Grandfather back cycling a year after being shot in head in Victoria’s High Country
A GRANDFATHER gunned down while cycling in Victoria’s High Country is back on the bike a year after surviving an attempt on his life in a case police say remains one of the most baffling of their careers.
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A GRANDFATHER gunned down while cycling in Victoria’s High Country is back on the bike a year after surviving the attempt on his life in a case police say remains one of the most baffling of their careers.
The absence of key witnesses or security footage has put the brakes on the probe into why a mystery man armed with a pistol walked up a bushy bike-path to take aim at retired Ringwood schoolteacher Kelvin Tennant.
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But determined detectives are hopeful that enough time has passed that someone close to the would-be killer is ready to phone in with the breakthrough they need.
The Herald Sun can confirm police have ruled out the possibility Mr Tennant was followed and believe the gunman may have reversed up to the bike trail in a narrow clearing among bushes leading from the Great Alpine Rd between Everton and Myrtleford.
They believe the culprit had knowledge of the area.
Reflecting on his return to cycling, Mr Tennant, 72, said his “miracle” recovery had been aided by the love of his wife Marilyn, their three children and eight grandchildren.
“I resolved, when feeling a little bit gloomy, to dwell on the positive things — the things I have,” he said.
Hospital scans showing the fragments which penetrated Mr Tennant’s skull and the bloodstained goggles he was wearing remind him of his brush with death.
Mrs Tennant — who has been suffering lung cancer for two years — said it was “remarkable” that she and her husband could be together as they approach 50 years of marriage.
“It was just such a shock, I still just can’t believe it,” she said.
“We are just so thankful ... I need him, we need each other.”
When the Armed Crime Squad is called in to investigate a shooting, they habitually comb through the victim’s background for little clues which eventually put them on the right track.
Dirty money. A dirty secret. Maybe someone’s done the dirty.
But the only dirt detectives could uncover on Mr Tennant was that which covered his clothing and stuck to the bloody wounds he suffered as gunfire sent him crashing on the Myrtleford Rail Trail last year.
Nor could they find anyone he may have crossed during his overnight stay in the Alpine region.
The retired teacher and bus driver had arrived in Myrtleford on Friday, February 17 while his wife was away with friends in South Australia — a rare holiday for her since falling ill.
He spoke to only a handful of people on arrival, among them the caravan park owner and nearby supermarket workers before settling inside his caravan to enjoy a pie dinner and a glass of red wine.
He set off the next morning heading towards Everton on his powered bicycle.
Mr Tennant recalled crossing the Burgoigee Creek bridge and seeing a parked car — it looked unusual because the boot was open and backed up right to the edge of the trail’s bitumen.
“I saw him (the gunman) get out as I approached ... I remember the pistol,” he said.
“He started blazing at me and I remember saying ‘Why are you doing this to me?’.
“Then I started to lose it ... I remember thinking at the time ‘well, this is it’ ... then later on I had this thought that I’m not meant to die today.”
Though February 18 was a sunny Saturday attracting cyclists of all abilities to the popular tourist route, police are yet to find anyone who saw the car or the gunman.
Mr Tennant’s description of the man and the car, a dark-coloured sedan, was the only solid lead police had to go on.
But Detective Senior Constable Elise Douglas is sure someone in the public knows something about the “strange” mystery.
Sen-Constable Douglas said someone may remember a friend or loved one who was acting suspiciously, or a car that looked out of place — any small detail could help police.
“I would encourage anybody to call, you never know how significant it could be — you might hold that piece that unravels everything,” she said.
“It’s been a long 12 months and we’re still going and still really committed to solving this and finding out who did this.”
Anyone with information is urged to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
To comment on this story or send news tips, email andrea.hamblin@news.com.au