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

[Mel 1303]

PI Thoughts started a timeline. I have taken and expanded. Pls excuse typos as I was typing fast while listening. Please add or fix as required:
Timeline, as described in the podcast


October 3, 1945- Born in Marrickville

1950ish- moved to Brisbane.

1957ish- Moved to Oyster Bay

Dec 1967- Marries Johnny Warren (ep 2)

1971- Splits from Johnny Warren, suffers nervous breakdown (according to John Economis)

1972- Began working with Janice White

1972- Began relationship with Stewart Brown

May 1973- Sally born

Oct 1974- Owen born

1975- Left Stewart, took children to Queensland. Returned to try and rekindle relationship when father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer

1977- Married Stewart Brown

1979- Divorced Stewart Brown, moved to Lapstone

?- Ray Barter moves in, after a few dates, having never met the children.

June 9 1985- Marriage to Ray

1988- Marion, Ray and Sally (Owen?) move to Gerringong

1989- Divorced Ray Barter

1993- Interviewed for position at TSS

1994- Commenced work at TSS

1996- Christmas with parents and Wilson family.

May 15th 1997 changed name by deed poll to Florabella Natalia Marion Remakel

June 23 1997- Left Australia from Brisbane airport

July 15th 1997 date supposed to travel on Orient Express but decided not to

July 31 1997- Marion calls Sally, leaving a message on her answering machine.

July 1997- sent early birthday to sister Diedre, whose birthday was August 7.

August 1 1997- Marion calls Sally from a payphone, indicating that she had postponed her trip on the orient express (highly suspicious in my opinion- everyone said that she desperately wanted to do this). Marion specifically says that she wont be in touch much (after having sent postcards/letters to a lot of people).

August 2 1997- Passport returns to Australia

August 30- postcard sent from Thunbridge England to Marions family

August/September 1997- daily withdrawals of $5000 from a bank in Byron Bay, with three of those days having withdrawals coming from a bank in Burleigh Heads.

September 13 1997- Marion visits doctor in Grafton

October 18th 1997 Son Owen’s birthday but no call was made to him which alerted Sally

October 22 1997- Sally reports to Byron Bay police station, with Senior Constable Graeme Childs lodging an occurrence. A stop was placed on Marions account, with a message for her to contact her daughter as a matter of urgency.

Late oct 1997- Byron Bay police related to Sally by phone- that he had spoken to Marion, who didn’t want any contact, or anyone to know where she was. No record in police documentation of this.

Late 1997- Jack Wilson, Marions father, in notes prepared for the Salvation Army, states that he asked the police what identification had been made and they said that the bank security had contacted Marion on the phone and that she didn’t want any contact.

1997- Sally showed photo of Marion to bank teller, who seemed to recognise her and took the photo to the manager. The teller returned, took a copy of the picture and asked Sally what she would like him to say if he saw her.

Feb 12 1998 Betty Brown sends letter to Jack Wilson, confirming that his request for assistance had been received.

March 18 1998- Letter from Salvation Army- to Jack Wilson. Confirming phone call, reiterating that his daughter had been identified withdrawing money at a different bank and that she spoke of starting a new life. Colonial State Bank at Ashmore- 15 October, 1990 (typo?) Marion withdrew the balance of her account. In referenced phone call, Marion had said she was angry with Sally for not putting the money from the car sale into her account, that she didn’t want anything to do with her family.

Oct 22 1998- Sally marries at TSS- Marion didn’t attend.

July 20 2001- Sallys first child born

March 6, 2002- Owen dies at 27 years old.

2002- Crimestoppers caller says a woman called Marion who was missing from northern nsw was killed and buried in bushland near Armidale.

April 15 2003- Salvation Army begins new search, instigated by Sally.

July 1 2003- Jack Wilson, Marions father, dies.

2010- Gary Sheehan investigates in Armidale- SES, dog in Armidale. Followed up at an address in Armidale. Address real, name not- people at the house had no idea.

