Australia Australia - Marion Barter, 51, missing after trip to UK, Jun 1997

[Itsapuzzle]

I just listened to podcast 10. I do not understand why people find it hard to believe someone has decided to start a new like. I feel sorry for MF Remakel, everyone will think he is a murderer.

Hi Oracle66, I actually had an uncle who did such a thing, went off to work as usual one day and never returned leaving a wife and three children behind but that's another story .... now, just my thoughts, why would Marion need to vanish? She lived alone, didn't have a husband, even told Sally she might relocate to the UK, renewed her licence to teach .... it just doesn't make sense, there's no point to vanish. And Monsieur Remakel will be able to clear his name pretty quickly if he's got nothing to do with the deed poll name change .... old passport check, job check, etc ... and I'm not actually thinking he could be a murderer, just thinking he may be connected with the name change .... and he may have a story to tell. If he has nothing to do with it, well, he'll have a story to tell his family and friends about the day Sally knocked on his door

 

[Cliff Hardy]

I've been looking up the average height of soccer midfielders and it's about 5'10/11, so on the tall side ...

Midfielders are normally running players and most often the shorter players in a team. The midfielders of today might be typically 5'10 or 5'11. But back in the late 1970s the average height for a midfielder was probably more like 5'7 or even less.

 

[Me123]

Gary Sheehan’s words in the latest conversations episode really makes me think he police know for a fact she’s up and left of her own free will and they can’t say a word about it!
I really don’t want that to be the case because I feel Like that’s the last thing a daughter would want (not that she wants any of this nightmare) but yeah..

Hi everyone, i'm new to this thread but not new to this case. I have been following the podcast etc avidly. I have had quite a bit of time on my hands lately at work and decided to help the team (as I knew they were in Europe) by tracking down a woman on facebook who had posted about a possible sighting in Byron Bay after seeing the Women's Weekly Aus article. With some luck, it didn't take me long and she phoned me yesterday. I planned to just pass her details onto Sally but this woman was very chatty and wanted to tell me everything. It sounds like a genuine lead which is very exciting but at the same time she doesn't want to get anyone's hopes up. For the past 15 or so years she has owned a business in Byron Bay (opposite the comm bank believe it or not) and see's this lady almost weekly. She fits Marion's description and is very reclusive. She is often seen having coffee by herself next door and appears quite mentally and physically unwell. She shies away from anyone asking personal questions. The business owner has never found out this lady's name but even her husband agreed it could be Marion before they made contact. This lady has stood out to them as she has never once bought anything in their shop but always asks odd things like "can you measure this item for me"? etc. She said to me, it stuck out to her in the article as she would definitely describe her as eccentric! It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps mental illness is playing a huge role in this mystery. I don't want to speculate but even the women's weekly article mentioned in the time before she disappeared Maron was "acting like she had a nervous breakdown." Even though she sounded fine on the phone to Sally etc, perhaps that wasn't really the case, people can cover things well. Just something I have been thinking about anyway. I have passed all the details on obviously, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. No CCTV in the business but it sounds like she is seen around town fairly regularly.

Has any update come from Sally & co? Are they looking in to this more? With this being the last episode on Monday for a while it doesn’t seem like This lady will be apart of an episode if Monday’s will be based on them overseas

 

[Itsapuzzle]

Okay, so I'm still obsessing about the shipping container ... I feel it's imperative that we find it. Does anyone know about how they worked in 1997? You'd have to give a forwarding address wouldn't you? I've said this all before but what the heck. I was looking on the Facebook page to see if a forwarding address had been mentioned and read a post that Lesley was the address given for the teacher's licence update, I think .... so maybe was Lesley's address for the shipping container. Did she get a letter saying "come and collect your things or we're going to sell the contents"? Or do they just put an ad in the paper and if you don't come fetch it's bad luck? Or, if Lesley (if it was her) never received a notice then that's a clue that the goods were collected. Also was thinking the shipping crate may have been up at Grafton where the Medicare card was used, or around Byron area, not the Gold Coast. Just some random thoughts

 

[Cliff Hardy]

Conversations 6 has been uploaded.

Haven't had a chance to listen to it yet.

 

[TheOracle66]

Gary Sheehan’s words in the latest conversations episode really makes me think he police know for a fact she’s up and left of her own free will and they can’t say a word about it!
I really don’t want that to be the case because I feel Like that’s the last thing a daughter would want (not that she wants any of this nightmare) but yeah..




