NewsBite

HTTP/1.1 200 OKServer: nginxContent-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8X-Powered-By: WordPress VIP Host-Header: a9130478a60e5f9135f765b23f26593bX-Content-Type-Options: nosniffX-XSS-Protection: 1x-rq: syd4 123 243 443Cache-Control: must-revalidate, max-age=300Expires: Thu, 13 Feb 2025 01:59:23 GMTDate: Thu, 13 Feb 2025 01:54:23 GMTTransfer-Encoding:  chunkedConnection: keep-aliveConnection: Transfer-EncodingSet-Cookie: nk=d4fd537ff29480321d64cc0d8815e26d; expires=Fri, 13-Feb-2026 01:54:23 GMT; domain=.ntnews.com.au; secure; SameSite=NoneStrict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000 ; includeSubDomainsContent-Security-Policy-Report-Only: frame-ancestors 'self'; report-uri https://www.ntnews.com.au/csp-reportsContent-Security-Policy: block-all-mixed-content; style-src https: 'unsafe-inline'; script-src https: blob: 'unsafe-inline' 'unsafe-eval'; img-src https: data:; frame-src https:;BlaizeHappened: trueX-ARRRG5: /blaize/decision-engine?path=https%3a%2f%2fwww.ntnews.com.au%2fweb-stories%2ffree%2fnt-news%2fpaddy-moriarty-what-happened-to-larrimah-man%3fnk%3dd4fd537ff29480321d64cc0d8815e26d-1711775422&blaizehost=v4-news-au-ntnews.cdn.zephr.com&content_id=&session=d4fd537ff29480321d64cc0d8815e26dX-ARRRG4: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/X-PathQS: TRUEVary: User-AgentPaddy Moriarty: What happened to Larrimah man? | NT News

What happened to Paddy Moriarty?

Outback mystery

It's been more than four years since Paddy Moriarty went missing from his home in the NT's remote centre, but his mysterious disappearance continues to intrigue.

Mr Moriarty, 70, along with his pet Kelpie, Kellie, disappeared without a trace on December 16, 2017, from the tiny town of Larrimah, about five hours south of Darwin.

He was last seen sipping beers at the town’s famous Pink Panther Hotel with his pup before heading home on his quad-bike. Three days later he was reported missing.

There were no signs of struggle at his house. Dirty dishes were on the table. His car, wallet, reading glasses and the hat which never left his head were all found inside.

Exhaustive searches through the area’s endless scrublands and even the local dump failed to find any trace of what happened to him.

Larrimah only had a small population of about a dozen people at the time, and Mr Moriarty’s disappearances left a lingering unease hanging over the community.

A month after Mr Moriarty went missing, then owner of the Larrimah Hotel Barry Sharpe told the NT News he believed his mate had been “done in”.

He’s got no relatives in Australia. So I think he’s been done in. I really do.

BARRY SHARPE

“”

Not a lot is known about Mr Moriarty's past. He was born in Ireland in 1947 and migrated to Australia in 1966. 

He worked more than a decade at Brunette Downs before moving on to other cattle stations around the Territory and then settling in Larrimah.

A 2018 coronial inquest into Mr Moriarty’s disappearance heard that he was involved in an ongoing feud with a neighbour, Fran Hodgetts.

The pair were often involved in heated verbal exchanges. But despite the animosity, Mrs Hodgetts has strenuously denied any involvement in her neighbour's disappearance.

In February 2021, police issued a $250,000 reward for information on the disappearance of Mr Moriarty. 

At the time, Detective Sergeant Matthew Allen revealed investigators were working on the theory that Mr Moriarty had been murdered.

It is hard to keep a secret. Someone out there knows what happened. We want them to come forward and help us solve a murder.

DETECTIVE SERGEANT MATTHEW ALLEN

“”

Producer: Andrew Piva

Original URL: https://www.ntnews.com.au/web-stories/free/nt-news/paddy-moriarty-what-happened-to-larrimah-man