Feb 7 2006- Salvation Army unable to locate Marion

2007- Marion’s passport expired

2007- Sally contacts AFP missing persons unit. AFP going to use Marion’s case for missing persons week, but NSW police asked them not for investigative reasons.

July 6 2007- Sally had NSW police unit changed to missing from occurance

July 11 2007- officer in NSW missing person unit sent email confirmed that status had been changed.

July 27 2007- NSW inspector to AFP- Marion was spoken with in last month.

August 2007- email to AFP- shows that Marion was not spoken to in the last month.

2009- Gary Sheehan takes on Marion’s case.

2010- Sally makes statement to police- prior to disappearance, Sally called her mother at Lesley’s, but Lesley thought that Marion was staying with Sally. Lesley said that her mother had also comeback very late on night, saying she had locked her keys in the car. (I assume this is after she has sold the house, before she left).

May 15 2011- NSW police inform Chris (Sally’s husband) that Marion had changed her name prior to leaving. Gary Sheehan went to Sally’s house to tell her about the change in name on her passport.

October 2011- Marion noted as “located”

December 2011- Apparently Sally is told that Marion was removed from the missing person- which Sally disputes.

2012- Gary Sheehan has Marion removed from listing as a missing person. (This is confusing)

July 23 2013- Clark Hunter messages on facebook- Natalia is alive but you will never see her again. It was not her intention to disappear, she was forced.

 

[Mel 1303]

A few questions, which I may have missed answers to.
1. What was the date of Marion's last known bank withdrawal? Was it after October 22, 1997, when Byron Bay police put a hold on the account? If Marion had tried to withdraw more money from the back, not only was the hold on the account, but the teller and the manager had her picture. The only way to get rid of the hold, without calling Sally, would have been for the manager to contact the police officer. If the manager is on the phone, and the police are hearing him say "yes, she is here, wants no contact with her family, has photo identification etc etc" that may well have been enough to convince the police and lift the hold.

2. Did Marion have three different accounts? Apparently her account at the Colonial State Bank was cleared out on the 15 October- and identification does seem to come from this transaction, too. Was there much in this account? She was withdrawing money in Byron from the Commonwealth bank.

3. Why the discrepancy over where she studied? Does it matter? In old articles it says Armidale, but the podcast says Wagga Wagga.

4. How did Marion know that Sally sold the car?

 

[Itsapuzzle]

Hi Mel 1303, if I could just contribute my thoughts to your Question 4 .... that is the one that to me has imposter written all over it! According to Sally there was no rush to sell the car, just whenever, and when sold to deposit the money in account ... Sally never told her mum she sold the car, so it can only be something that was known by the mystery man .... he knew that mentioning Sally and the car was about as good a security pass as you could get .... hey, just my opinion...... now also the bank said they had contacted Marion by phone to confirm it was her! Really! She didnt have a house at that point, let alone a phone!! What phone number did they ring .... can't have been the Merinda Court Southport address because she didn't live there anymore .... hmmm .... just my thoughts at this point ...... really thinking there's something rotten here in the bank .....

 

[Intriguedbyintrigue]

now also the bank said they had contacted Marion by phone to confirm it was her! Really! She didnt have a house at that point, let alone a phone!! What phone number did they ring .... can't have been the Merinda Court Southport address because she didn't live there anymore .... hmmm .... just my thoughts at this point ...... really thinking there's something rotten here in the bank .....

Did the bank say that they had contacted Marion? That's interesting.
I've wondered about what contact details Marion had on her accounts too (where were her statements going?). Banks require a residential address you cant just have a PO Box as the only address. I wonder if the house Marion sold was mortgaged because if the Bank was involved in the sale they would update her customer contact details as part of the process.

Privacy is such a big deal in finance. It's not surprising that they contacted Marion (or attempted to) but it is surprising that they told Sally about it - or was this info perhaps obtained via the police?

