Diary of former Bowen tip boss may lead Antonio family to body of missing teen Rachel

A QUEENSLAND father has called on police to search the tip for the body of his missing daughter, as new evidence shows a two day search could end an enduring murder mystery. SEE THE VIDEO

IAN Antonio has called on police to search the Bowen tip for the body of his missing daughter, Rachel, as new evidence shows it could be done with relative ease.

A Courier-Mail investigation has unearthed log books showing exactly where Rachel’s body would be if it had been taken to the dump, as her father believes.

Former tip manager Hugh Smith still has his diaries from almost 20 years ago and has revealed the tip could be searched in days, not months.

Ian and Cheryl Antonio examine the work diary of former Bowen tip manager Hugh Smith as the search for the body of their daughter Rachel goes on. Pic: Peter Wallis

“If the body’s there, we’ll find it,” Mr Smith says in the final instalment of the podcast Searching for Rachel Antonio.

It comes as witness statements from the brief of evidence reveal suspect Robert Hytch was accused of hitting a 16-year-old former girlfriend.

Mr Hytch’s former partner told police investigating Rachel’s disappearance he punched her in the head and took her to hospital, where she received stitches to a cut above her eye.

The girlfriend did not take her allegations to police at the time and he was never charged.

In July a coroner found that Mr Hytch killed Rachel and hid her body. Mr Hytch is appealing against the finding and declined to comment on his ex-girlfriend’s allegation.

EDITORIAL: Hope that the mystery of Rachel’s disappearance will be solved

Mr Antonio and his wife Cheryl believe their daughter’s body was put in a skip and taken to the tip, which has never been searched.

The Antonios met Mr Smith at the tip last Thursday after The Courier-Mail gained permission from the Whitsunday Regional Council for the visit.

Mr Smith showed Rachel’s parents his diaries and a grassed area where he put the town’s waste after Rachel vanished on Anzac Day 1998.

His log books have never been seen by authorities and he was not contacted ahead of the recent inquest into ­Rachel’s disappearance.

The Bowen rubbish tip on the outskirts of the town where it is believed Rachel’s body may lie. The diary indicates an area (top centre) as being used in April 1998. Pic Peter Wallis

The Courier-Mail told the Antonios about the existence of the diaries last week.

“It’s all pretty simple – definitely worth a look, most definitely,” Mr Antonio said after the tip visit.

Mr Smith, who worked at the tip for about 20 years, said Rachel’s body would be “easy enough to find”, and he called for a police search.

Police wanted to bring cadaver dogs to the tip and ­approached Mr Smith months after Rachel went missing, the podcast reveals. However, the search would have been futile because of the range of scents at the tip and did not go ahead.

When told of the new information this week, a police spokesman said all leads would be followed.

“The Queensland Police Service is committed to the ongoing investigation of all unsolved homicides,” the spokesman said. “Inquiries will be made by the relevant detectives into any and all new information.”

A sketch in the diary of former tip manager Hugh Smith indicates the area where rubbish was being dumped in April 1998 when Rachel disappeared. Pic: Peter Wallis

For the past month, the podcast series has been re-­examining Rachel’s disappearance.

Holes have been highlighted in the police investigation at the time and in the prosecution of Mr Hytch, who was acquitted of Rachel’s manslaughter at a retrial.

It was revealed that Mr Smith phoned the Antonios last year and said police had declined to search the rubbish in the days after Rachel went missing.

Concerns have also been raised that prosecutors did not try to use Rachel’s diary and letters at Mr Hytch’s second trial, despite a change in the law allowing them to be used.

Mr Antonio initially thought there was no chance the tip could be searched. He revealed in the podcast’s first episode that he thought his daughter’s killer had limited time and would have put her body in an unlocked skip.

But back then he said there was a mountain of rubbish at the tip where there was once a deep hole, and he thought a search would be impossible.

Former Bowen tip manager Hugh Smith indicates the likely area. Pic: Peter Wallis

“You used to go down 30 metres, and now you go up 30 metres. There’s no prospect ever, ever, ever,” Mr Antonio said at the time.

However, his view changed after meeting Mr Smith last week, and he now says he would try to pay for a search himself if police refused.

Police and State Emergency Services volunteers searched thousands of hectares around Bowen for any trace of Rachel, despite no evidence her body was at any of the locations.

Follow the bold links to listen to Searching for Rachel Antonio:

iPhone or iPad users search for “rachel antonio podcast” on iTunes — by clicking subscribe, each weekly episode will appear on your podcast app.

Android users can listen by following The Courier-Mail on Soundcloud at soundcloud.com/couriermail.