Murder, death and disappearances in South West Queensland - 12 cases that have left the state stumped

Missing women, murders, unknown arsonists and hidden bodies are only some of the mysteries that have captivated and stumped Queensland. From the 1800s to recent memory, here are 12 mysteries that have left South West Queensland reeling. WARNING: DISTRESSING.

These 12 south west cold cases have baffled police and Australia. (Photos: supplied/ file)

For families or communities affected by crime, there is nothing more painful than the search for answers.

But what do you do when there are none? How can you grieve without a body, can there ever be justice without a suspect?

From strange disappearances to unsolved murders, dozens of cases go cold each year in Queensland, with family and police still searching for answers.

For some of the cases that have haunted the state for decades - or even over a century - all it could take was someone seeing or hearing something, a confession or new evidence to finally crack the case.

Here are some of the Southwest mysteries and cold cases which have captivated Australia.

The Toowoomba Nurse murders

A dark chapter in the Garden City’s history, the gruesome attack on two nurses from Sydney in the 1970s will always haunt the town of Toowoomba.

Almost 50 years ago, the murder of Sydney nurses Lorraine Ruth Wilson and Wendy Joy Evans still leaves a stain on the town, with no culprit ever charged and the mystery seemingly unsolved.

While a 2013 inquest into the matter revealed several high-profile suspects, still none responsible has served any time for the crime.

To this day no one has been charged over the 1974 murders of two nurses from Sydney (Photo: file)

A decade ago, seven persons of interest were revealed, including a “likely culprit” Wayne Robert “Boogie” Hilton, who died in a car crash in 1986.

Ms Wilson, 20, and Ms Evans, 18, disappeared while hitchhiking from Brisbane to Goondiwindi on October 6, 1974.

Two years later, residents found their bodies in an isolated patch of scrub at a paddock near Murphy’s Creek in the Darling Downs.

Forensic testing at the scene revealed the two women had been raped, bound, gagged and bludgeoned to death by unknown parties.

Police investigate the site where the bodies of two Sydney nurses – Lorraine Wilson, 20, and Wendy Evan were found. (Photo: Chronicle Archives, June 1976)

At the 2013 inquiry, coroner Michael Barnes said undoubtedly more than one person was involved in the murder.

Mr Barnes concluded if Wayne Robert “Boogie” Hilton were alive today there would be enough evidence to charge him with murder.

However, there was insufficient evidence to charge any co-offenders.

“The lives of these two fine young women and the happiness of their families were shattered by an unprovoked violent, vicious attack, mounted to satiate the perverse sexual dysfunction of a despicable gang of thugs,” Mr Barnes said in 2013.

Exactly who was involved in the brutal crime is likely to remain an unsolved mystery that will perplex Australia, albeit for a possible deathbed confession from any culprit still alive.

Where is Gail Lynch’s body?

Murdered Warwick grandmother Gail Lynch should be an open-and-shut case, however, one mystery haunts the Rose City more than a decade later.

In 2015, Ian Phillip Hannaford was found guilty by jury to the murder of the beloved Warwick woman, after she disappeared in 2012.

Hannaford was sentenced in 2015 for the murder.

Ms Lynch broke off her short relationship with Hannaford, whom she had met on an internet dating site, but Hannaford began to phone her, and look through her windows.

On July 3, 2012, Ms Lynch went to the shops, paid her rent and returned home where she deleted Hannaford’s contact details from the dating site where they had met.

That’s all we know so far, and while Hannaford serves the 20-year minimum sentence, one question remains - where is Ms Lynch’s body.

Lyn McMillan and her sister, Gail Lynch (Photo: supplied)

Ms Lynch’s sister, Lyn McMillan, told The Chroniclein 2017 that until her sister’s remains were located, she would go on thinking Ms Lynch was missing and be found in her own time.

Mrs McMillan said the fact her sister’s body was never found had torn her family apart and exacerbated the suffering.

“Having no body, it divides a family because we can’t seem to come together in mourning,” she said.

The murder of Annette Mason

A 15-year-old Toowoomba girl was found dead in a bedroom at an Anzac Ave address in November 1989, with no one charged for the crime.

With 2024 marking the 35 year anniversary of the brutal murder of Toowoomba teenager Annette Mason, questions still to be answered.

35 years after her death, the killer of Annette Mason has not been identified.

Police investigations discovered she had been bludgeoned with an object, and while some of her clothes were removed, there was no evidence of sexual assault.

