So he must have bought it fairly soon after he retired, and had probably been planning and dreaming of using it to explore his beloved High Country for years. I'm so glad that he got to have a few years doing that.
Found Deceased Australia - Russell Hill, 74, & Carol Clay, 72, Wonnangatta Valley, 20 Mar 2020 #6 *charges*
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Well I think I have said about all there is to say on my part for now. I will keep an eye on this thread but may not participate so much in the future. I think it is time for Vicpol to do their job and assemble the best case they can before the trial starts. I think I have given fair and honest information to the best of my knowledge in my posts, but there may still be mistakes in there. Personally I think it is now time to wait until we find out more from the official sources before making further conjecture and hypocrisies.
I have enjoyed the ride even though I have lost a good friend. RIP Russell and Carol.
I have enjoyed the ride even though I have lost a good friend. RIP Russell and Carol.
SouthAussie
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Thanks for your input, Motomike.
Treasure your memories of your good mate. Maybe we'll see you again here, when the court appearances start.
sleuther123
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Bats
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Thanks so much again for your insight Motomike!
Elizabeth Lavenza
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Thanks, Mike.
brissygirl2019
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Thank you for your insightful posts Motomike, take care & look forward to seeing your posts again down the track!
Oz Jen
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Thank you so much for your informative posts, Motomike. So generous of you to share your insights when you've lost a great friend.
Take care.
RIP Russell and Carol.
JudgeJudi
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I've given that a lot of thought too. The problem is we don't know which came first. If it was the CCT image, then perhaps the sketch is what was seen by witnesses. The shape of what's underneath the tarp is telling. I think the trailer was 7' x 5', so it's capable of carrying 2 bodies. The police will definitely know.
I wonder if LE got the sketch artist to make the tarp look bulgy deliberately.
Reason I suggest that is I was under the impression that by the time he was photographed at GAP he'd already disposed of
R & C's bodies and was on his way home.
JudgeJudi
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I found this to be a really useful video as it has so many details in one place. Returning to videos and looking for something drives me up the wall, so I’ve done a transcript of sorts which makes it easier to find things. I’ll post it in 3 parts.
Posted on 7 April, 2021
1,272,153 views
Posted on 7 April, 2021
1,272,153 views
JudgeJudi
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60 Minutes - The High Country mystery on YouTube
Part 1: The affair
Russell introduced Carol as a “friend” to his best mate, Rob Ashlin. Even though they were discreet, they did come into contact with others when camping, including Ashlin who said, “I’ve been around for more than 5 minutes. Looks more than a friend to me. You could see the closeness”. “She was a very dressed up sort of lady for in the bush and most definitely wore lipstick”. It was clear to some people that they were a couple.
RH’s wife, Robyn, told Ashlin that the affair had been going on for 20 years and that they had been teenage sweethearts. Robyn didn’t know they were together on this trip but wasn’t surprised that they’d gone camping together when they went missing. CC had gone on truck trips with RH when he was a logger. RH was wealthy and CC was financially secure.
The CWA counted CC amongst its superstars. She was elected as a member of honour and gave her all to the CWA. Despite devoting her life to it, her name as a member of honour was taken off their monthly newsletter. Her elegance and glamour were legendary. She always wore lipstick and kept it in her pocket. She even wore it when camping.
Ashlin said the members of the radio club were a bit upset about the affair. He told some other members of the club because their wives needed to know that their husbands weren’t taking a girlfriend away on camping trips.
Part 1: The affair
Russell introduced Carol as a “friend” to his best mate, Rob Ashlin. Even though they were discreet, they did come into contact with others when camping, including Ashlin who said, “I’ve been around for more than 5 minutes. Looks more than a friend to me. You could see the closeness”. “She was a very dressed up sort of lady for in the bush and most definitely wore lipstick”. It was clear to some people that they were a couple.
RH’s wife, Robyn, told Ashlin that the affair had been going on for 20 years and that they had been teenage sweethearts. Robyn didn’t know they were together on this trip but wasn’t surprised that they’d gone camping together when they went missing. CC had gone on truck trips with RH when he was a logger. RH was wealthy and CC was financially secure.
The CWA counted CC amongst its superstars. She was elected as a member of honour and gave her all to the CWA. Despite devoting her life to it, her name as a member of honour was taken off their monthly newsletter. Her elegance and glamour were legendary. She always wore lipstick and kept it in her pocket. She even wore it when camping.
Ashlin said the members of the radio club were a bit upset about the affair. He told some other members of the club because their wives needed to know that their husbands weren’t taking a girlfriend away on camping trips.
JudgeJudi
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Part 2: The last verbal contact with RH, discovery of the burnt tent and sightings of RH and CC
At 6:00pm RH joined the regular evening radio club call. The club members talked for about 30 minutes. RH stayed on the line and told Ashlin of his plans for the next day’s trip. It was the last time Ashlin heard from him. RH was happy, no mention of others, CC being with him or anyone else near the campsite. The radio call ended at 6:40pm.
