Wide Bay missing persons cases that remain a mystery
A man who befriended a hitchhiker, a woman who vanished from her own home and an axe found in a creek; these are people still missing across the Gympie region, Bundaberg region and Fraser Coast. Read the latest.
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A man who befriended a hitchhiker, a woman who vanished from her own home and an axe found in a creek near the home of a missing 29-year-old; these are the missing persons cases from across the Wide Bay that continue to baffle authorities.
The list is dedicated to National Missing Persons Week, which runs during the first week of August to raise awareness of the significant issues surrounding missing people. The week is also used to profile long-term missing persons, and to educate the Australian community.
Marc Mietus
Twenty-two-year-old Marc Mietus had just moved from his family home in Melbourne to Brisbane to be closer to his friends.
On the way to Brisbane, Marc picked up a hitchhiker at Gildara, New South Wales who offered him accommodation at his property at Booyal, near Childers.
After Marc and the hitchhiker arrived in Queensland, Marc began staying between his home in Kelvin Grove, Brisbane and the hitchhiker’s home at Booyal.
Marc disappeared from the Booyal home on January 26, 2000, and was last seen being picked up from the residence by a group of unidentified men from the gate of the property.
Police believe Marc was murdered on an unknown date in late January, 2000.
Marc is described as 184cm with a solid build with dark brown hair and an olive complexion.
He has a tattoo of a cartoon character on one ankle and would now be 43 years old.
An award of $250,000 is on offer for information that leads to his whereabouts.
Martin Cowen
Martin Cowen was 50 years old when he vanished from Gympie on July 31, 2005.
The last known trace found by police was his bicycle, parked beside bushland near his home in Kia Ora.
He last spoke with family on that same date.
Martin was described as a solidly built man with grey hair and blue eyes.
In 2009, his disappearance was presented to the Coroner who officially declared Martin deceased.
Christine Fenner
Christine Fenner was 48 years old when she disappeared from her home at Booyal near Bundaberg.
It’s believed that on February 12, 1999, Christine’s defacto partner left their home but when he returned, she had vanished from the residence.
Christine would now be 71 years old and is described as 162cm tall with a proportional build.
She has brown hair and green eyes.
She has a blue scroll/green heart tattoo on left shoulder.
She also has a scar on her left shoulder.
An age progressed photo was released of Christine in August 2021, in hopes it would solve the mystery of her sudden disappearance.
Jason Hazelgrove
A Gympie father had just returned home from a stint in jail when he went missing in early 2010.
Jason Hazelgrove was just 38 years old when he went missing on the early morning of July 2010, after being dropped off at a Lawrence Street address by his brother.
He last seen by his family at 6pm on July 13, but he was reported being seen walking near the intersection of Tin Can Bay Rd and Randwick Rd about 2am on July 1, 2010.
Anthony Dixon
Family members of then 29-year-old Anthony Dixon raised the alarm when he disappeared from Hervey Bay seven years ago.
Anthony Dixon has been missing from Hervey Bay since March 31, 2015, and was last seen by friends at his Urangan home.
The circumstances surrounding his disappearance are unknown, but he has not made contact with family members, something that was very much out of character.
In 2016, police released images of an axe found in a weighted navy blue and silver esky bag during a search for Anthony.
The axe was wrapped in cloth and was found in a creek near Urangan’s Emerald Park Way on July 23, 2015.
Anthony is described as 180cm tall with a proportional build.
He has brown hair and hazel eyes with a fair complexion.
He would now be 36 years old.
Lawrence Phillips
Lawrence Phillips’ case is the oldest missing persons case in the Wide Bay.
Lawrence was last seen on June 11, 1987, after parking his vehicle at the Somerset View lookout, Gympie.
Mr Phillips had dark hair, blue eyes and was 185cm tall, and would now be 63 years old.
A coronial inquest into Mr Phillips’ disappearance in 1994 returned an open finding, and there is no suggestion of foul play.
Paul Stevenson
Bundaberg dad Paul Stevenson disappeared from an early morning motorbike ride in March 2011.
It’s believed Paul went for a motorbike ride out to Paradise Dam about 4am on the day when he vanished.
The family was alerted when a Wests Panthers club committee member told them Paul, who was also on the rugby league club committee, didn’t show up for a finance meeting that morning.
Police made a baffling discovery in their search just hours after he was reported missing.
His black 1978 Honda motorcycle and helmet were found down an embankment on Mt Perry-Gin Gin Rd about an hour outside of Bundaberg.
His motorbike had scrapes and the indicator on the bike was broken, but there was nothing to indicate Paul encountered an accident.
There was also no blood found at the scene.
Paul’s daughter, Nikki Whelan spoke about her continuing heartbreak over the incident on the 10th anniversary of his disappearance in early 2022.
Kenneth ‘Sammy’ Gallaher
The most recent disappearance was of Gympie resident, Kenneth “Sammy” Gallaher who vanished in 2015, after leaving Queensland for Victoria.
In November 2016, a coroner’s investigation found the 36-year-old most likely died near a popular fishing spot on Port Phillip Bay in July 2015.
Mr Gallaher is described as 179cm tall and of Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander appearance.
His family have not given up hope in the quest to find their son, who was once touted as an upcoming and talented amateur boxer.
They are still calling for anyone with information to come forward.
If you have information that may assist police to locate any of these people please call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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