NT Coroner to investigate the 2016 disappearance of Darwin father Richard Roe

A suspected murder mystery at the edge of a Top End tropical getaway will be explored in an upcoming coronial inquest.

The NT Courts have confirmed an inquest will be held into the disappearance and suspected murder of 40-year-old Richard Roe.

A mystery at the heart of Darwin’s underworld drug scene could be exposed, bringing some closure to the family of a missing father.

The NT Courts have listed an inquest into the disappearance and suspected murder of 40-year-old Richard Roe.

Seven years after he vanished, the 2024 inquest could reveal how the former rugby player and concreter spiralled into a life of addiction and how the 40-year-old found himself in the murky world of Darwin’s meth scene.

The Darwin father was last seen struggling with his broken down car on Cadogan Rd, Lake Bennett, stopping motorists in a bid for fuel on November 2, 2016.

Police held fears for Darwin man Richard Roe who’s abandoned car was found near Lake Bennett in 2016.

Days later his 2004 Holden Commodore station wagon was found on the Stuart Highway and flagged by council workers as another abandoned vehicle.

It would take another month before Mr Roe was officially reported missing.

Following an anonymous tip-off to police, an initial search covered more than 2.5 sqkm of thick bushland in December.

That was later narrowed to a 500 sqm area which was combed through by a 40-strong search party.

An anonymous tip-off to police led to an initial search of more than 2.5 sqkm of thick bushland in December.

Still, there was no sign of Mr Roe or his body, with police suspecting foul play was behind his disappearance.

Investigators have previously speculated that his disappearance may be linked to debts or a drug deal gone wrong.

Police search bushland near Lake Bennett for the body of missing man Richard Roe 129 days after he disappeared.

Police have said the 40-year-old was not a ‘king pin’, but a man struggling with his meth addiction and used for drug runs in the Top End.

Loved ones have remembered Mr Roe as a brother, father, a “good bloke” and a “proper Darwin lad”.

“He got a bit lost and involved with the wrong crowd, but he is a good bloke, old school great footy player,” a friend told the NT News in 2016.

Loved ones have remembered Mr Roe as a brother, father, a “good bloke” and a “proper Darwin lad”

“I know if I was anywhere stuck or in trouble he wouldn’t hesitate to help”.

In 2019, Territory detectives made the rare move to offer a $250,000 reward for information about Mr Roe’s disappearance, including the final resting place of his body.

The NT Coroner’s office has listed an initial hearing date for May 21, with the formal inquest date yet to be confirmed.

Originally published as NT Coroner to investigate the 2016 disappearance of Darwin father Richard Roe