High Country campers feared dead after search reveals no trace
A couple who went missing while camping in the High Country last month is feared dead after search and rescue teams failed to find a trace of the pair.
VIC News
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Whatever has happened to an elderly couple who vanished mysteriously in the High Country may never be known.
A renewed search this week for Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, in the state’s isolated alpine region has been unsuccessful.
Specialised search and rescue teams have been unable to find a trace of the missing campers, who are feared dead.
The two-day search in the Wonnangatta Valley for the pair came after the initial search was called off due to poor weather conditions.
Mr Hill last spoke to his wife Robyn on March 20 via high frequency radio, a day after leaving their Drouin home.
This week’s search efforts were predominantly on foot with specialised alpine crews focusing on combing the difficult terrain already covered as well as expanding the search radius.
The fire at the pair’s burnt-out campsite has been confirmed as non suspicious but arson chemists are yet to determine the cause of the blaze which wrecked camp chairs, a table and a tent.
One possibility is a mobile phone left on a charger.
Mr Russell’s Toyota four-wheel-drive, which would have been able to be driven emergency, was found locked and Ms Clay’s car was still at her Pakenham home.
“It’s pretty bizarre. There are a lot of questions,” a source told the Herald Sun.
Acting Sergeant Scott Wilkinson said he was “disappointed” the search had rendered fruitless.
“We would like to get some result, particularly for the families of the missing people,” Sgt Wilkinson told local media.
“No trace and no result.”
Police said while it was most likely the pair were deceased, there was a chance Mr Hill and Ms Clay had left the site alive together not wanting to be found.
Russell’s wife Robyn told the Herald Sun she did not know her husband of 50 years and Ms Clay had gone away together.
“I thought he was going alone,” Mrs Hill said.
“I just want them both found alive.”
Victoria Police said while the search in the Wonnangatta has “concluded for the time being”, the investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
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