 

[Rosewood]

Other dates of interest
June 4th- Sally’s Engagement Patty where she saw her ex and son.
Sept 3rd where AFP claim Marion entered a he country again. I personally think this date fits better with everything else including when money was withdrawn.

With the original police report - it states 80 000 was wired overseas which conflicts with the bank stating she got $5000 out each day.

2004- her money from Barclays in the uk was returned to the commonwealth as untouched funds after 7 years. I find this very odd.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

Did the bank say that they had contacted Marion? That's interesting.
I've wondered about what contact details Marion had on her accounts too (where were her statements going?). Banks require a residential address you cant just have a PO Box as the only address. I wonder if the house Marion sold was mortgaged because if the Bank was involved in the sale they would update her customer contact details as part of the process.

Privacy is such a big deal in finance. It's not surprising that they contacted Marion (or attempted to) but it is surprising that they told Sally about it - or was this info perhaps obtained via the police?

Yes indeed, the bank statements, everything was in the mail in 1997, did they go to Lesley's too ... did someone come and collect her mail later or was it forwarded on to a PO Box in a bundle later? I really wonder if anyone actually heard a female voice on a phone confirming it was Marion, or just males in official positions confirming it. If there was a female voice, either it was Marion's or an accomplice ..... got no idea really. This snippet below from The Lady Vanishes is what has me curious .....

Episode 4 - Taken (time: 5.45 mins) :
"Unhappy with the way police were handling the matter, Marion's father Jack approached the Salvation Army's Family Tracing Service to try and track her down."
"... I asked what identification had been made. They said that the bank security had contacted Marion on the phone and had been told that she didn't want her whereabouts known. They said that the bank's security were like police and they were satisfied with their identification and if I wanted to probe further, get a private detective and start at Byron Bay."

 

[TheOracle66]

Yes indeed, the bank statements, everything was in the mail in 1997, did they go to Lesley's too ... did someone come and collect her mail later or was it forwarded on to a PO Box in a bundle later? I really wonder if anyone actually heard a female voice on a phone confirming it was Marion, or just males in official positions confirming it. If there was a female voice, either it was Marion's or an accomplice ..... got no idea really. This snippet below from The Lady Vanishes is what has me curious .....

Episode 4 - Taken (time: 5.45 mins) :
"Unhappy with the way police were handling the matter, Marion's father Jack approached the Salvation Army's Family Tracing Service to try and track her down."
"... I asked what identification had been made. They said that the bank security had contacted Marion on the phone and had been told that she didn't want her whereabouts known. They said that the bank's security were like police and they were satisfied with their identification and if I wanted to probe further, get a private detective and start at Byron Bay."

I wonder what phone number they contacted her on. Marion AKA Florabella must of gave bank contact details?

 

[TheOracle66]

Other dates of interest
June 4th- Sally’s Engagement Patty where she saw her ex and son.
Sept 3rd where AFP claim Marion entered a he country again. I personally think this date fits better with everything else including when money was withdrawn.

With the original police report - it states 80 000 was wired overseas which conflicts with the bank stating she got $5000 out each day.

2004- her money from Barclays in the uk was returned to the commonwealth as untouched funds after 7 years. I find this very odd.

I think that marion may have arranged a fake passport to fly back overseas so she would not be found. Maybe she didnt withdraw her other money due to the hassle of people questioning her about her whereabouts.

 

[TheOracle66]

Hi Mel 1303, if I could just contribute my thoughts to your Question 4 .... that is the one that to me has imposter written all over it! According to Sally there was no rush to sell the car, just whenever, and when sold to deposit the money in account ... Sally never told her mum she sold the car, so it can only be something that was known by the mystery man .... he knew that mentioning Sally and the car was about as good a security pass as you could get .... hey, just my opinion...... now also the bank said they had contacted Marion by phone to confirm it was her! Really! She didnt have a house at that point, let alone a phone!! What phone number did they ring .... can't have been the Merinda Court Southport address because she didn't live there anymore .... hmmm .... just my thoughts at this point ...... really thinking there's something rotten here in the bank .....