Annette’s sister Linda believes there are still people living in Toowoomba who hold the key to solving the murder.

A piece of timber was located by detectives in the residence as a possible murder weapon, but no suspect or person of interest has been charged, more than three decades later.

There is a $250,000 reward for any information which could help identify a killer.

The Gatton Murders

The oldest case on this list, The Gatton Murders is a triple-homicide which remains unsolved more than a century after it occurred with two questions stumping police since 1898 - who killed the Murphy family and why?

On the night of Boxing Day, 1898, the Murphy siblings, Michael, Norah and Ellen, arrived back home to their farm, approximately 3km outside of Gatton, after the ball they wished to attend was suddenly cancelled.

Nora, Michael and Ellen Murphy were murdered more than a century ago near Gatton, Queensland. Still to this day, police have no idea who killed the trio.

The next morning, a family member stumbled upon the trio’s bodies, laid in a “ritualistic” manner, in what police say was “incomprehensible” at the time.

Michael had been shot in the head, while the two girls had been raped, with one having their skull “crushed”, also, a horse was located killed a short distance away.

More than 1000 people were interviewed by police, with no motive, suspect or charges laid.

To this day, more than a century later, investigators and websleuths are scratching their heads about one of Australia’s oldest mysteries.

The murder of Tarmara Smith

The case of young mother, who was sexually assaulted and left to die tied to a tree in west Toowoomba still haunts the inland city more than two decades later.

In 2002, the mother of one was found tied to a tree in a vacant lot after being strangled, with the case baffling investigators.

Until there was a breakthrough.

Tarmara Smith was killed over two decades ago, with her murder stumping police. (Photo: file)

Her on-again, off-again boyfriend at the time was eventually charged with murder, and while his first trial ended in a hung jury, he was convicted of Tarmara’s murder on the second trial.

However he was released in 2004 after an appeal overturned the conviction.

On the night of her murder, witnesses saw Ms Smith walking along Clifford St, with a man asking her for sex.

About half an hour later, another witness heard screams.

Her body was found at 10am the next day.

Semen DNA found on her did not match the man police ultimately charged with her murder.

To this day it is unknown who really killed Ms Smith, with the man who had his case overturned maintaining his innocence until his death in 2016.

Where is Tanya Buckland?

Thirty-six-year-old Tanya Buckland disappeared from Warwick in August, 2013, just before her birthday.

After vanishing, Ms Buckland’s clothes were found at the Southern Downs residence of notorious murderer, Vincent O’Dempsey.

The mother-of-three simply vanished on August 11, 2013, after she was last seen on Palmerin St in Warwick.

Tanya Buckland hasn't been seen for a decade after last being seen on Warwick's main strip.

Ms Buckland is described as being caucasian in appearance, 174cm tall with a proportionate build and has light brown hair.

Tanya has not touched her bank account and her phone is switched off since disappearing.

In November 2013, the Warwick Daily News, as well as Warwick police, received envelopes with photos of the woman saying “sorry for the inconvenience”.

Police believed the letters were sent from the Hunter Valley, in NSW. This was the last correspondence anyone had with Ms Buckland.

The twist in the case came in 2017, when Queensland Police Missing Persons Unit head Detective Senior Sergeant Damien Powell confirmed items of Ms Buckland’s were found in the home of convicted murderer Vincent O’Dempsey, but did not know what, if any, involvement she had with the man.

McCulkin murders mystery 

Murderer Vincent O’Dempsey and his cronie Garry Dubois were sentenced in 2017 for the 1974 murders of Barbara McCulkin, and her two daughters, Vicki and Leanne.

To this day, their bodies have never been found.

Disturbing crim Vince O'Dempsey was finally sentenced in 2017 for the murder of three women he kidnapped from Highgate Hill, Brisbane, and took to remote scrubland near Warwick

O’Dempsey has a sick history with the underworld, believed by many to be involved in the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub firebombing - which killed 15 people - which he fervently denies.

Most believe Barbara and her girls were kidnapped by O’Dempsey and Dubois, driven to remote bushland where they were sexually assaulted and murdered, and buried somewhere nearby.

However the mystery of where the bodies are located and what truly happened on that night 50 years ago remains unsolved.

The devil in Warwick

After a series of sheep were slaughtered in a paddock in the Southern Downs, near Warwick, a true ‘satanic panic’ gripped Queensland.