Has any update come from Sally & co? Are they looking in to this more? With this being the last episode on Monday for a while it doesn’t seem like This lady will be apart of an episode if Monday’s will be based on them overseas

I agree, Gary definitely knows more than he is letting on. If marion stated she wanted wanted the info kept secret then the police are bound by this. Pretty selfish of Marion to just disappear without telling anyone but then if she did tell her family they would not have accepted this anyway.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

Just copied this snippet from post #116 in the thread - (forgiveness, quoting from my own post, hee)
Marianne REMAKEL wife SCHLESSER, born on 27.08.1950 in Luxembourg, residing at 72 rue Dr J. Peffer, L-2319 Howald
and
Carlo SCHLESSER, born August 30, 1951 in Luxembourg residing at 72 Dr J. Peffer Street, L-2319 Howald
Sourced document: Memorial C
So when I do a search for Carlo Schlesser it comes up as Carlo Schlesser-Remakel? Can anyone explain that, I don't get it. Is/was Marianne the wife of Schlesser or relative? If they're married why would Schlesser take her maiden name ... sorry if it's dumb question, but I'd be so interested to know. Thank you

 

[TheOracle66]

New South Wales police - MAJOR FAIL!

I don't think the police have failed. Marion changed her name, travelled with that name, even sold her house at a loss, the list goes on. She wanted to leave her old life behind. I certainly don't agree with what she did but I think she did a lot of planning. She carried on as normal so no one would suspect and probably had the date for her disappearance planned to a t.

 

[TheOracle66]

Hi Oracle66, I actually had an uncle who did such a thing, went off to work as usual one day and never returned leaving a wife and three children behind but that's another story .... now, just my thoughts, why would Marion need to vanish? She lived alone, didn't have a husband, even told Sally she might relocate to the UK, renewed her licence to teach .... it just doesn't make sense, there's no point to vanish. And Monsieur Remakel will be able to clear his name pretty quickly if he's got nothing to do with the deed poll name change .... old passport check, job check, etc ... and I'm not actually thinking he could be a murderer, just thinking he may be connected with the name change .... and he may have a story to tell. If he has nothing to do with it, well, he'll have a story to tell his family and friends about the day Sally knocked on his door

She didn't need to disappear, however she chose to. Maybe she felt a failure and embarrassed by her failed marriages etc and wanted a new start to life. I personally think that it is soooooo wrong to just disappear and put her family through this stress.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Just found this.


"Bonjour, est-ce que quelqu'un ici connaît M. Fernand Remakel? Je ne trouve pas de coordonnées pour lui. J'essaie de reprendre contact avec lui, je l'ai rencontré en Australie il y a longtemps. Merci Michele"

Translates as

"Hello, does anyone here know Mr. Fernand Remakel? I can not find coordinates for him. I'm trying to get in touch with him again, I met him in Australia a long time ago. Thanks Michele"

Les Frontaliers

 

[Itsapuzzle]

I had a bit of a giggle when the "spy" theory was mentioned in the Bonus Conversations 6 because that has been something I've started thinking about myself .... espionage, Luxembourg, inventions .... looks like he could invent some secretive stuff with secret panels, etc .... maybe that's why police can't say anything, who knows, hey .... maybe Marion had to deliver it OS for him in one of those small villages .....

 

[Itsapuzzle]

She didn't need to disappear, however she chose to. Maybe she felt a failure and embarrassed by her failed marriages etc and wanted a new start to life. I personally think that it is soooooo wrong to just disappear and put her family through this stress.

It's possible TheOracle66, who knows what's happened .... Gary Sheehan seems convinced she disappeared of her own volition, makes me think he must know something that can't be shared .....

 

[Rosewood]

Surely they can be upfront and just state the truth- she has been found, when without giving to much away.
So much conflicting information. If as some of the police statements are true- she wired money overseas , she came back in September not August , that they saw her in person themselves I would be more inclined to believe she ran off by her self.

I have been wondering a bit more about Owen. As they only became reunited in the time before she left did she find out something from him that made her run away - ie she blamed herself for his problems or something bad happened to him she felt responsible for? He was obviously troubled hence the suicide.
The part about him pulling power plugs off the wall was weird also.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

Have been putting these words up for translation, and it says this: "stateless, wife of Monsieur (sans etat, epouse de Monsieur) !! That's interesting ...... ?
stateless
adjective: stateless

1. (of a person) not recognized as a citizen of any country

Madame Marie-Anne Jeanne Ernestine Remakel, sans état, épouse de Monsieur Carlo Schlesser, née à Luxembourg, le 27 août 1950, ...

