Found Deceased Australia - Russell Hill, 74, & Carol Clay, 72, Wonnangatta Valley, 20 Mar 2020 #4 *ARREST*

[TootsieFootsie]

Suddenly, Weekend at Bernie's came to my minds eye, with one man on each side supporting Bernie's shoulders.

 

[SouthAussie]

Suddenly weekend at Bernie's came to my minds eye, with one man on each side supporting Bernie's shoulders.

I wonder if the bulldozer workers were able to get a glimpse of how many travellers were inside the landcruiser that went roaring by.

Or if the dam CCTV could tell how many travellers were inside.

 

[everybodhi]

The few times that drones have been flown around here, I was really interested and so was my friend but that was a few years ago and was when they first came on the market. Haven't heard one for ages. I think there are rules now about flying them over peoples houses etc.

But I would have thought being somewhere sort of isolated that some would think it was ok to fly them there.

After driving hours into the wilderness to get away from people and civilization, a stranger’s drone flying over my remote, private, campsite would irritate the heck out of me.
I probably wouldn’t kill them and burn their stuff, though.
I’m passive and introverted enough to go into my tent and hide, hoping they go away, maybe quietly complain with my companion about it, but a more aggressive person without self control?
People sometimes kill over fairly trivial things that set them off, especially if both sides are confrontational.

 

[OzFreelancer]

I'm super confused about the hiker/camper who first found the fire. It was initially reported as a couple of hikers, then it was someone camping with his family nearby. What is his story really? Did he take the photo of the burnt-out campsite that has been used in all the press? Did he report it as soon as he was back in cell range, or after they were reported missing? It's unusual for such a witness not to be named and interviewed ad infinitum in a case like this.

I've also been unable to find anything about where/whether Russell and Carol had a campfire. It would be extremely unusual for campers in the area not to have a campfire (unless it was Total Fire Ban, which it wasn't). Where was the campfire in relation to their campsite?

I also wonder at the emphasis given to the "missing sleeping bags". Couples, especially older couples, almost never use sleeping bags when camping in a large comfortable setup like that. They use doonas (which would have likely been completely obliterated by the fire).

I also am dubious that the "friend" was as close to Russell as he claims. On his website, Ashlin has loads of pictures of friends and people he has met through Ham Radio, and Russell is not in any of them.

The theories I think are most likely are:
- accidental shooting by rogue hunters
- pissed off nearby campers and fight escalated to manslaughter/cover up
- got lost looking for drone/fell down ravine or similar

The theories I think can be discarded are:
- ran off together
- Button Man/Mountain People

On the fence about:
- stumbled on drug plantation (there are grows in the area, but most seem very small/not worth killing over)

 

[OzFreelancer]

to add to the above... Looking at the campsite photo, that doesn't look necessarily like it was their sleeping tent. It looks like one of those mozzie-proof gazebos some campers have where they set up their chairs/table/cooking station. Who has that stuff in their sleeping tent?

 

[SouthAussie]

to add to the above... Looking at the campsite photo, that doesn't look necessarily like it was their sleeping tent. It looks like one of those mozzie-proof gazebos some campers have where they set up their chairs/table/cooking station. Who has that stuff in their sleeping tent?

Welcome to the thread. Just in response to this post ....

I think the point has been made by the ham radio friend who has camped with Russell before, as well as the Under Investigation team, that it looks as if someone threw into the fire all of the things that Russell would typically keep outside his tent. Other than the esky, which was still under the vehicle.

 

[SouthAussie]

<RSBM>
I also am dubious that the "friend" was as close to Russell as he claims. On his website, Ashlin has loads of pictures of friends and people he has met through Ham Radio, and Russell is not in any of them.

There is this pic that has been published, that has both of them in it. From one of their ham radio club camping trips.

The friend is in the brown plaid shirt, Russell in the turquoise/blue colour jumper. They have reportedly been friends for about 30 years.



No Cookies | Herald Sun

 

[OzFreelancer]

I'm aware of that pic. I'm in dozens of pics with people I've shared campsites with but barely know and am in many similar pics with people I couldn't name. Not saying that's the case here, but odd that in the many pics Rob has on his own site, Russell is in none, no?

 

[SouthAussie]

I'm aware of that pic. I'm in dozens of pics with people I've shared campsites with but barely know and am in many similar pics with people I couldn't name. Not saying that's the case here, but odd that in the many pics Rob has on his own site, Russell is in none, no?

Well, I don't know which site you are speaking of. But I can think of reasons that Russell may not have featured there.

One of the reasons being that less photos may have been taken of Russell - a generational thing.
Another being that perhaps Russell didn't like people to take his photo, so there are few candid shots.
Another being that if Carol was there too, Russell may have preferred that no photos were ever displayed.

I honestly have no reason to believe that the friend is anything less than what he claims to be. And if he has been able to assist the police (and us) with independent information about Russell, that is good.

We have certainly heard nothing from anyone else in either family - no press conferences asking for the public's help, no interviews - just a few comments from Russell's wife who seems pretty sure that Russell and Carol are both deceased.

