Christmas cold cases and missing persons: The Australians who never made it home
The festive season is meant to be a time for family, but for some, Christmas is a reminder of when their daughters, brothers, mothers and friends vanished without a trace.
The festive season is meant to be a time for family but for some, Christmas is a reminder of when their daughters, brothers, mothers and friends went missing without a trace.
It’s an impossible concept to grasp for those whose hearts are whole at this time of year; a world without one of those gorgeous smiling faces at the Christmas Day dinner table.
But it’s a reality countless Australian families have lived with for decades.
From high profile cases that have gripped the nation and still offer hefty rewards, to lesser known disappearances that are just as heartbreaking, these are the stories of everyday Aussies who never made it home for Christmas.
HELEN KARIPIDIS, NSW
Missing since December 22, 1988
Then 10-year-old Helen Karipidis vanished while playing outside her family’s housing complex in the Inner West of Sydney.
She was with a group of children outside the complex in the suburb of Marrickville just before her dinner time. She never returned for tea.
A 2012 inquest heard Helen endured a difficult upbringing and may have been preparing to run away.
Her parents, Theo and Voula, had recently separated at the time of the disappearance and Mrs Karipidis had been awarded custody of the children.
The inquest heard Theo was “fiercely violent” to the children, according to a teacher who formed a close bond with Helen’s older sister, Maria.
The inquest also heard a “nice man” regularly took Maria and Helen to Kings Cross where they took their clothes off and were photographed.
Mr and Mrs Karipidis, who were present in court, suggested Maria had bipolar disorder and was prone to “making things up”, but former teacher Anne Martin said she had always found the girl to be truthful at school.
The inquest concluded Helen died on or after December 22 but her body has not been found. The case has since been with the NSW Police Force’s unsolved homicide unit.
The matter is expected to undergo a formal review under a new framework in the coming months, NSW Police confirmed.
KASPER ELLIS, QLD
Missing since December 24, 2015
The last sighting of Kasper Ellis, then 25, was when he walked into the 900ha Karawatha Forest Park, 18km south of Brisbane. He hasn’t been located since.
On Christmas Eve, 2015, Kasper asked his mother, Ruth, to drop him at the train station. He had plans to visit a friend who lived in Rocklea.
But rather than getting off there, CCTV captured him arriving at a spot 45 minutes away – Trinder Park near Woodridge.
Not long before he disappeared, Kasper, who had been living in Sydney, moved home to his Brisbane-based family after he and his long-term boyfriend split.
His parents, David and Ruth, told The Courier-Mail their son never spoke about his future but was occupying his time catching up with old friends since his return home.
Two years after he disappeared, Kasper’s parents commissioned a private investigator and learned that soon before he disappeared he opened a Bitcoin account and used it to purchase something worth $50 or $60 from the “dark web”. There is no way of knowing what it was.
A letter Kasper wrote to his parents before he left reportedly said: “This may take a while.”
Queensland Police said the matter was currently with the Coroner.
GLENYCE RAE MCGOWAN, WA
Missing since December 10, 1975
Glenyce, 19 at the time, had been embarking on a trip from Perth to Tom Price, in WA, which was about a 16-hour drive.
She got a lift from a family friend and stopped at various locations along the way.
During this time Cyclone Joan was battering the north-west of WA and caused roads to be blocked.
Along with her friend, the pair stayed in Nanutarra, a three-hour drive from Tom Price, on the evening of December 9.
Glenyce’s friend decided to return to Perth the next day, but she continued on to Tom Price.
That same afternoon Glenyce arranged with a family she had met for a lift the following morning. This was the last known sighting of her.
The only clue to her disappearance was said to be a fresh set of tyre tracks found near where she had slept in Nanutarra on the evening of December 9.
Her body has never been found.
BRADFORD PHOLI, NSW
Missing since December 26, 1982
Bradford, then 10, was last seen on Boxing Day, 1982, after leaving his Parramatta home to catch a train to his aunt’s house in Newtown.
On the day of Bradford’s disappearance, his mother Lorna had asked him and his older brother Bernie to visit their aunt, who she had arranged to borrow money from to buy cigarettes.
Bernie refused to go but Bradford said he would go alone. He never arrived.
A 2009 inquest concluded that Bradford was dead, likely as a result of assault or abduction.
His mother, Lorna Pholi, was accused of abusing her children at the inquest, according to her own kids, but they were also confident their mother had nothing to do with Bradford’s murder.
Lorna died in 1986.
Bradford’s siblings Anita and Bernie told the inquest there was no one suspicious near their house that day, but revealed their mother’s ex husband had tracked them down in the months prior.
It was initially thought Bradford had ran away, but the inquest determined police failed to investigate the case properly.
A $100,000 reward for information offered in 2009, together with pleas from Bradford’s sister Anita for anyone to come forward, has so far failed to help solve the mystery.
The reward is still on offer.
Bradford’s case will also undergo a formal review under the new framework. It is expected to take a matter of months.
KENNETH CAMPLIN, SA
Missing since December 27, 2013
The last time Kenneth Camplin was seen by friends and family was on Christmas Day in 2013.
His dog, who he loved, was found near dead due to dehydration and starvation in the backyard five days later.
A normally security conscious person, Kenneth’s back door to his Paralowie home in SA was also unlocked when his brother discovered he wasn’t there and reported him missing.
His phone has not been used since and his bank accounts have not been accessed.
Police suspect he has been murdered.
CCTV captured the last sighting of Kenneth at a nearby McDonald’s, where he bought a meal at 12.25am on December 27, 2013. The receipt was found inside his home.
Phone records from his mobile phone show he sent a text message to a friend at 1.26am – the last contact known to have been made by him.
Kenneth was known to be a recreational drug user and a low-level supplier of drugs.
There is no suggestion this had anything to do with his disappearance but police have said it cannot be ruled out as a line of inquiry.
In 2014, police revealed there was two suspects who had been questioned but at the time they were not assisting with inquiries.
A $200,000 reward is available for information leading to an arrest.
LORRAINE KESSEY, WA
Missing since December 17, 1977
Lorraine Kessey’s case is one that has faded from memory after years and years of no fresh clues or leads.
The then 21-year-old vanished without a trace after leaving an East Cannington address in Perth to hitchhike back to her home in Maddington, which was only about 9km away.
She left the residence in the early hours of the morning.
She never made it home.
If you search the case online, there are little to no reports about it.
Her disappearance, strangely eerie, has proved a dead end and her body has never been found.
AMELIA HAUSIA, ACT
Missing since December 17, 1992
More than 25 years after her disappearance, the family of Amelia Hausia still have no answers about what happened to her.
The Dubbo girl was only 17 when she vanished in Canberra, and had just graduated high school.
The teenager was last seen by family on the early morning of December 17, 1992 and was understood to be upset after a fight with her boyfriend.
She left the house the following morning, leaving a note telling her aunt that she was going for a walk to clear her head.
She never returned however, she was reportedly seen at the nearby Woden Plaza Shopping Centre five days later.
Australian Police stated that numerous reported sightings of Amelia have been made over the years since her disappearance however, no positive identification has been made.
Anyone with information that may assist investigators with these cases is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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