I dont see how selling the car was a security pass. The bank wouldnt have know this info. Didnt that info come from the salvation army. Marion told them? that she was not happy about the money not being deposited from the sale of the car.
Marion went into the bank and withdrew $5000 a day for over 3 weeks so the bank would have been able to id her. To be honest, I cant imagine an imposter would take that kind of risk. Marion also used her medicare card to seek medical treatment.

 

[Mel 1303]

Another question- Sally talked of Barbara, a teaching assistant in Marion's classroom. It sounds as though this was right before he left. She spoke of the little boy, the son of the pilot. He pointed at another woman and said his daddy was going to marry her. Who was the woman he pointed at? Another parent? A teacher? An unknown woman who was with the pilot dropping the child off at school? If it was someone from the school, her decision to leave the school so abruptly makes a whole lot more sense.

 

[Mel 1303]

In my own personal opinion, Marion walked away. I know there are things that on there own are suspicious, but big picture- she left, either on her own or in company. Where I have my doubts is to whether she intended to stay away. She changed her name without telling anyone, quit her job (didn't take a year of absence, just quit), sold her house and packed up her things. She did not change her name on anything other than her passport- so could switch between the two identities, resuming her own identity with all that knew her. While overseas she wrote a lot, then called Sally to tell her she was on holidays so wouldn't be writing- don't expect much correspondence. Setting it up for people not to question when they didn't hear from her, even though being on holidays hadn't stopped her so far. After coming quietly back into the country, she was changing the financial arrangements she was known to have had. Sally finds the trips back to the gold coast unusual for someone who wanted to disappear- if she wore her hair up high under a cap, put on jeans and a jumper, she probably wouldn't stand out as the curly haired lady who wore lots of florals. She could probably slip in and out of the bank without drawing much attention. She may well have organised transport of the shipping container at this time. By taking only the limit out each day, she is not raising any red flags- except maybe with the bank, and if she had photo id she would have been fine. I know that all the id is supposed to have been done on the phone, but you couldn't take $5000 out of an ATM at the time- you probably cant now. She would have had to go inside the branch, and engage with the teller. Then, whatever it was she was planning on doing, she could do with cash, eliminating the paper trail. I think the change in plans has come from Sally finding out that something was going on. Marion thought she had a year up her sleeve to do whatever it was she was planning on doing, and all of a sudden that was dramatically changed.

I think the complaining about the police on the podcast has been over the top. I cant really blame Sally- she has been through so many years of battling for some kind of explanation, of feeling hurt, rejected, scared, worried. But the journalists can surely see that Gary Sheehan has really gone above and beyond to find answers for Sally. I cant blame him for refusing to engage further in the podcast- he was openly interviewed, then thrown under the bus. Sally even said that he left his paper work on her table (he had driven to her house from Byron) while he went to the bathroom- how much more can he surreptitiously share? And could now well be in trouble if this is considered a breach. It really sounds to me as though the current officer does not know where Marion is, but is confident that an id has been made. The Salvation Army were also happy that she had been identified. The two things they said- Tell Sally I am angry about the car, and tell them to stop looking for me in Byron Bay, makes me wonder if they were the only things they legally could say. If Marion said "I don't want them to know anything, I don't want them to know where I am, I don't want any contact, but tell Sally I am angry about the car and to stop looking for me" the only thing they legally could tell the family is the stuff she said to tell them. It is not a crime to walk away, but it is a crime to divulge personal information if that person has specifically said they don't want people to know.

I am troubled by the question of where she is now. If she walked away, and is living happily under an assumed name, it would be very hard to come back. Not just to face your family, but to face what you've been away for- the deaths of her parents, the suicide of her son. The guilt at the pain and confusion that has been caused- the guilt at the division in the family. If she is still alive, she must have picked up a different identity to still be living under the radar. She is 73, she would surely, if nothing else, want access to the pension. I am torn- she had every right to walk away, if that is what she did (and I believe she did). I don't think she intended the absence to be forever- so what happened to her?

