A former police officer takes on some of Australia’s biggest — and most heartbreaking — cold case mysteries, driven by one certainty: Someone, somewhere, knows something.
Delve into the troubling disappearances of seven Australians as podcast host Meni Caroutas speaks to new witnesses to explain what happened and why – and who is responsible.
In episode 1: Echoes of an Abduction we hear the incredible story of Bianca Ball and her terrifying encounter with two men who bare chilling similarities with those who kidnapped Newcastle teen Gordana Kotevski.
Caroutas meets the family of Lorrin Whitehead in episode 2: The Missing Mum and reveals the moment one of her daughters confronts the person she fears is “solely responsible”.
Warren Mayer is the focus of episode 3: Without a Trace, with the young father vanishing while on a bushwalk. His wife Zee says her husband was “so methodical in the way he went about hiking”, she believes he must have met with foul play.
The haunting vision of the man seen pacing on a train before his death and the 14-year mystery to identify him feature in episode 4: The Pakenham Man. While his death remains an unexplained tragedy, he is not alone with hundreds of unclaimed missing people buried in unmarked graves across the country.
In episode 5: Missing Vanishing Shadows, Caroutas introduces us to Allen Arthur. A former police detective now in his 80s, Arthur talks of the one case he has never been able to solve – that of 12-year-old Rhianna Barreau, who vanished from her suburban Adelaide home in 1992.
The series ends with episode 6: Snatched at the Footy – two young friends Kirste Gordon and Joanne Ratcliffe who were snatched from an Adelaide oval while watching an AFL game by a man wearing a distinctive hat. Half a century later, the man’s identity has not been proven – but the mystery could be closer than ever to being solved.
EPISODE GUIDE
Gordana Kotevski was 16 when she was abducted off the street in 1994. Bianca Ball has spent years struggling with the fact she could have suffered the same fate.
When five children were plunged into a lifetime of not knowing what happened to their mum, one found the courage to confront the person they believed was to blame.
A daughter speaks for the first time about the disappearance of her father Warren Mayer, as her mother explains why he must have met with foul play.
Can the secrets surrounding one tragic death finally be uncovered or will the dead man remain a mystery like so many others in unmarked graves across Australia?
A cop long retired and now in his 80s returns to the one case he can never let go.
It is one of Australia’s most infamous cases, stretching over 50 years. Now, as a sister seeks answers, Meni Caroutas zeroes in on one suspect.
THE MISSING, SERIES 1
Discover the original podcast series:
New suspects, witnesses emerge in cold cases
“Legitimate and credible” clues have emerged after The Missing Australia’s inquiries into some of Australia’s most shocking cold cases. See what they are and listen to the whole series.
How a surprise meeting could unlock 51-year-old cold case
It’s a mystery that has endured for decades – but a shock encounter in a tattoo parlour has revealed an incredible behind-the-scenes struggle to find Kirste Gordon and Joanne Ratcliffe.