Two orphaned sisters’ public plea for information on missing brother Brian Fulljames

Two sisters, who were orphaned as children, have been searching for their missing brother Brian Fulljames for half a century. Can you help solve the mystery?

Brian Fulljames – the eldest of three orphans – was last seen 50 years ago when he was 34-years-old.

His family is begging the public to come forward with any information they might have to help solve the mystery of the now 83-year-old missing man before it’s too late.

Rumoured ties to a major drug ring, in a time before passports and documentation were needed for Brian to travel from his homeland to Australia, possible name changes, and suspicions of foul play out at sea currently surround the half-a-century-old mystery.

Brian’s younger sisters, Bev Hanson and Carleene McCoy, have spent their lives searching for their long-lost brother after they lost contact with him in the late 1970s.

“Our parents died in their mid-40s – about six weeks apart – in the 1950s, when I was nine and my siblings were in their late teens,” Carleene explained.

“I was left in the care of my brother and sister in our family home, but that didn’t work so welfare stepped in and I was moved around to 12 different homes.”

“We stayed together as long as we could,” Bev said.

Carleene remains close with her now 81-year-old big sister, who is a great motivator in the search for Brian.

“I’m very very close to her, she’s like a mother to me,” Carleene said.

“So that’s why I’m trying so hard to find out what happened to our brother.

“As she’s gotten older, Bev has battled hurdles like illness and injury, so she just can’t do it anymore.

“I doubt he’s alive, but my sister and I aren’t getting any younger so I want to get answers while we’re both still here.”

The search initially began in New Zealand.

“Because he was an adult, the New Zealand police didn’t seem to be too interested when we first reported him missing,” Carleene said.

“So someone suggested we report him missing here in Australia, since that’s where he was last seen.

“When he came here, we didn’t need to have passports, and he’s supposedly changed his name as well which has made things very difficult.”

The sisters first found out Brian had changed his name when he told Bev through a handwritten letter.

“He wrote to her for a long time,” Carleene explained.

Bev and Carleene have kept those letters, along with police documents, missing persons’ reports, possible leads, interview transcriptions, photos and more in a folder dedicated to solving the mystery of their brother’s disappearance.

Brian’s now ex-girlfriend travelled with him to Australia, and she’s one of the many people the sisters have interviewed in their search.

“I found her last week and had some great chats with her, so we know a little bit more of what happened when he first got here,” Carleene said.

“But she left him in the early ‘70s I think.”

She explained that Brian moved around Australia a lot, which has made the search even harder.

Police in Orange saw him before his disappearance, when Brian reported a break-in to his car.

“A number of musical items and equipment were stolen from his van,” Carleene explained.

“At that time, he told us he was a roadie for John Farnham, so that would’ve been years and years ago.”

Brian was known to frequent Rockhampton and North Sydney, and has also attended medical institutions in Melbourne and North Ryde over the years.

“People come out of the woodwork, trying to help, one person even alluded to Brian getting caught up with and murdered by corrupt Northern Territory authorities,” Carleene said.

“It seems very farfetched, but there were murders up there in the 1980s and this person told us that the bones of 11 people were uncovered in the 1990s at Lake Bennett.

“I don’t know if there’s any truth in it but I wrote to police and asked if any remains could be matched to my DNA.”

While that lead didn’t turn up any new evidence, another DNA search deepened the mystery.

“We did a search through an online heritage site and it picked up the DNA of a girl whose great grandmother was our grandmother,” Carleene said.

“That would mean Brian had another daughter, unless she’s linked through another part of the family.

“But the girl is saying she found her father and it isn’t Brian.

“So we’re still investigating, it’s another mystery.”

“I have spent most of my life looking for him, and the closure of knowing his whereabouts would be so nice and appreciated,” Bev added.

“He has two daughters in New Zealand as well who would love to know what happened.”

Brian was spotted in Australia for the last time in 1973, by a familiar face.

“He was last seen in Darwin by someone from our hometown, Whangarei” Carleene explained.

“They saw him at a pub and said Brian was working on shrimp boats, fishing from the Northern Territory up to New Guinea.

“We thought maybe that was a link with the drug trade too – it’d be so easy for someone to disappear if you think about it, just throw them overboard.”

Since she now lives on the Mid North Coast, Carleene reported to the Forster police when she took over the search from Bev late last year.

Local detectives initiated nationwide inquiries which have not yet been successful.

“I wouldn’t have thought it was that interesting, but Senior Constable Bonner has been great – he’s done everything he can to help,” Carleene said.

“They’ve taken my DNA, the New Zealand police have taken my sister’s DNA, and the matter has now gone to Interpol.

“When they were visiting my sister, Bev mentioned that Brian might have (stumbled across) the Mr Asia drug ring in New Zealand – which made the case a whole lot more interesting for the authorities.”

Carleene explained that Mr Asia – one of New Zealand’s biggest drug syndicates of all time – involved people from Whangarei, many of who are now dead.

“People (involved with the drug ring) did tend to go missing, and I think Brian met them down at our town base where all the boats were,” Carleene said.

“He used to love boats, and spent a bit of time working on them, so my sister thought maybe that connection could’ve had something to do with his disappearance.

“It seems a bit way out, but how does someone just absolutely disappear from everywhere?

“We’ve tried everything – searching cemeteries and graves, exploring possible death certificates, reporting to police, consulting a private investigator, a search through the Salvation Army, and have explored leads offered by various people that have popped up wanting to help.

“But we’ve never been able to find out what happened to him.”

Possible names the missing man may now go by include Phil James and Brian James.

The search continues, and his loved ones aren’t giving up.

“It does take a toll, because you don’t know what to believe,” Carleene said.

“I find myself getting quite depressed about it all, but my family has been so supportive and understanding.

“My daughters have said it might be time to give it away, but we never will.”

Manning Great-Lakes Police District’s Crime Manager, Detective Chief Inspector Rod Blackman,

“Missing persons’ cases have a long-term and traumatic toll on families, many of whom never get over their loved ones vanishing,” Detective Chief Inspector Rod Blackman said.

Brian is of caucasian appearance, has blue eyes and slightly balding dark brown hair, and is 160cm – 170cm tall.

Disclaimer: The Mid North Coast News does not suggest Mr Fulljames was involved in illegal drug activity.