Kidnap accused, Tony Allan Devine, in Townsville court for alleged kidnapping of nurse

The case of a man alleged to have abducted a nurse on a remote Qld highway has been mentioned for the first time in court since he was charged.

Flinders Highway Google Maps

The case involving a Townsville man accused of abducting a nurse on a North Queensland Highway has been mentioned for the first time in court since he was charged.

Tony Allan Devine, 66, is alleged to have been one of two men who kidnapped a woman from a remote stretch of the Flinders Highway in 1992.

Police arrested the man who was more recently living in Garbutt on May 16 this year.

He has been charged with deprivation of liberty, kidnapping for ransom, unlawful use of vehicle and two counts of robbery with personal violence and has been remanded at Townsville Correctional Centre.

No pleas have been entered.

Tony Allan Devine has been charged with the kidnapping of a nurse on the Flinders Highway in 1992. Picture: Facebook

Police prosecutor Kimberley Rogers-Ford said during Mr Devine’s mention on July 23 in Townsville Magistrates Court that she was waiting on evidence from Mount Isa investigators.

Magistrate Cathy McLennan asked if the case should be moved to Mount Isa Court, which the prosecutor denied.

“The offences range from Julia Creek all the way up to northern Townsville,” Ms Rogers-Ford said.

She said it’s alleged the kidnapping occurred over the course of four hours.

Police alleged the woman escaped from a moving vehicle near Cooktown.

Legal Aid lawyer Veronica Brown asked for an adjournment of the charges so she could take further instructions from her client and for the brief of evidence to be disclosed.

Ms McLennan adjourned it to September 17.

Originally published as Kidnap accused, Tony Allan Devine, in Townsville court for alleged kidnapping of nurse