhat remembered compared to a lot of other cases around Australia,” Suzie said.

“We try to make an impact and raise awareness to lesser known cases and call on politicians, police, and the general public to act.

“It’s especially important for the public to come forward if they have any information because you never know what piece of fact is missing for the police to put it all together.”

More than 50 years on from Joanne’s disappearance, Suzie remains hopeful her sister’s body will be found so she can be honoured with a proper resting place.