As sunset was at 7:24 pm, there was only a short window of opportunity to cook, fly the drone etc. before it was pitch black. Ashlin was worried by RH’s radio silence over the next few days. He passed on his concerns to Robyn who then reported him missing when he failed to return home, but 5 days had passed. By the time police had mustered a team to the high country, 8 days had passed since the last radio call.
At 2:00pm the next day, a passerby came across the campsite which had been completely destroyed by fire. He took the iconic photo we’ve all seen, but it wasn’t handed to the police for more than a week.
Local contract musterer, Lachlan Culican, had been asked to assist the police search for the couple. What he saw convinced him an intruder had most likely come into the campsite. The car was locked, both their wallets and scattered with membership cards etc were scattered on the floor of the car, but cash and debit/credit cards were missing. He later saw a worker spraying blackberries who claimed he saw RH and CC driving by on Friday night and that a drone had been flying. He said RH flew his drone over his camp that night, which he thought was a bit disrespectful. He was adamant it was RH’s drone.
There was no mobile phone reception and the nearest phone service was a couple of hours away.
Ashlin believes RH would never walk into dense bushland, and if he was injured, he’s sure CC would have tried to call for help over the radio. He believes it’s clear RH faced trouble because of what he saw in the photos of the fire. Everything had been thrown inside the tent and it was set alight. RH would never light an open fire anywhere near his tent and car. It would only be a small fire and would be at least 20 metres away.
At 6:00pm RH joined the regular evening radio club call. The club members talked for about 30 minutes. RH stayed on the line and told Ashlin of his plans for the next day’s trip. It was the last time Ashlin heard from him. RH was happy, no mention of others, CC being with him or anyone else near the campsite. The radio call ended at 6:40pm.
As sunset was at 7:24 pm, there was only a short window of opportunity to cook, fly the drone etc. before it was pitch black. Ashlin was worried by RH’s radio silence over the next few days. He passed on his concerns to Robyn who then reported him missing when he failed to return home, but 5 days had passed. By the time police had mustered a team to the high country, 8 days had passed since the last radio call.
At 2:00pm the next day, a passerby came across the campsite which had been completely destroyed by fire. He took the iconic photo we’ve all seen, but it wasn’t handed to the police for more than a week.
Local contract musterer, Lachlan Culican, had been asked to assist the police search for the couple. What he saw convinced him an intruder had most likely come into the campsite. The car was locked, both their wallets and scattered with membership cards etc were scattered on the floor of the car, but cash and debit/credit cards were missing. He later saw a worker spraying blackberries who claimed he saw RH and CC driving by on Friday night and that a drone had been flying. He said RH flew his drone over his camp that night, which he thought was a bit disrespectful. He was adamant it was RH’s drone.
There was no mobile phone reception and the nearest phone service was a couple of hours away.
Ashlin believes RH would never walk into dense bushland, and if he was injured, he’s sure CC would have tried to call for help over the radio. He believes it’s clear RH faced trouble because of what he saw in the photos of the fire. Everything had been thrown inside the tent and it was set alight. RH would never light an open fire anywhere near his tent and car. It would only be a small fire and would be at least 20 metres away.
JudgeJudi
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Part 3: The burnt campsite and fire
Ashlin said RH was extremely capable and cautious in the bush. When he saw the photos, he knew something unforgiving had happened. The gas bottle wouldn’t have been inside the tent. It just never ever happened. If it wasn’t in his truck, it would be sitting underneath the truck outside. He set up his campsite the same way every time and a sketch of his set-up is shown.
Greg Kelly, one of Australia’s most experienced and respected fire forensic experts said if you look at the location of the fire to where the car is, you don’t see fire developing into the tyres and the Esky hasn’t melted. There wasn’t a lot of heat going across to the vehicle. There are no burn patterns in the doors, but the intensity of the fire suggests it was a very hot, quick fire that used up all the fuels and then extinguished. There could have been an accelerant.
He conducted a number of test burns to see if the tent could have worked as a wicking mechanism to help the fire develop from one area to another. He used a gas torch on the guy ropes which ignited and self-extinguished. He lit the tent material, webbing and tie-downs, but each time he took the flame away, it only burned for a very short time and then extinguished.
If the gas bottle(s) was sitting in the middle of the fire with the gas *advertiser censored* turned on, and have the LPG as a fuel, while that pressure’s coming out, it’s going to continue igniting and continue to burn. He believes the fire was lit deliberately.
The passerby who took the photo the next day said the fire was cold. Kelly said it was a surface fire. If it burned relatively quickly, it would be hours before it was cold. He said that even if the fabric of the bags and insulating material were destroyed by fire, he would expect to see remnants of zippers.
The phones and drone are missing – everything that takes an image is gone. A set of car keys and the sleeping bags were also missing. Ashlin believes they were removed from the tent in the sleeping bags which were used as body bags.