 

[Intriguedbyintrigue]

I'm also new to this forum but have been avidly following the podcast. I was initially fascinated by this story, however as it has gone along I'm starting to feel like this is less of a mystery and like more like a crusade against the privacy act. I find the continuing criticism of the police really unfair. If Marion does not want information shared with her family, the police can not share information.
My take on all of this is that Marion only ever intended a short stay overseas and that her disappearance was entirely of her own volition. She may have (as suggested in the latest conversation episode) gone overseas to marry. This would explain the name change because overseas marriages cannot be registered in Aust so to change to your husbands surname you have to use deed pol. I think she changed her name before leaving Australia to secure her possessions for her new life. The incremental cash withdrawals were Marion moving her money into accounts at a different bank in her new name. This would allow her to transact under both names. The $5k amounts were probably to avoid the withdrawals being reported under the financial transactions reporting act.
I think the reason Marion didnt touch her Super was because she didnt need to. At the time of going overseas Marion was under preservation age. However, when preservation age is reached accumulation accounts can convert into pension-style accounts allowing regular amounts to be credited to a bank account. Providing the account receiving the regular deposits and the super account are in the same name (Marion) and her signature matched the specimen on file there would be no reason for her Super fund (or Bank) to question her identity or think Marion had changed her legal name.

 

[Rosewood]

I'm also new to this forum but have been avidly following the podcast. I was initially fascinated by this story, however as it has gone along I'm starting to feel like this is less of a mystery and like more like a crusade against the privacy act. “

While I do kind of get your point surely it is reasonable for a family member to want to be sure everyone has their facts straight and she did actually communicate with the police.

Surely they could at least verify she has been communicated with and they have compelling evidence she disappeared of her own violation.

All the name changes etc mean squat if she died. remember the Drug gunner girl from Alice spring that was murdered and her little girl was dumped in a suit case in SA? Someone was faking she was alive and stealing her money for years even claiming fake dole. Things could still be very wrong here.

 

[Seabreeze1]

The fact a petition has been started means that Mr Remakel turned up a big fat Zero

It could also mean that they have a great lead and they need the NSW police to open the case and contact the police overseas to allow them to investigate.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

I'm also new to this forum but have been avidly following the podcast. I was initially fascinated by this story, however as it has gone along I'm starting to feel like this is less of a mystery and like more like a crusade against the privacy act. I find the continuing criticism of the police really unfair. If Marion does not want information shared with her family, the police can not share information.
My take on all of this is that Marion only ever intended a short stay overseas and that her disappearance was entirely of her own volition. She may have (as suggested in the latest conversation episode) gone overseas to marry. This would explain the name change because overseas marriages cannot be registered in Aust so to change to your husbands surname you have to use deed pol. I think she changed her name before leaving Australia to secure her possessions for her new life. The incremental cash withdrawals were Marion moving her money into accounts at a different bank in her new name. This would allow her to transact under both names. The $5k amounts were probably to avoid the withdrawals being reported under the financial transactions reporting act.
I think the reason Marion didnt touch her Super was because she didnt need to. At the time of going overseas Marion was under preservation age. However, when preservation age is reached accumulation accounts can convert into pension-style accounts allowing regular amounts to be credited to a bank account. Providing the account receiving the regular deposits and the super account are in the same name (Marion) and her signature matched the specimen on file there would be no reason for her Super fund (or Bank) to question her identity or think Marion had changed her legal name.

Welcome Intriguedbyintrigue, really enjoyed your post, so interesting. Just wondering would Marion have known all those things re banking, etc , I know I wouldn't have ..... maybe she was involved with (the mystery man) someone in a banking/financial business who advised her or took over her financial affairs for her? Just a thought.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

This new Freedom of Information document that says passport came back into country in September, not August 2, would clear up that mystery about the postcard that arrived a month after August 2. Changes a few things. I'd be inclined to go with this new date.

 

[jaz98]

Maybe these $5,000 withdrawals were taken out in cash to put into her new bank account in her new name. That way, instead of just transferring it straight into a new bank account it couldn't be tracked. It'd be interesting to see (if the bank can even check) if any accounts around that time, Australia or Luxembourg were receiving $5,000 increments in their bank account. Probably far fetched by you never know. I'm sure as whoever was withdrawing the 5k lots, they were being taken care of straight away.