Bruce John Preston, 63, from Goulburn has been taken into custody and charged, more than 40 years after a couple walking their dogs discovered the first of three bodies in the bush, 12km north of Mount Isa.

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The Spear Creek case was recently reviewed by the Queensland Police Homicide Investigation Unit’s cold case team, along with detectives from Mount Isa.

Unassuming bush dad a key suspect

Spear Creek: Police field 50 calls about triple murder

The Courier-Mail revealed today the former head of Goulburn Correctional Centre’s Special Emergency Response Team was a “key suspect” in the case.

Preston, a father-of-two, flew into Brisbane last night and was arrested today.

Karen, 23, her boyfriend Tim, 31, and his friend Gordon, 21, were three days into a trip around Australia when they are believed to have been lured into the bush and shot.

The two men were motorbike enthusiasts and the group had been travelling the outback on two bikes – including one with a homemade sidecar carrying camping gear and Tim’s Doberman pup Tristie.

They left Alice Springs on October 2, travelling through the Northern Territory and across to Alice Springs, stopping at roadhouses along the way.

At Frewena, in the NT, witnesses said the three travellers had been joined by a fourth person – another man on a motorbike.

He was still with the group, according to witnesses, when they arrived in Mount Isa. Karen, Tim and Gordon booked in the Moondarra Caravan Park for two nights and were joined that evening by a man in a brown and white Toyota LandCruiser.

The man socialised with them before driving away. The LandCruiser returned the following morning and collected the trio. Tristie was left tied up at the caravan park.

The 4WD returned at dusk and the driver dismantled the campsite, taking everything but the sidecar. Fellow campers said a man was heard calling out for Tristie.

The bodies of Karen, Tim and Gordon were not discovered for another three weeks. Their killer had stripped them of any identification, turning their pockets inside out.

But a search of the crime scene led to the discovery of a tiny watch, its band broken, hidden in the spinifex beside Karen’s body. Photographs of the watch were released to the media and were recognised by Karen’s father Jack, who had given it to her for her 12th birthday.

In the weeks that followed, items belonging to the trio were discovered in and around the town.

Gordon’s bike, a 1977 Suzuki GS750, was later found abandoned at a service station. The camping gear was discovered hidden in 44-gallon drums at the Mount Isa tip.

Tim’s dog, Tristie, had been spotted at the dump. She was picked up by the council and taken to the pound. Sadly, when nobody came to collect her, she was destroyed.

Tim’s bike, a distinctive red 1977 BMW R100S, was found in the possession of local man Bruce Preston.

Preston told police at the time he had seen people trying to start the bike on the side of the road. He told police he’d shouted out, believing they were stealing the bike, and decided to steal it himself.

Preston, then aged 23, was charged with theft, pleaded guilty and was fined $300.

He told police he had travelled by bike from Melbourne to his home in Mount Isa, passing through Alice Springs. He told police he had not come in contact with the three friends and denied any involvement in the deaths.

Preston flew into Brisbane last night and was today taken into custody and charged with three counts of murder in connection with the case.

Detective Senior Sergeant Tara Kentwell said Karen, Tim and Gordon had been on the “adventure of a lifetime” when they were killed.

“Today, detectives from the Homicide Cold Case investigation team and the Mount Isa Criminal Investigation Branch, have arrested a 63-year-old man from Goulburn, New South Wales, for the 1978 murders of Karen Edwards, Tim Thomson and Gordon Twaddle,” she said.

“This man, originally from Mount Isa, was interviewed by police in 1978 and on the 13th November, 1978, was charged with stealing Tim Thomson’s motorcycle.

“He was convicted and fined $300.

“A two-tone brown and white Toyota LandCruiser and a number of firearms associated with the man’s address were forensically examined at the time.

“This man has again been interviewed as part of our recent review.

“We believe that the man was known to the three victims.

“As this matter is now before the court, I’m not in a position to provide any further details in relation to the man’s identity or the evidence before the court.

“We have notified the families of Karen, Tim and Gordon of the arrest. They are, as you can imagine, relieved with the outcome.”

She renewed her earlier pleas for information, saying more than 50 calls from members of the public had already come in.

“We believe that there are still witnesses out there who hold vital information and we appeal to any persons who hold such information to come forward,” Det Sen Sgt Kentwell said.

“We are seeking anyone who may have seen the group travelling from Alice Springs to Mount Isa, between the 2nd and the 4th of October, 1978, particularly the motorcyclist, who joined them for the last part of their journey, from Frewena into Mount Isa, to contact police.

“We are seeking anyone who may be able to identify the driver or the owner of a two-tone brown and white long-wheel-drive Toyota LandCruiser seen at Moondarra Caravan Park on the 4th and 5th of October, 1978, to contact police.

“We are seeking anyone who may have seen either the blue Suzuki motorcycle or the red BMW motorcycle being moved from the Moondarra Caravan Park into the Mount Isa CBD around the 5th of October, 1978, and subsequently ridden around town, to contact police.

“We are seeking anyone who may have knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the male person being located in possession of the motorcycle on 13th of November, 1978, to contact police.”

Finally, she said police wanted to speak again to a couple – a man and woman – with a VW Kombi who had been staying at the caravan park.

“In 1978, police spoke with two witnesses,” Det Sen Sgt Kentwell said.

“A couple, male and female, who were staying at the Moondarra Caravan Park. They were doing repairs on a gearbox of a VW Kombi on a vacant block of land, just outside the Mount Isa drive in picture theatre on or around the 4th of October, 1978.

“Police have been unable to locate the current whereabouts of these two witnesses and are seeking these two witnesses to come forward again so they can be reinterviewed.

“We ask that if anybody has any information, no matter how small or irrelevant they think it might be, to contact Crime Stoppers.

“It’s never too late to come forward. Relationships and loyalties change. People who were once scared may no longer be and we’d encourage these persons to come forward.”

Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000.