 

[Itsapuzzle]

Spontaneous thought .... if Marion wanted to start a whole new life why on earth would she come back to Australia? She was already overseas, had the choice of many new exciting places to settle in to begin again, so many new countries to explore ..... who in their right mind would come back to Australia, let alone return to own home State .... logically it makes no sense at all .... she couldn't even teach here, which is what she loved more than anything ..... there is absolutely no logic to it. Passport was never used again, oh boy ..... just my opinion at this point.
Will catch up on posts now

 

[Itsapuzzle]

I dont see how selling the car was a security pass. The bank wouldnt have know this info. Didnt that info come from the salvation army. Marion told them? that she was not happy about the money not being deposited from the sale of the car.
Marion went into the bank and withdrew $5000 a day for over 3 weeks so the bank would have been able to id her. To be honest, I cant imagine an imposter would take that kind of risk. Marion also used her medicare card to seek medical treatment.

I think it did the trick Oracle66, because the mention of the car to Marion's father and sisters straight away made them believe it had to be her because no-one else would have known about that, and they resigned themselves to the fact that she didn't want to be found based on that .... and other snippets I expect. However, whoever she was with would have known that, and if he had a female accomplice she would know too. Do you think? Oh my, it's all so mysterious ...

 

[Mel 1303]

Thanks Rosewood- your dates now added

October 3, 1945- Born in Marrickville

1950ish- moved to Brisbane.

1957ish- Moved to Oyster Bay

Dec 1967- Marries Johnny Warren (ep 2)

1971- Splits from Johnny Warren, suffers nervous breakdown (according to John Economis)

1972- Began working with Janice White

1972- Began relationship with Stewart Brown

May 1973- Sally born

Oct 1974- Owen born

1975- Left Stewart, took children to Queensland. Returned to try and rekindle relationship when father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer

1977- Married Stewart Brown

1979- Divorced Stewart Brown, moved to Lapstone

?- Ray Barter moves in, after a few dates, having never met the children.

June 9 1985- Marriage to Ray

1988- Marion, Ray and Sally (Owen?) move to Gerringong

1989- Divorced Ray Barter

1993- Interviewed for position at TSS

1994- Commenced work at TSS

1996- Christmas with parents and Wilson family.

May 15th 1997 changed name by deed poll to Florabella Natalia Marion Remakel

June 4th- Sally’s Engagement Patty where she saw her ex and son.

June 23 1997- Left Australia from Brisbane airport

July 15th 1997 date supposed to travel on Orient Express but decided not to

July 31 1997- Marion calls Sally, leaving a message on her answering machine.

July 1997- sent early birthday to sister Diedre, whose birthday was August 7.

August 1 1997- Marion calls Sally from a payphone, indicating that she had postponed her trip on the orient express (highly suspicious in my opinion- everyone said that she desperately wanted to do this). Marion specifically says that she wont be in touch much (after having sent postcards/letters to a lot of people).

August 2 1997- Passport returns to Australia

August 30- postcard sent from Thunbridge England to Marions family

August/September 1997- daily withdrawals of $5000 from a bank in Byron Bay, with three of those days having withdrawals coming from a bank in Burleigh Heads.

Sept 3rd where AFP claim Marion entered a he country again. I personally think this date fits better with everything else including when money was withdrawn.

September 13 1997- Marion visits doctor in Grafton

October 18th 1997 Son Owen’s birthday but no call was made to him which alerted Sally

October 22 1997- Sally reports to Byron Bay police station, with Senior Constable Graeme Childs lodging an occurrence. A stop was placed on Marions account, with a message for her to contact her daughter as a matter of urgency.

Late oct 1997- Byron Bay police related to Sally by phone- that he had spoken to Marion, who didn’t want any contact, or anyone to know where she was. No record in police documentation of this.

Late 1997- Jack Wilson, Marions father, in notes prepared for the Salvation Army, states that he asked the police what identification had been made and they said that the bank security had contacted Marion on the phone and that she didn’t want any contact.

