Police say High Country killer ‘should be very uncomfortable’

Momentum is growing in the search for answers to the High Country mystery, with police warning the killer should be “very uncomfortable”.

Whoever killed High Country campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay should feel very uncomfortable, investigators say.

Detectives say they are making significant headway in a complex inquiry which began when the friends went missing on March 20 last year while on a trip to the remote Wonnangatta Valley in East Gippsland.

They are confident of finding answers and believe whoever is responsible is in no position to relax.

“They should be very uncomfortable,” Detective Acting Sergeant Brett Florence of the Missing Persons Squad told the Herald Sun.

“We will leave no stone unturned until we do (get a result).”

Squad head Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper chooses his words carefully but it is clear he believes there is growing momentum for those doing the digging, despite the case’s many twists and episodes of frustration.

Russell Hill.

Carol Clay.

Their fire-damaged campsite. Picture: ABC

Insp Stamper compares it to building a jigsaw puzzle without the box lid, but said progress was being made.

“We’ll keep going until we get the answers and I’m confident that will happen. I’d like to think every day we’re getting closer,” he said.

“We’ve got a very good picture now of who was in the valley.”

Insp Stamper said he had an open mind on whether more than one offender was involved but he was certain Mr Hill and Mrs Clay never left the valley.

“We firmly believe they’re still in that area somewhere,” he said.

Insp Stamper and Acting Sgt Florence knew almost from the start that this would be a protracted investigation.

Such inquiries are commonplace for a squad which is called in when there is a suspicion someone has been murdered but there is no body.

Wonnangatta presented a unique scenario with a tent and vehicle scorched by fire, nothing stolen and the mystery of Mr Hill’s missing drone.

Acting Sergeant Brett Florence and detective Inspector Andrew Stamper. Picture: David Crosling

Missing persons squad detectives and search and rescue officers hunt for the missing campers. Picture: Jason Edwards

Police during a search in the Mount Hotham area. Picture: Jason Edwards

“Initially, you could look at it as a camping accident gone wrong — that they’ve wandered off and got lost — but when you start pulling the bits and pieces apart and you start thinking about … why would they go missing? Why would they walk away from their vehicle?” Acting Sgt Florence said.

“The questions started to mount up. It’s an unusual set of circumstances.”

Adding to the challenge in the Hill-Clay case was the remoteness of the crime scene, the length of time between the suspected murder and police being notified and the absence of witnesses.

Acting Sgt Florence said this was compounded by the forbidding, inaccessible nature of a 1.6 million ha search zone.

“It’s a difficult case. You can’t shy away from that.”

Behind the headlines were many thousands of hours of work for Acting Sgt Florence’s crew as they revisited every piece of available information, eliminated suspects and exhausted dud leads.

“We have worked in a very methodical and systematic way,” he said,

Insp Stamper, who has spent the best part of two decades in the homicide, gangland and armed crime areas, is well accustomed to playing the long game.

But he said the Hill-Clay inquiry had been particularly taxing for Acting Sgt Florence’s crew and its continuing progress showed remarkable strength of purpose.

“It’s a real testament to the resilience of the team,” Insp Stamper said.

“You’ve got to harvest all the available information. You’ve got to review and process that information, constantly filtering until you get down to some really definable theories. That’s where we are now.”

An aeial view of police at the camp site in the Wonnangatta Valley. Picture: Victoria Police

Insp Stamper said no investigation was about one person and the breadth of help from other areas was remarkable.

He said that at various times the squad had been assisted by the search and rescue squad, the air wing, the dog squad, local officers, Parks Victoria, the State Emergency Services, the Australian Federal Police and police members from New South Wales.

Now, Insp Stamper said, the public could do their bit.

He said the coming easing of restrictions and warmer weather meant many people would be converging on the area and he wanted them to report if they found clothing, a drone or anything else that might help.

“We really need the community to be our eyes and ears,” Insp Stamper said.