Mount Evelyn father declared dead after no trace found in almost 46 years

A Mount Evelyn father who left home and never returned more than 45 years ago has finally been declared dead by the Coroner, but the cause and location of his death are unlikely ever to be known.

William Willms was declared deceased at the Corners Court of Victoria on April 29, 2019.

A Mount Evelyn father who left home and never returned more than 45 years ago has finally been declared dead by the Coroner.

Victorian Coroner Audrey Jamieson found there had been no sign of William Willms since the day he went missing in 1973 at a summary inquest on April 29.

Coroner Jamieson told the court despite “extensive searches by police” and a series of investigations, Mr Willms’ fate remained unknown, with “little information” uncovered since he was first reported missing by his wife the day after he was last seen.

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Mrs Willms got home from work on July 23, 1973 to find her husband not there and their car still in the garage.

The last known sighting of William Willms was when he got off a bus at Lilydale Railway Station.

Their neighbour told her he had last seen Mr Willms around lunchtime.

Bus driver Ron Jones’ report of Mr Willms getting off his bus at Lilydale railway station between 3-4pm that day was the last known sighting of Mr Willms, who was 63 at the time.

When Mrs Willms reported him missing at Lilydale police station on July 24, 1973 she said she believed he had disappeared due to his mental ill health.

He had been an inpatient at psychiatric hospitals several times in the previous five years, with the last admission spanning two days, when he self-discharged one week before he vanished.

Coroner Jamieson said Mr Willms had displayed “agitation and suicidal tendencies”.

Mr Willms lived in Mount Evelyn in the 18 years before his disappearance.

His decline in mental health had begun when he was placed on the disability pension for a back condition which inhibited his work at a factory.

The Ukrainian-born father-of-two emigrated to Melbourne from Germany with his wife and first child in April 1951.

The family moved to Mount Evelyn in 1955, where they had their second child.

Coroner Jamieson ruled police investigation, family investigation and proof of life checks had not revealed any new information about Mr Willm’s whereabouts since his disappearance.

“The cause of his death and precise circumstances of his death are unknown,” she said.

The coroner said it was difficult to understand why police had taken so long to report his suspected death to the Coroners Court.

But she noted the delays in the investigation were “reflective of historical attitudes and not of the current approach taken by Victoria Police in relation to missing persons”.

Coroner Jamieson thanked Mr Willm’s family for their participation in the coronial process and offered her sincere condolences for their loss.