Detectives know who was in high country when campers vanished
Detectives say they now know who was in the Wonnangatta Valley area around the time Russell Hill and Carol Clay vanished, as the one-year anniversary of their disappearance approaches.
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Detectives say they know who was in the Wonnangatta Valley area around the time Russell Hill and Carol Clay vanished.
It is a year next Saturday since the friends disappeared while on a high country camping trip, sparking a mystery police are still working to unravel.
Investigators started with a scorched campsite, a handful of possible scenarios and no witnesses.
Missing persons squad head Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said a crew working full-time on the case had quietly been making steady headway.
“We’re pretty confident that we’ve got a good picture of movements in the valley and around the campsite on that day, which is pretty good considering we started with not much,” he said.
Insp. Stamper said it has been an inquiry of small steps but the progress made meant there was a feeling of momentum for investigators.
“A little win could be just eliminating someone,” Insp. Stamper said.
“Twelve months down the track, we are more focused than ever.”
Detectives have sifted through hundreds of people who had been in the area at the time.
They included campers, deer hunters and four-wheel-drivers, many of whom were taking a final chance to escape to the mountains before COVID restrictions hit.
Specialist bush searchers camping out overnight and others have spent thousands of hours examining the valley on foot.
Insp. Stamper said it was a culmination of circumstances and the process of deduction rather than a light bulb moment, which made “third-party involvement” the prime theory.
These included a fire which had incinerated their tent, the fact no trace of either of the friends was found in the search perimeter, Mr Hill’s missing drone and the increasing improbability they had faked their own disappearance.
“Whether that is a reckless criminal act or an intentional act, we don’t know,” Insp. Stamper said.
Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit the website www.crimestoppersvic.gov.au.
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