Fresh twist in search for missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay
Specialist police desperate for answers on the whereabouts of two missing campers have refocused their attention on these potential clues.
Victoria
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Specialist police have returned to the Wonnangatta area in northeast Victoria after new information about the mysterious disappearance of campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay.
Detectives will on Tuesday refocus attention on four tracks in the desperate quest for clues linked to the pair, missing since March 20 last year — the Dargo High Plains Road, Cynthia Range Track, Herne Spur Track and the Wonnangatta Track.
Victoria Police’s missing persons squad will be assisted by the air wing, drone unit and search-and-rescue crews to undertake detailed searches of roads, tracks, campgrounds, rivers and cliffs in the region.
Two shovels as well as other items seized on April 14 at Mount Hotham are still being examined by forensic detectives and it is not yet known if they are linked to the campers.
Mr Hill, of Drouin, and Mrs Clay, of Pakenham, left home to visit the Wonnangatta Valley, 350km northeast of Melbourne, on March 19, 2020.
The pair were secret lovers, with Mr Hill’s wife, Robyn, unaware her husband was camping with another woman.
Mr Hill’s wife Robyn, 72, was unaware her husband was camping with Mrs Clay.
“I just wish they would find them both alive,” Mrs Hill told the Herald Sun in April last year.
“I thought he was going alone, I can’t believe it.
“I’ve got a feeling they may have died.”
The last known contact with the pair was on the night of March 20 when the 74-year-old Mr Hill spoke to a mate on his amateur radio.
Their unattended camp site was found the next morning.
Their tent had been incinerated, a table burnt and the side of Mr Hill’s 4WD scorched by fire.
The area has been the subject of thousands of hours of searching by authorities since the pair vanished.
Investigators from the missing persons squad believe they have met with foul play.
Mr Hill’s drone was later found to be missing.
A drone found in the area last month was found not to be his.
Specialised cadaver dogs from NSW have been unable to find any trace of Mr Hill or Mrs Clay in the region.
Investigators believe they have met with foul play but still want to bring closure to the grieving families.
“Every time the families hear from us they feel that flicker of hope maybe they are getting some news,” Detective Acting Inspector Tony Combridge said. “I’m not expecting to find anything but I’m hopeful we will find some answers for the families.”
This month police revealed there had been an “enormous” volume of intel coming in about the investigation, sparked by recent appeals about a white dual-cab ute detectives were hoping to find the owners of.
Investigators want anyone who was in the area at the time to come forward, regardless if they saw or heard anything.
Detectives are also keen to speak to anyone who was in the area of Howitt Plains and Zeka Spur Track on March 19 or 20, and the Wonnangatta Valley and Wonnangatta Station between March 20 to 24 last year who has not yet made contact with police to come forward.
Detectives are probing information about a sighting of an older pair in the Black Snake Creek, Eaglevale River crossing and the Ollies Jump area on March 22 to 23.
They have not been able to establish if they were the missing campers.
Detectives are calling for anyone who was in the area at the time, particularly any older couple, to come forward so they can be ruled out.
Anyone who sights Russell or Carol is urged to phone 000 immediately.
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