$500k reward posted on 30th anniversary of Mark Haine’s death in Tamworth

THIRTY years ago, teenager Mark Haines was left for dead with major head injuries on a train track near Tamworth. Now detectives believe a group Queenslanders know the secret behind his death.

FOR 30 years a group of Queenslanders have held a dark secret close to their chest, detectives believe.

The Sunday Mail can reveal the possible murder of Mark Haines outside Tamworth in 1988 hinges on a group of people living in southeast Queensland.

Now, with the 30th anniversary of Mr Haines’ death on Tuesday, a $500,000 reward has been offered for information.

It comes after the Haines family posted their own $20,000 reward last year to “embarrass” cops into action.

Either they or people they know were with the 17-year-old boy on the night he was left for dead with a major head injury on a railway track.

Mark Haines died after being hit by a train near Tamworth. Picture: NBN/9 News

Several months later a coroner would find the indigenous teenager died after being hit by a train. But how or why he was there has never been explained.

NSW detectives will travel to Brisbane next month to interview up to 10 people in Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast.

“They were certainly involved with Mark during the early part of the evening, the night before then two, three o’clock in the morning,” Detective Senior Constable Craig Dunn, of Tamworth police, said.

“We believe seriously there are a number of people up there that are aware of what happened to Mark on that night.

“We don’t believe he was by himself – whether he was intentionally murdered or it was death by misadventure, that’s the piece to the puzzle we don’t know.”

Just a few hours before his death Mr Haines walked his girlfriend home about 3.30am.

Witnesses have reported seeing a white Holden Torana speeding around the street at the time.

The same car, which had been stolen, was found abandoned nearby on the morning Mr Haines’s body was discovered.

Mark Haines’ family protests outside Tamworth police station before a reward was announced for information on his death. Picture: NBN/9 News

Initially police thought Mr Haines had stolen the car but now they believe another person was behind the wheel.

“We’re thinking Mark either got into that car or another car that may have been with (the Torana),” Tamworth’s Detective Senior Constable Michael Maloney said.

Some of the Queenslanders were interviewed by detectives in November but others have never spoken about the matter.

Sen-Constable Dunn said these people had gone on to live normal lives owning “businesses and working for major corporations, some have even retired”.

Police are appealing to their consciences to now reveal what they know.

“They can put their mind to rest and come and talk to us,” he said.

Evidence, overlooked by police early on, always convinced the family the death was sinister.

This included a towel, subsequently lost by police, that had been found under Mr Haines’ head on the railway.

And despite the coroner’s finding that he’d been hit by a train there was virtually no blood at the scene.

“The family has always maintained the boy has met with foul play,” uncle Don Craigie said this week.

“I would say to anyone out there who has any information or was quite possibly there … if they have a conscious and could imagine if it happened to a loved one from their family, how would they feel.

“Would they turn their back? Or would they then be able to appreciate the anguish we have been through?”