Man charged with murdering missing Gippsland dad Dale Pantic
A man has been charged with murdering missing Lakes Entrance man Dale Pantic in a breakthrough arrest 31 months after he was last seen alive.
Police & Courts
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A man has fronted court after being charged with murdering a Gippsland dad more than 2½ years ago.
Lakes Entrance man Dalibor “Dale” Pantic, 39, vanished in suspicious circumstances in April 2019.
His remains are yet to be located.
Missing Persons Squad detectives on Wednesday charged 33-year-old Sale man Sam Blake with murder.
The man faced Sale Magistrates’ Court, where his lawyer, Liam Dagger, made no application for bail.
Mr Blake was formally remanded to appear again on March 8..
The breakthrough arrest comes 31 months after Mr Pantic was last seen alive.
His last known sighting was at a farm in Perry Bridge, north-east of Sale, on the night of April 10, 2019.
Mr Pantic was reported missing three days later after he failed to return home to his children and fiancee Malina Teohaere.
Investigators swiftly formed the view he had met with foul play as his phone, bank and social media accounts went untouched around the time he vanished.
Mr Pantic was regarded by police as a “fairly significant player” in the East Gippsland and Latrobe drug scene.
Two days after he vanished his 2005 silver Ford Falcon sedan, registration 1NK 8BP, was captured on CCTV leaving a property in Sale.
Investigators quickly established Mr Pantic was not driving the car and that it travelled toward Labertouche, about 130km away.
The vehicle was found dumped in the Bunyip State Forest in May 2020.
The discovery came a week after an extensive police search for Mr Pantic in bushland in the Labertouche area.
Investigators hold the theory that multiple people were allegedly involved in his disappearance.
In 2020, Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said: “We don’t believe one person has been responsible for what we believe to be the death of Dale and getting rid of his car”.
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