Haunting image may hold clue to missing teens

A photograph of two teenagers taken in Geelong in 1968 could help unlock the secret to a haunting missing persons cold case.

Maureen Braddy and Allan Whyte disappeared in Bendigo in 1968.

A decades-old photo potentially holds answers in one of Victoria’s most haunting cold cases.

Missing persons squad ­detectives investigating the 1968 disappearance from Bendigo of teenage friends Maureen Braddy and Allan Whyte have gone public to work out who is in the ­picture.

The image, taken at Geelong in 1968, shows a young male and female.

Detectives have been told the pair — photographed at a boarding house on Aberdeen Street — may be Maureen and Allan, but have never been able to verify that claim.

Allan Whyte.

Maureen Braddy.

A person who saw coverage of the Braddy-Whyte case in 2019 came forward with the image, believing there may be a connection.

It has been through specialist forensic analysis by Victoria Police and the Australian Federal Police to try to prove it is Allan and Maureen in the photo.

“Unfortunately, due to the age and quality of the photograph, comparisons with existing photographs of the Bendigo teens were inconclusive,” a Victoria Police statement said.

Maureen Braddy.

Detectives have now ­released the photo in the hope of locating someone who can confirm the identities of the pair in the image.

Written on the back are the words: “Neil and Kaye. Kaye is asleep on her feet, Neil is supporting her with his elbow.” The person who took the picture was told the pair were from Swan Hill.

In the years after the young couple vanished, some who knew them and local police formed the opinion Maureen and Allan had run away.

It was not until the 1990s police came to suspect something more sinister and a criminal investigation was launched.

Missing persons squad ­officers would like to hear from anyone who can confirm who is in the photo or who was at the Aberdeen Street boarding house at the time to get in touch.

Maureen, 16, and Allan, 17, were last seen leaving a dance at the YMCA hall in Mundy Street, Bendigo, on November 23, 1968.

Maureen’s father Stanley Braddy, who is still alive, was named as the only suspect in the case at a 2013 inquest.

He has denied involvement in their deaths.

Allan and Maureen’s siblings have in the past spoken of their desperation to have their loved ones’ remains found.

A $1m reward is in place for anyone able to help solve the case.

crimestoppersvic.com.au