John Burdoe and Wayne Cockram were found guilty in 1986, after the two boys and an accomplice used two butchers knives and a tomahawk to slaughter 42 sheep and eight goats at a property in the region.

Burdoe allegedly admitted to drinking the blood of the animals while in the Warwick police watch-house.

The other alleged accomplice, Craig Anderson, was found dead by apparent suicide days later.

Mr Anderson’s mother, Wendy, as well as friends, believe he never would have done this as “he wasn’t the type” and “couldn’t tie a noose,” 60 Minutes Australia reported in 1989.

Burdoe told 60 Minutes he had flashes of wondering what it would be like to “decease the man beside him” referring to Craig Anderson.

To this day, mystery still remains around the death of Anderson and the “coven” Burdoe wanted to create in Warwick.

Disappearance of Jason John Vance

Western Downs man Jason John Vance has been missing since his disappearance in Barakula State Forest, between Dalby and Chinchilla, in 2013.

Police believe at the time of Mr Vance’s disappearance, the man had been in the company of two associates, with all three attending the remote forest location to engage in what police suspect was drug related activity.

It is believed the trio created a makeshift bush camp and the father of three was last seen by his two associates wandering off into the bush.

Jason John Vance has been missing since 2013, with one of the State's top coroners hypothesising he had died due to misadventure. His body, phone or wallet has not been found.

An extensive search of the bush revealed no trace of the man, and he has not been found since.

A coroner’s inquest in 2017 found Mr Vance had not accessed his bank account, government services or used his telephone since his disappearance.

Police discovered the trio had not gone to the state forest for a camping trip as previously stated, but to find a location to begin producing amphetamine.

The inquest findings by deputy state coroner John Lock stated that “police have concluded that they suspect Jason is deceased, however they are unable to determine a cause”.

“On the evidence before me I find it is most likely Jason died of misadventure rather than foul play, although this cannot be absolutely excluded,” Mr Lock wrote.

There is currently a $250,000 reward for any information.

The death of David Timothy Frank Smith 

The unknown participant or participants which caused the death of an infant is a widely unknown case which haunts the state’s far western reaches.

On November 6, 1987, an unknown party tampered with track equipment, which resulted in the Westlander train, travelling from Brisbane to Quilpie, derailing at the Bindango Railway Siding.

There is a $50,000 reward for any information which leads police to the culprit behind the train's derailment.

The site of the derailment, 25km west of Roma, became a horrific sight, with thick black smoke billowing from the subsequent fire caused by the crash.

A young infant, David Timothy Frank Smith, was burnt to death in the fire caused by the train’s derailment, with nine others injured.

There is currently a $50,000 reward for information resulting in a conviction.

Where is Barbara Troughton?

Barbara Troughton remains a missing person. Picture: Contributed

Eight years ago, Toowoomba resident Barbara Troughton disappeared with questions about her wellbeing and where she went unanswered to this day.

Mrs Troughton left her home in Newtown, Toowoomba in 2016, and hasn’t been seen since.

The former supermarket owner simply got up and left her home on the morning of January 27, leaving a note for her husband and taking $100 cash.

She was last seen getting into a car and driving off.

Mrs Troughton is described as caucasian in appearance, about 163cm tall with reddish-brown hair and green eyes and of “good character”.

Toowoomba police do not believe Mrs Troughton has met with foul play, but until she makes contact with authorities in person, the case cannot be closed off.

Kerry Mackay disappears

Kerry Mackay, from Chinchilla, hasn't been seen since 2003. Her car was discovered in the years following her disappearance, in a state forest west of Warwick.

Ms Mackay, 39, was last seen at the Wondai Road Caravan Park at Chinchilla at 7.15am on February 27, 2003.

Police believe Ms Mackay was embarking on a 700km to Cunnamulla to visit her sister, however is believed to have taken a wrong road and gotten lost.

She was driving a white 1990 Toyota Corolla hatchback, which was later found - however, there was no trace of Kerry.

Four years after she disappeared, in a forest 27km west of Warwick, her car was discovered by a member of the public.

One of the car’s tyres had been punctured by a stick and the skeletons of her birds she was bringing to Cunnamulla were in a cage on the back seat.

In 2020, police said a skull and bones were located in the Durikai State Forest, near Thane, close to where the car was initially found.

However, more than two decades after she disappeared, and four years after the mysterious bones were found, it is unclear if those were her remains.

Anyone with information relating to any of the above cases should contact Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1800 333 000.