 

[Kemug]

Nevertheless, it is quite possible that RA wasn't quite as close to RH as is implied. I wish we would hear from others in their group.

 

[Kemug]

Also, maybe Russell wasn't in photos because he was the one taking them!

 

[Theodora]

I suspect that RA's "best friend" status doesn't mean RH confided in him about personal matters. I also have the impressionsion CC didn't attend any of the radio group's camping get-togethers, although RH's wife went to at least one. Everything RA said about the history of RH and CC's relationship was expressed in a way that was consistent with RA learning that information from a 3rd party, such as RH's wife.

Nevertheless, it is quite possible that RA wasn't quite as close to RH as is implied. I wish we would hear from others in their group.

 

[SouthAussie]

I suspect that RA's "best friend" status doesn't mean RH confided in him about personal matters. I also have the impressionsion CC didn't attend any of the radio group's camping get-togethers, although RH's wife went to at least one. Everything RA said about the history of RH and CC's relationship was expressed in a way that was consistent with RA learning that information from a 3rd party, such as RH's wife.

You think Russell's wife told his good friend that Russell was going to live with Carol but backed out at the last minute?
And that Russell used to take Carol on his logging trips before he retired?

If so, Russell's wife was not as surprised as she says she was that Carol was with Russell when they disappeared.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

‘We don’t jump at ghosts here’: What happened in Wonnangatta Valley?

In a region with a long history of missing persons, the disappearance of Carol Clay and Russell Hill has sparked many rumours.

In one of its most remote corners are the charred remains of a burnt-out campsite, now strewn with the butchered remains of deer carcasses left behind by hunters. This macabre spot is at the centre of a case that has mystified Victorians and stumped police.

“You’d have to say there’s a third party involved,” says Mountain Cattlemen’s Association stalwart Graeme Stoney. “Though we may never know. The high country holds its secrets close.”

From another section.

Clay had told this friend about Hill, describing him as someone she had known before her marriage.

“She had stayed friends with him,” she says. “That doesn’t happen very often.

“There’s no way she would run off and do this to everybody, it’s just not possible. It’s too hard to do it these days. That’s not the scenario.”

Others, though, told The Age about the vitriol that arose when Clay invited Hill to stay at CWA headquarters years before they disappeared.

Very long article with maps and photos.

 

[Kemug]

Thanks so much for finding this article, Tootsie - it has been virtually impossible to glean any details about the missing couple, which is fair enough, but doesn't help we sleuths. I must say that I have finally narrowed my suspicions down to accidentally killed, and therefore disposed of. If so, I doubt we'll ever learn any more. But what do I know?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I'm hoping that one day, the family at least will get some answers as to what really happened.

It's good that the media isn't giving up on the case.

 

[SouthAussie]

Thanks so much for finding this article, Tootsie - it has been virtually impossible to glean any details about the missing couple, which is fair enough, but doesn't help we sleuths. I must say that I have finally narrowed my suspicions down to accidentally killed, and therefore disposed of. If so, I doubt we'll ever learn any more. But what do I know?

It doesn't get any easier, no matter how long we are here. Because we are always working with so little information - though it is probably more info than the general public, because we watch out for anything related to the case.

The only thing that gets easier is the familiarity we get about police tactics, technologies, and court procedures.

Sometimes an arrest surprises us, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes there is no arrest for a long, long time.

 

[SouthAussie]

‘We don’t jump at ghosts here’: What happened in Wonnangatta Valley?

In a region with a long history of missing persons, the disappearance of Carol Clay and Russell Hill has sparked many rumours.

In one of its most remote corners are the charred remains of a burnt-out campsite, now strewn with the butchered remains of deer carcasses left behind by hunters. This macabre spot is at the centre of a case that has mystified Victorians and stumped police.

“You’d have to say there’s a third party involved,” says Mountain Cattlemen’s Association stalwart Graeme Stoney. “Though we may never know. The high country holds its secrets close.”

From another section.

Clay had told this friend about Hill, describing him as someone she had known before her marriage.

“She had stayed friends with him,” she says. “That doesn’t happen very often.

“There’s no way she would run off and do this to everybody, it’s just not possible. It’s too hard to do it these days. That’s not the scenario.”

Others, though, told The Age about the vitriol that arose when Clay invited Hill to stay at CWA headquarters years before they disappeared.

Very long article with maps and photos.

I wonder if that is Russell and Carol's burned campsite, a year later, in the first video in the article. All overgrown now.

What a beautiful place that area is. So desolate though. I can only imagine what Russell and Carol encountered, and find it really horrible that their happy week of camping turned out this way.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

And he only had the vehicle for a year. I bet he was pretty protective of it.

Not that if it was older you wouldn't be, but with a year old vehicle you might still have that "new" feeling.

Also it seems like Carol tried to go public, ie with the CWA with her friend Russell but it sounds like it didn't go down very well. I'm sure there was gossip about it. It's only human nature.

It seems that more people knew about them than I thought.

 

[SouthAussie]

This is the public post that CWA Victoria put up when Carol went missing.
I think it is okay to put here, as it is an official organisation.
It had 148 shares and 43 comments.

The Country Women's Association of Victoria Inc. - CWA