Missing campers: Russell Hill and Carol Clay’s families plead for information
A married man and his female companion are not believed to have staged their own disappearance to begin a new life together. It comes as police make a fresh appeal for information, a month after the campers went missing in Victoria’s high country.
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An elderly married man and his female companion missing in Victoria’s high country for a month are unlikely to have staged their own disappearance to live a new life together, police say.
While unable to rule out foul play, detectives believe it is possible Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, became lost or injured during their secret trip in the Wonnongatta Valley over a month ago.
The pair was last heard from via radio transmission on March 20 and police believe amateur radio enthusiasts could hold the key to finding them.
Mr Hill used the HM radio frequency call sign VK3 VZP and police believe it is possible he used the radio to make a final distress call.
Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper urged the amateur radio community to cast their mind back to late March to when Mr Hill last made contact to determine whether he made any further calls.
“He made have made a distress call and someone may have seen his call sign,” said Det Insp Stamper.
Mr Hill did not tell his wife, Robyn, that he was camping with long-time friend, Ms Clay, when they set off together from her Pakenham home on March 19.
Det Insp Stamper said it appeared Ms Clay did not explicitly tell her loved ones either.
Instead, she said she was going camping and would return no later than March 29.
Det Insp Stamper was unable to confirm if the pair were in a secret romantic relationship and said their disappearance had been very “uncomfortable” for their families on several grounds.
But both families are desperate to find the pair, opening up about their heartache since they mysterious vanished.
In separate statements released today, the families said the month-long wait for answers had been “devastating.”
Mr Hill’s family said they “deeply saddened” and thanked the emergency services “wholeheartedly” for their dedication.
“Russell is our brother, husband, dad and pa and Carol has been a friend of the family for a long time,” the statement reads.
“It is devastating for our family that we don’t know what has happened to them both.
“We are pleading for anyone who has any information to please come forward.”
Ms Clay’s family told of the “difficult time” they were living through. “We are living with uncertainty, loss and the continual stress of not knowing where they are and what has happened,” a statement on behalf of the family says.
“This is a very difficult time for our family.
“We appeal to anyone who may have been in the area at the same time who may have seen Carol and Russell, their campsite or vehicle.
“Anyone who has any knowledge at all of their whereabouts could they please contact the police.”
Search and Rescue Senior Sergeant Greg Paul said the elderly campers disappeared in “unforgiving terrain”.
It includes rugged rocky crevices and extensive undergrowth.
“The Australian bush can swallow people up so it is very very difficult when they do come to grief in the middle of nowhere to find people, sometimes,” he said.
Geolocation data from both Mr Hill and Ms Clay’s mobile phones indicate they travelled to the valley via Heyfield and Licola.
However, police conceded it was a perplexing case and that most people who disappear in the bush are quickly found.
Detectives have conducted extensive searches into both Mr Hill and Ms Clay’s finances, lifestyles and recent purchases but found nothing.
The search for the pair is currently suspended but will rescue when conditions improve.
Police hold out hope they could be found alive but say it is more likely they have perished.
FINAL CLUES TO WHEREABOUTS
The last known clue to the whereabouts of Mr Hill and Ms Clay, from Drouin and Pakenham respectively, sits with their burnt and abandoned campsite in the Wonnongatta Valley.
It was chanced upon by a family who reported it to police.
Mr Hill’s well equipped and working white Toyota Landcruiser was also at the scene.
Det Insp Stamper said the camp site had been “completely destroyed” and arson chemists have been able to rule out if the fire was deliberately set.
However there was no evidence to suggest it was visited by a person or car involved in the couples’ disappearance.
In a fresh twist, a valuable $2000 drone owned by Mr Hill has not been recovered and has emerged as a key line of inquiry.
The DJI brand Mavic model drone is considered top of the range and there is a theory it got stuck or lost and Mr Hill went in search of it.
Through he was a very experienced camper, both he and Ms Clay were not avid bush walkers.
Det Insp Stamper said police have been unable to remotely retrieve flight logs from the drone.
Search and Rescue Senior Sergeant Greg Paul said the elderly campers have disappeared in “unforgiving terrain”.
It includes rugged rocky crevices and extensive undergrowth.
“The Australian bush can swallow people up so it is very very difficult when they do come to grief in the middle of nowhere to find people, sometimes,” he said.
Geolocation data from both Mr Hill and Ms Clay’s mobile phones indicate they travelled to the valley via Heyfield and Licola.
However police conceded it was a perplexing case and that most people who disappear in the bush are quickly found.
Detectives have conducted extensive searches into both Mr Hill and Ms Clay’s finances, lifestyles and recent purchases but found nothing.
The search for the pair is currently suspended but will rescue when conditions improve.
Police hold out hope they could be found alive but say it is more likely they have perished.
Investigators took Mr Hill’s vehicle away for further forensic examination after visiting his Drouin home on Monday.
A second major search for the pair 250km northeast of Melbourne, which wrapped up last week, failed to find any trace of Mr Hill and Ms Clay, who left for the trip on March 19.
Missing persons squad detectives are part of the police homicide squad.
Local police previously stated they considered whether the pair had become lost or decided to disappear of their own will.
The latter possibility seems remote given a month has passed since they left and that Ms Clay’s car was later found at her home.
Investigators are still hoping to track down people who saw them as they made their way to the high country.
They are believed to have travelled to the area via Heyfield.
There are a number of unusual elements to the case. A fire deemed non-suspicious at their campsite, found on March 26 north of Billabong, had wrecked a tent, a table and camp chairs.
One possibility is that a phone and charger left on and unattended may have caught alight inside the tent.
Mr Hill’s Toyota four-wheel-drive was scorched but able to be driven.
Mr Hill, from Drouin, and Ms Clay, from Pakenham, had been friends for close to five decades.
His wife, Robyn, told the Herald Sun she had not been aware Ms Clay was joining her husband in the bush. She last heard from him on March 20 via radio.
“I just want them both found alive,” Mrs Hill said. “I’ve got a feeling they may have died.”
Ms Clay, a former state head of the Country Women’s Association, was a “knowledgeable and smart” woman.
Friends said she was a “breath of fresh air” within the association who was known for “dressing beautifully” and her “elegant” nature.
Anyone who has information about the campers’ whereabout is urged to contact police.
Detectives are also keen to speak to anyone with dash cam footage of Mr Hill’s car or campers who might have been in the Wonnongatta Valley at the time of their disappearance.
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— With Andrew Rule and Brianna Travers