Found Deceased Australia - Russell Hill, 74, & Carol Clay, 72, Wonnangatta Valley, 20 March 2020 #2

[trujac]

yes, saw pictures of helicopters searching during the day--wondered if they did any night time aerial searching with high tech military helicopters with specialized light and Infrared capabilities--that might have helped to see through and detect body heat in thick areas of bush and tree canopy covering, and along rugged cliffs that weren't easily accessible by ATV, foot or horses.

 

[trujac]

I wish we knew if RH planned to be with CC openly, as in leaving his marriage. If CC allegedly divorced her husband to be with RH, was he planning to reciprocate?

From what I recall--and I don't know if I can find where I read it--a friend of CC and RH said, CC divorced her husband with the expectation that RH would follow suit and divorce his wife...and he didn't follow through. As with so much information in this case, it wasn't verified by multiple sources--and it would seem to me that CC could have divorced her husband for reasons independent of her desire to marry RH.

 

[bearbear]

At that stage Mr Ashlin was unaware Ms Clay was on the camping trip with Mr Hill.

“Carol was never ever brought on radio club trips. And apparently Carol’s been around the scene for 20 years, on and off,” Mr Ashlin said.

Mr Ashlin said the two were reportedly teenage sweethearts before splitting up.

He says Ms Clay lost her first husband but married for a second time before allegedly divorcing her husband to be with Mr Hill.

“But Russell backed out at the last minute,” Mr Ashlin claimed.

Mr Ashlin believes the couple has been murdered

“I think they’ve been murdered”

 

[bearbear]

“They were quite nice, quite friendly.”

McDonald said there was nothing strange about the duo.

“They obviously weren’t married and had separate lives,” he said.

“When we first initially met them, you sort of first think that they’re a married couple but then I think Carol said something about returning back to her home and he was going back to his place.”

https://7news.com.au/news/vic/missi...together-month-before-disappearance-c-1057655

 

[Midwestmom2019]

At that stage Mr Ashlin was unaware Ms Clay was on the camping trip with Mr Hill.

“Carol was never ever brought on radio club trips. And apparently Carol’s been around the scene for 20 years, on and off,” Mr Ashlin said.

Mr Ashlin said the two were reportedly teenage sweethearts before splitting up.

He says Ms Clay lost her first husband but married for a second time before allegedly divorcing her husband to be with Mr Hill.

“But Russell backed out at the last minute,” Mr Ashlin claimed.

Mr Ashlin believes the couple has been murdered

“I think they’ve been murdered”

If he backed out after CC divorced her second husband, (early reports states she was still married but separated for several years) there’s no reason to look for a motive. Revenge is sweet. Problem is that she’s missing, too. And with a new home purchase, it’s unlikely that a murder suicide took place. So now we could be looking at a spouse, ex spouse taking both of them out. Mrs. Hill was home, took radio calls. So I’m down to one suspect. Or a friend of a suspect.
However, I’m still with my first opinion. Drone flew away. They tried chasing it down. Got lost and succumbed. Or saw something and got killed for it. Whatever happened, the drone was always the key. They’re missing. The drone is missing. Criminals are pretty stupid people. Find the drone. Solve the mystery.

 

[Loxoli]

If he backed out after CC divorced her second husband, (early reports states she was still married but separated for several years) there’s no reason to look for a motive. Revenge is sweet. Problem is that she’s missing, too. And with a new home purchase, it’s unlikely that a murder suicide took place. So now we could be looking at a spouse, ex spouse taking both of them out. Mrs. Hill was home, took radio calls. So I’m down to one suspect. Or a friend of a suspect.
However, I’m still with my first opinion. Drone flew away. They tried chasing it down. Got lost and succumbed. Or saw something and got killed for it. Whatever happened, the drone was always the key. They’re missing. The drone is missing. Criminals are pretty stupid people. Find the drone. Solve the mystery.

I think it most likely has to do with the drone too. I think that the strange relationship/affair is just a coincidence and didn’t play a role in their deaths. Still a bizarre case though.

 

[Kemug]

what if their murder was planned, person/s knew their usual camping spot, they were killed in their sleep, bodies wrapped up and put in a vehicle to be disposed of elsewhere, tent burnt to destroy evidence, fire controlled so as not to damage rc's vehicle, there are lots of reasons to want someone dead other than financial gain?

Yes, this is what I keep coming back to, or very similar. I find this scenario more believable than the others put forward, as it covers the main problems of the disappearance, the lack of bodies and evidence, and of course the fire.

 

[Black-Cat]

I wish we knew how long ago Carol divorced him. If the assets were fairly recently split - so then Carol bought her new place.
I imagine that the police are investigating various angles like this one.