1997- Sally showed photo of Marion to bank teller, who seemed to recognise her and took the photo to the manager. The teller returned, took a copy of the picture and asked Sally what she would like him to say if he saw her.

Feb 12 1998 Betty Brown sends letter to Jack Wilson, confirming that his request for assistance had been received.

March 18 1998- Letter from Salvation Army- to Jack Wilson. Confirming phone call, reiterating that his daughter had been identified withdrawing money at a different bank and that she spoke of starting a new life. Colonial State Bank at Ashmore- 15 October, 1990 (typo?) Marion withdrew the balance of her account. In referenced phone call, Marion had said she was angry with Sally for not putting the money from the car sale into her account, that she didn’t want anything to do with her family.

Oct 22 1998- Sally marries at TSS- Marion didn’t attend.

July 20 2001- Sallys first child born

March 6, 2002- Owen dies at 27 years old.

2002- Crimestoppers caller says a woman called Marion who was missing from northern nsw was killed and buried in bushland near Armidale.

April 15 2003- Salvation Army begins new search, instigated by Sally.

July 1 2003- Jack Wilson, Marions father, dies.

2004- her money from Barclays in the uk was returned to the commonwealth as untouched funds after 7 years. I find this very odd

2010- Gary Sheehan investigates in Armidale- SES, dog in Armidale. Followed up at an address in Armidale. Address real, name not- people at the house had no idea.

Feb 7 2006- Salvation Army unable to locate Marion

2007- Marion’s passport expired

2007- Sally contacts AFP missing persons unit. AFP going to use Marion’s case for missing persons week, but NSW police asked them not for investigative reasons.

July 6 2007- Sally had NSW police unit changed to missing from occurance

July 11 2007- officer in NSW missing person unit sent email confirmed that status had been changed.

July 27 2007- NSW inspector to AFP- Marion was spoken with in last month.

August 2007- email to AFP- shows that Marion was not spoken to in the last month.

2009- Gary Sheehan takes on Marion’s case.

2010- Sally makes statement to police- prior to disappearance, Sally called her mother at Lesley’s, but Lesley thought that Marion was staying with Sally. Lesley said that her mother had also comeback very late on night, saying she had locked her keys in the car. (I assume this is after she has sold the house, before she left).

May 15 2011- NSW police inform Chris (Sally’s husband) that Marion had changed her name prior to leaving. Gary Sheehan went to Sally’s house to tell her about the change in name on her passport.

October 2011- Marion noted as “located”

December 2011- Apparently Sally is told that Marion was removed from the missing person- which Sally disputes.

2012- Gary Sheehan has Marion removed from listing as a missing person. (This is confusing)

July 23 2013- Clark Hunter messages on facebook- Natalia is alive but you will never see her again. It was not her intention to disappear, she was forced.

 

[Mel 1303]

Passports- did Marion get a new passport in her new name, or did she have an existing passport updated to include her new name? Is there only one passport, or could she have had one under Marion and one under Florabella?

 

[TheOracle66]

In my own personal opinion, Marion walked away. I know there are things that on there own are suspicious, but big picture- she left, either on her own or in company. Where I have my doubts is to whether she intended to stay away. She changed her name without telling anyone, quit her job (didn't take a year of absence, just quit), sold her house and packed up her things. She did not change her name on anything other than her passport- so could switch between the two identities, resuming her own identity with all that knew her. While overseas she wrote a lot, then called Sally to tell her she was on holidays so wouldn't be writing- don't expect much correspondence. Setting it up for people not to question when they didn't hear from her, even though being on holidays hadn't stopped her so far. After coming quietly back into the country, she was changing the financial arrangements she was known to have had. Sally finds the trips back to the gold coast unusual for someone who wanted to disappear- if she wore her hair up high under a cap, put on jeans and a jumper, she probably wouldn't stand out as the curly haired lady who wore lots of florals. She could probably slip in and out of the bank without drawing much attention. She may well have organised transport of the shipping container at this time. By taking only the limit out each day, she is not raising any red flags- except maybe with the bank, and if she had photo id she would have been fine. I know that all the id is supposed to have been done on the phone, but you couldn't take $5000 out of an ATM at the time- you probably cant now. She would have had to go inside the branch, and engage with the teller. Then, whatever it was she was planning on doing, she could do with cash, eliminating the paper trail. I think the change in plans has come from Sally finding out that something was going on. Marion thought she had a year up her sleeve to do whatever it was she was planning on doing, and all of a sudden that was dramatically changed.