The missing persons expert said, “We have to focus on the boots because elastic-side work-type boots which a bushman would wear … they’re not there”. [Speculation? We don’t know what type of footwear RH was wearing.] He considered the area too remote for a drug crop. He thinks they’d be closer to a major centre if they were going to be in a bush area and easily accessible.
Culican talks about illegal hunters in the area where RH and CC were camped. He found large numbers of dead deer, one only 50m from the campsite. A lot of stags were missing antlers and one beheaded stag was only a couple of days old. He talks about packs of wild dogs and said he wouldn’t like your chances if you couldn’t get up. They could be a threat to humans if they’re hungry enough.
Ashlin said RH was extremely capable and cautious in the bush. When he saw the photos, he knew something unforgiving had happened. The gas bottle wouldn’t have been inside the tent. It just never ever happened. If it wasn’t in his truck, it would be sitting underneath the truck outside. He set up his campsite the same way every time and a sketch of his set-up is shown.
Greg Kelly, one of Australia’s most experienced and respected fire forensic experts said if you look at the location of the fire to where the car is, you don’t see fire developing into the tyres and the Esky hasn’t melted. There wasn’t a lot of heat going across to the vehicle. There are no burn patterns in the doors, but the intensity of the fire suggests it was a very hot, quick fire that used up all the fuels and then extinguished. There could have been an accelerant.
He conducted a number of test burns to see if the tent could have worked as a wicking mechanism to help the fire develop from one area to another. He used a gas torch on the guy ropes which ignited and self-extinguished. He lit the tent material, webbing and tie-downs, but each time he took the flame away, it only burned for a very short time and then extinguished.
If the gas bottle(s) was sitting in the middle of the fire with the gas *advertiser censored* turned on, and have the LPG as a fuel, while that pressure’s coming out, it’s going to continue igniting and continue to burn. He believes the fire was lit deliberately.
The passerby who took the photo the next day said the fire was cold. Kelly said it was a surface fire. If it burned relatively quickly, it would be hours before it was cold. He said that even if the fabric of the bags and insulating material were destroyed by fire, he would expect to see remnants of zippers.
The phones and drone are missing – everything that takes an image is gone. A set of car keys and the sleeping bags were also missing. Ashlin believes they were removed from the tent in the sleeping bags which were used as body bags.
The missing persons expert said, “We have to focus on the boots because elastic-side work-type boots which a bushman would wear … they’re not there”. [Speculation? We don’t know what type of footwear RH was wearing.] He considered the area too remote for a drug crop. He thinks they’d be closer to a major centre if they were going to be in a bush area and easily accessible.
Culican talks about illegal hunters in the area where RH and CC were camped. He found large numbers of dead deer, one only 50m from the campsite. A lot of stags were missing antlers and one beheaded stag was only a couple of days old. He talks about packs of wild dogs and said he wouldn’t like your chances if you couldn’t get up. They could be a threat to humans if they’re hungry enough.
This is the only statement that I think the journos got wrong. Russell would have set up camp (maybe only the necessities like tent sleeping and cooking arrangements) then maybe flown the drone. Next Radio call to our group then cook and eat dinner. Russell would often eat early when camping in winter so that cooking , eating and cleaning up after could be done in daylight. I don't see why that would change because CC was with him. So he and CC may have eaten before the radio call as he seemed not to be in a hurry to get away and continued till 6:40 pm.
The rest of your 3 summaries fit well with my recollections and beliefs about how Russell would have gone about things.
OwlHeart
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It both angers and saddens me to know that a stag that was only a couple of days old was beheaded.
Illegal hunters sicken me.
Perhaps a small percentage of them are just slightly bending the law, but many would be cold, bloodthirsty brutes. The kind of men and women that act in direct opposition to the Indigenous peoples way of living in harmony with country.
Hunting in accordance with the law can often be questionable too imo but that's not a discussion to have on WS.
To think RH and CC could have lost their lives because they discovered GL hurting young deer or on an illegal killing spree is awful. Perhaps one of them spoke up on behalf of the animals. How brave and honourable of them if so.
All speculation imo of course. Although from what we've heard about GL it could well be a possibility.
Illegal hunters sicken me.
Perhaps a small percentage of them are just slightly bending the law, but many would be cold, bloodthirsty brutes. The kind of men and women that act in direct opposition to the Indigenous peoples way of living in harmony with country.
Hunting in accordance with the law can often be questionable too imo but that's not a discussion to have on WS.
To think RH and CC could have lost their lives because they discovered GL hurting young deer or on an illegal killing spree is awful. Perhaps one of them spoke up on behalf of the animals. How brave and honourable of them if so.
All speculation imo of course. Although from what we've heard about GL it could well be a possibility.
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Would a deer a couple of days old really be called a stag? I thought that word referred to a mature male.
I thought that the article meant that the stag had been killed only a couple of days before.
I think what was meant was that the deer was killed a few days ago, not that it was only a few days old.
OwlHeart
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