Traie Olsen disappearance: Police reveal most likely scenario behind mystery

It’s 1am on a Thursday and a barefoot Traie Olsen stands by her car in a heated discussion with a man she’d just been in a minor collision with. It’s the last confirmed sighting of the Toowoomba mother, and now police have new information about what they think happened to her.

It’s 1am on a Thursday and a barefoot Traie Olsen stands by her car in a heated discussion with a man she’d just been in a minor collision with.

They’re at a petrol station on Bridge St in Toowoomba, the business’s CCTV cameras capturing the man standing by the back of Ms Olsen’s silver Mazda hatchback.

She points at him and they exchange tense words before he retreats and she turns to fill up her car.

At the cashier window, her agitation is clear. Eyes wide, she leans into the glass safety barrier to emphasise a point.

It’s the last confirmed sighting of the Toowoomba mother – back on February 17 when the nights were mild in the Lockyer Valley.

It would be more than a week before a missing person’s alert was distributed to media and not until March 2 that her abandoned car was discovered wedged into a ditch on a remote dirt road out of town.

Toowoomba Detective Acting Inspector Renee Garske said police had conducted extensive searches for Ms Olsen and work was still continuing to determine what else could be done to find the 50-year-old.

She said while police have not ruled anything out, the most likely scenario was Ms Olsen’s vehicle had become stuck and she’d attempted to walk to safety.

Traie Olsen’s car was found abandoned on Gittins Road, Withcott. Picture: Supplied/Queensland Police.

“It’s quite a large area,” she said.

“Potentially she has gone walking in that area. And in the dark it is easy to become disorientated.”

Ms Olsen’s Mazda was found abandoned on Gittins Rd near Steven’s Rd, south of Murphy’s Creek Rd, in remote bushland.

The road was not suitable for a 2WD and police can find no reason why Ms Olsen would have been out driving in the middle of the night.

Just north of where the Mazda was found, off Green Gully Rd, police say a red utility was parked with its bonnet open. They’ve made public appeals for the owner of that vehicle to come forward in case they saw anything that could help them trace Ms Olsen’s movements.

Det Insp Garske said police – including stock squad officers on horseback – joined State Emergency Services volunteers to scour the bushland around Ms Olsen’s car.

Some personal items, including a towel, were found by the vehicle.

Toowoomba woman Traie Olsen has been missing since February 17, 2022.

“We have also searched using drones and had the police dive squad search a nearby dam.

“We try to exhaust everything,” Det Insp Garske said.

Police have also conducted checks of Ms Olsen’s bank account and phone records.

Footage from Department of Transport and Main Roads traffic cameras was scoured, as well as local CCTV.

From this, police obtained the footage of Ms Olsen at the service station.

The Queensland Police Service’s state search co-ordinator is currently reviewing Ms Olsen’s disappearance to determine what further searches should be conducted.

Det Insp Garske said police often relied on help from the community to solve missing person’s cases.

“We certainly encourage people to come forward with whatever information they have, regardless of how insignificant it might be, it could be the linchpin that helps us find her,” she said.

Ms Olsen is described as caucasian, about 165cm with a slight build, black hair and brown eyes.

She was driving a 2004 Mazda hatchback with Queensland registration 456DC8.

Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000.