I think the complaining about the police on the podcast has been over the top. I cant really blame Sally- she has been through so many years of battling for some kind of explanation, of feeling hurt, rejected, scared, worried. But the journalists can surely see that Gary Sheehan has really gone above and beyond to find answers for Sally. I cant blame him for refusing to engage further in the podcast- he was openly interviewed, then thrown under the bus. Sally even said that he left his paper work on her table (he had driven to her house from Byron) while he went to the bathroom- how much more can he surreptitiously share? And could now well be in trouble if this is considered a breach. It really sounds to me as though the current officer does not know where Marion is, but is confident that an id has been made. The Salvation Army were also happy that she had been identified. The two things they said- Tell Sally I am angry about the car, and tell them to stop looking for me in Byron Bay, makes me wonder if they were the only things they legally could say. If Marion said "I don't want them to know anything, I don't want them to know where I am, I don't want any contact, but tell Sally I am angry about the car and to stop looking for me" the only thing they legally could tell the family is the stuff she said to tell them. It is not a crime to walk away, but it is a crime to divulge personal information if that person has specifically said they don't want people to know.

I am troubled by the question of where she is now. If she walked away, and is living happily under an assumed name, it would be very hard to come back. Not just to face your family, but to face what you've been away for- the deaths of her parents, the suicide of her son. The guilt at the pain and confusion that has been caused- the guilt at the division in the family. If she is still alive, she must have picked up a different identity to still be living under the radar. She is 73, she would surely, if nothing else, want access to the pension. I am torn- she had every right to walk away, if that is what she did (and I believe she did). I don't think she intended the absence to be forever- so what happened to her?

Maybe the person she is with is well off and therefore doesnt need a pension. If however she is overseas living, she would not be eligible for a pension

 

[Intriguedbyintrigue]

By taking only the limit out each day, she is not raising any red flags- except maybe with the bank, and if she had photo id she would have been fine. I know that all the id is supposed to have been done on the phone, but you couldn't take $5000 out of an ATM at the time- you probably cant now. She would have had to go inside the branch, and engage with the teller.

At the time the Bank probably used signature cards to confirm identity. When Sally questions why her mum would return to a place she is well known - this could be why.

I agree with you Mel 1303. I think Marion wanted to keep dual identities and take her time but Sally's enquiries made everything have to happen overnight. It would be very hard to go back after all this time.

I am also very uncomfortable about the way the police have been portrayed in this. I think Gary has done everything he can (and more).

 

[Intriguedbyintrigue]

I wonder what phone number they contacted her on. Marion AKA Florabella must of gave bank contact details?

The bank would have updated her contact details when she sold the house. It would be part of the discharge activity.

 

[TheOracle66]

The bank would have updated her contact details when she sold the house. It would be part of the discharge activity.

Yes I agree, however if she was meant to be travelling overseas for a year ,then its strange she had a phone number to give them.

 

[TheOracle66]

At the time the Bank probably used signature cards to confirm identity. When Sally questions why her mum would return to a place she is well known - this could be why.

I agree with you Mel 1303. I think Marion wanted to keep dual identities and take her time but Sally's enquiries made everything have to happen overnight. It would be very hard to go back after all this time.

I am also very uncomfortable about the way the police have been portrayed in this. I think Gary has done everything he can (and more).

I agree and at the end of the day Marion was extremely dishonest to her family.