Maybe they’re waiting for persons of interest to slip up ... it’s not uncommon for police to plant listening devices at family members homes if they suspect they are involved

 

[SouthAussie]

what if their murder was planned, person/s knew their usual camping spot, they were killed in their sleep, bodies wrapped up and put in a vehicle to be disposed of elsewhere, tent burnt to destroy evidence, fire controlled so as not to damage rc's vehicle, there are lots of reasons to want someone dead other than financial gain?

Well, you know what they say, the four most common reasons for murder are Lust, Love, Loathing, and Loot.

https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/09627250608553401.pdf

 

[SouthAussie]

Maybe they’re waiting for persons of interest to slip up ... it’s not uncommon for police to plant listening devices at family members homes if they suspect they are involved

Yes, in the Karen Ristevski case they had tracking and listening devices in places/vehicles used by Borce Ristevski.

 

[they'll get you]

I think it most likely has to do with the drone too. I think that the strange relationship/affair is just a coincidence and didn’t play a role in their deaths. Still a bizarre case though.

Can a drone have 2 controls or can it be accidentally controlled by someone else with the same type of drone in the vicinity? Do they have a gps tracker?
Crazy question I know but I don’t think these two accidentally died. They were killed by someone known.

 

[SouthAussie]

Can a drone have 2 controls or can it be accidentally controlled by someone else with the same type of drone in the vicinity? Do they have a gps tracker?
Crazy question I know but I don’t think these two accidentally died. They were killed by someone known.

Yes, to the gps tracker. No, to the drone company having any flight path data for that day - the police checked. I posted the link a little further back in the thread.

Maybe someone knows whether they can have two controllers?


ETA: Here is the drone gps link:

Russell had an app on his phone for the drone, but had not uploaded any footage to his account from that Wonnangatta trip.
Another theory is that if Russell’s drone went down in bushland, the pair might have got lost looking for it.
But police have not been able to find any flight path data from the trip.
While Inspector Stamper says that doesn’t mean a flight didn’t occur, it does mean if it did happen, it’s a flight that has also left no digital trace.
Four people have gone missing within a 60km radius in the past year. Their fate remains a mystery

 

[they'll get you]

Well, you know what they say, the four most common reasons for murder are Lust, Love, Loathing, and Loot.

https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/09627250608553401.pdf

exactly SA. Really, who dies in a camping accident like that? He knows the area like the back of his hand, they have phones and no bodies are found.

I was racking my brain what makes a fire at a campsite? Fridge? Overcharged battery or a cigarette lighter laying in the sun. Any number of things but it still doesn’t explain where they are? No bank accounts have been used.
Unless Joanne Lees and Murdock had a drug deal going down.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

A nice secluded spot to have a drug deal. It's on my list of possibles.

 

[they'll get you]

A nice secluded spot to have a drug deal. It's on my list of possibles.

Would drug dealers need to drive that distance into the bush?
High on my list would someone jealous or disgruntled and known.
How do you kill two people and leave no blood?

We do know the cops never release ALL the evidence.

 

[bearbear]

suffocation with a pillow, strangulation, plus the fire would get rid of blood and other dna,
i agree tgy, jealous, disgruntled and known.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Yes I think they might, especially if they're on drugs themselves and a bit paranoid.

Would drug dealers need to drive that distance into the bush?

 

[eddieMonstar87]

The fire is a red herring because a deliberately lit fire would’ve destroyed everything including the vehicle and surrounding grass/bush vegetation. The fire burnt out the campsite because it was unattended for a long period, or it started due to a faulty charger/battery etc and continued unnoticed until it ran out of fuel. My best bet is “something” happened before they went to bed, they never slept in the tent that night. Their bodies are in Close proximity but unlikely to be recovered due to the thick vegetation in the bush.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

For anyone who has a subscription, otherwise behind a paywall. Says the article is from 11 hours ago.

Overseas experts called in to help solve missing campers mystery
Police have turned to overseas and interstate experts in their bid to solve the disappearance of High Country campers Russell ...

Category: <span> </span> | Herald Sun

 

[Eloise]

For anyone who has a subscription, otherwise behind a paywall. Says the article is from 11 hours ago.

Overseas experts called in to help solve missing campers mystery
Police have turned to overseas and interstate experts in their bid to solve the disappearance of High Country campers Russell ...

Category: <span> </span> | Herald Sun

I pulled the main 'new' info, snipped for brevity/copyright


Overseas experts called in to help solve missing campers mystery
It has been about six months since Russell Hill and Carol Clay went missing in a remote area of Gippsland’s High Country. Yet what happened to them still remains a much-talked about mystery — now police have made a bold move to help the investigation along.

Police have turned to overseas and interstate experts in their bid to solve the disappearance of High Country campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay.
...[snip]
Detective Insp. Andrew Stamper of the missing persons squad said he could not go into detail about the nature of the foreign assistance sought.

But he said investigators had been quietly making progress in recent months.

“We’ve learnt a lot along the way. We know a lot more than we did six months ago,” Insp. Stamper said.