THE Spear Creek victims were on the second day of their outback adventure when the mystery man appeared.
He, like them, was a motorcycle enthusiast.
It was the 1970s and touring the outback by motorcycle was a popular pastime. And for Karen Edwards, her boyfriend Timothy Thomson and his friend Gordon Twaddle, it was going to be an adventure of a lifetime.
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They met in Alice Springs on September 30 and packed a homemade sidecar with camping equipment that Tim would attach to his red 1977 BMW R100S motorcycle.
They left on October 2, heading north and camping the first night at Ti Tree. Tim had Karen as his pillion passenger and his nine-month-old Doberman pup Tristie rode on top of the sidecar. Gordon – who came from a family of motorbike enthusiasts - rode a blue 1977 Suzuki GS750.
Their plan was to travel from Alice Springs, through the Northern Territory outback and across to Mount Isa, then to Cairns and down the east coast of Australia, arriving in Melbourne in time for Christmas.
But three days into their journey, Karen, Tim and Gordon were lured into the bush at Spear Creek, north of Mount Isa, and shot.
Their bodies were discovered three weeks later.
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The Courier-Mail has revealed police are now reviewing the 40-year-old mystery and are confident of solving it. The case is also the subject of a new true crime podcast called Spear Creek.
And more details have emerged of a mystery man who met the group on the road – somewhere between Alice Springs and Mount Isa.
The man has never been identified and police want him to come forward.
Detectives believe the man was with the three friends when they arrived at the Frewena Roadhouse and camped with them at Barry Caves on the night of October 3.
“It is believed the trio met up with a further male motorcyclist between the Three Ways and Frewena and this person travelled with them from Frewena to Barry Caves, camping with the group overnight,” Homicide Detective Senior Sergeant Tara Kentwell said.
The Courier-Mail has spoken to Harry Griffiths - the man who ran the Frewena Roadhouse in 1978 - who remembers the group passing through.
He has distinct memories of the fourth mystery man travelling with them.
“We were at the roadhouse and a motorbike pulled in - a BMW with a sidecar on it - which was very unusual for up in that country,” Mr Griffiths said.
“And there was a bloke and a sheila and a little dog on it. They filled up with fuel and pulled out of the way of the bowser and the girl went and got the dog a drink of water and they came into the roadhouse and had some drinks.
“And then within a couple of minutes another bike pulled in and it filled up and moved over out of the way of the bowser.
“And then a third bike came in and it did the same and they were all in the bar and they had drinks together and they played pool together and then they left together.
“One was a tall bloke, the other two blokes were probably medium and the girl was a little sort of a girl.”
Mr Griffiths said the three men drank a couple of beers and the girl ordered a squash. He said she spent most of her time looking after the dog.
“They were there for the afternoon, more or less in the heat of the day,” he said.
He said he served them drinks and interacted with them by way of “normal talk you do over the bar”.
The four travellers interacted as though they were friends, Mr Griffiths said.
“As though they were all travelling together,” he said. “And that they all knew each other.”
The mystery man on the motorbike is believed to have travelled with Karen, Tim and Gordon all the way to Mount Isa.
The three friends booked into the Moondarra Caravan Park that night, paying for a two night stay.
That night, on October 4, the group was joined by a man driving at Toyota LandCruiser at the caravan park. He socialised with them for the evening before returning again the next morning.
All four were seen leaving in the LandCruiser. It was the last time Karen, Tim and Gordon were seen alive.
It is believed the man on the motorbike and the man in the LandCruiser were likely the same person.
Tim’s Doberman puppy Tristie was found abandoned the following day at the Mount Isa tip and was sadly put down.
Detectives reviewing the case say time is up for the killer.
“I would encourage those responsible for this offence to take no solace in the passage of time,” Det Sen Sgt Tara Kentwell said.
“Police are actively progressing this investigation to bring offenders to justice and provide some form of closure for the families and the Mount Isa community.”
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