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

[Via Marple]

There's been a couple of murders in Australia where help was sought from overseas. I can't remember what that help was. DNA profiles, phone pings?
Was it in the Ristevski case? Anyone remember?

I can think of the Claremont serial killer right away.

They had DNA extracted by NZ and then a UK lab.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Wasn't it Russell contacting his radio mate and his wife being able to listen in at a certain time.
And it wasn't said that she was able to speak with him. I think you would need to be a licensed ham radio operator to be able to do that.

They left on March 19, with Mr Hill contacting his wife over high-frequency radio a day later. He has not been seen since.

 

[they'll get you]

The trip to Wonnangatta Valley was Russell’s third visit to the region in a month. (That's nearly once a week)

At the end of February, he and Carol had travelled through the High Country, stopping at a camping spot called Pikes Flat, about 60km from the Wonnangatta Valley.

Then on March 11, Russell told friends and family he was heading to camp alone on the King Billy Track between Wonnangatta and Mount Buller.
Four people have gone missing within a 60km radius in the past year. Their fate remains a mystery

 

[they'll get you]

Is this guy Robbie Ashlin using Button Man as a red herring?

Russell’s friend of almost 30 years, Robbie Ashlin, says it was on the King Billy Track about a year earlier that Russell and another mate had an encounter with a bushman who has been dubbed the Button Man.
Four people have gone missing within a 60km radius in the past year. Their fate remains a mystery

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Seems not much time spent at home then.

The trip to Wonnangatta Valley was Russell’s third visit to the region in a month. (That's nearly once a week)

 

[they'll get you]

Robbie Ashlin camping
Posted 19 Jul 2020, 4:55am

Robbie Ashlin (centre) and Russell Hill (right) were in a radio club that would camp together.

Robbie Ashlin camping

 

[Eloise]

Is this guy Robbie Ashlin using Button Man as a red herring?

Russell’s friend of almost 30 years, Robbie Ashlin, says it was on the King Billy Track about a year earlier that Russell and another mate had an encounter with a bushman who has been dubbed the Button Man.
Four people have gone missing within a 60km radius in the past year. Their fate remains a mystery

Yeah I don't think Button Man had anything to do with it. Just a hunch. From everything I've read about him, the dude seems like a cranky recluse at worst, not a murderer.

He sure does make a good red herring though.

 

[they'll get you]

"The examination of the fire scene by arson chemists was inconclusive and police would still like to speak to anyone who saw this fire or the smoke from it," a police spokesperson said.

"They are also keen to speak to anyone who may have smelled what has been described as a burning plastic smell in the area on 20 or 21 March.

"It is still yet to be determined whether their disappearance is suspicious," the police spokesperson added.

The man who was the last person to speak with Mr Hill, his radio friend Robbie Ashlin, said there was "no way" the 74-year-old would leave his kitted-out white Toyota Landcruiser behind.

"Russell always looked after his equipment," Mr Ashlin said.
"The last thing he said to me was his call sign, VK3-VZP… Wonnangatta Station and that's how he signed off, and that's the last time I spoke to Russell [Hill] and that was on the Friday night.

"Wasn't too alarming to miss one night, but then he missed Sunday night and Monday night," Mr Ashlin added.

The man who was the last person to speak with Mr Hill, his radio friend Robbie Ashlin, said there was "no way" the 74-year-old would leave his kitted-out white Toyota Landcruiser behind. (A Current Affair)

'Oddball' bushman known as 'Button Man' among those questioned after sightings of missing Victorian campers

 

[they'll get you]

What's the use of that? All evidence would've been destroyed once the vehicle left police custody.

Mr Hill's car was returned to the home he shared with his wife of 50 years, before it was seized again by police for further forensic testing.

'Oddball' bushman known as 'Button Man' among those questioned after sightings of missing Victorian campers

 

[they'll get you]

FB shows many camp together. ‘Field days’.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

https://7news.com.au/news/missing-p...td1Xq8yPm3fP0CqbR6JeXGt-oMxhrQLYeA43ZkX1fpRYE

On the six-month anniversary of their disappearance, officer in charge of the Missing Persons Squad, Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper, told 7NEWS they are still “piecing together the jigsaw”.

“It [could be] what I would call a reckless accident, so it may be a shooter or, a hunter or even a 4WD that has been engaged in some reckless activity that has caused an accident and there has been a cover-up after that,” Stamper said.

 

[Satchie]

What's the use of that? All evidence would've been destroyed once the vehicle left police custody.

Mr Hill's car was returned to the home he shared with his wife of 50 years, before it was seized again by police for further forensic testing.

'Oddball' bushman known as 'Button Man' among those questioned after sightings of missing Victorian campers

I doubt she would have used it, or even touched it...hoping that he might still come home and get mad at her for messing with his stuff.

I agree that going off camping multiple times in a month means they didn't have a really close relationship. But that's not unusual in a long marriage. I know women who keeping working as long as they can, once their husband is retired and at home...they don't enjoy too much togetherness.

Edited to add: and, of course, he had another woman on the side.

 

[Satchie]

So, it sounds as if there was a good possibility that Russell would have had the app on. Being a beginner and probably not wanting to lose his drone in the scrub.

Does gps work well out in Wonnangatta Valley, I wonder?

Thinking about their phones: the news media reported that one or both of their phones was used to track their route into the site. But there's no mention of phone data from the campsite itself. For eg, I can imagine a scenario where police could monitor the phone(s) to a certain time when they were either turned off or burned.

This article implies the phones lost cell coverage at the campsite:

Using data from the pair's mobile phones, police have been able to track the route they took to the Wonnangatta Valley, however, once they reached the campsite the phone reception cut out. https://www.theage.com.au/national/...days-before-camping-trip-20200422-p54m7y.html

However, I think the author may have jumped to that conclusion because RH used his radio to contact friends...IMO that was a long tradition carried on in spite of new cellphone technology.

Interesting that RH had a cell phone, but his wife and friend didn't expect him to use it to call them...I wonder how experienced Russell was in using a smartphone, and what kind of plan he/she had.

 

[they'll get you]

https://7news.com.au/news/missing-p...td1Xq8yPm3fP0CqbR6JeXGt-oMxhrQLYeA43ZkX1fpRYE

On the six-month anniversary of their disappearance, officer in charge of the Missing Persons Squad, Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper, told 7NEWS they are still “piecing together the jigsaw”.

“It [could be] what I would call a reckless accident, so it may be a shooter or, a hunter or even a 4WD that has been engaged in some reckless activity that has caused an accident and there has been a cover-up after that,” Stamper said.

The cops don’t have a clue.

 

[SouthAussie]

There's been a couple of murders in Australia where help was sought from overseas. I can't remember what that help was. DNA profiles, phone pings?
Was it in the Ristevski case? Anyone remember?

Yes, they used o/s help in the Ristevski case. Of course, we never worked out what the particular kind of help was. We speculated a lot. For example: that it could have been face recognition when Borce drove Karen's car with her body in the back and was captured on distanced CCTV.

 

[SouthAussie]

Ha the cops don’t have a clue.

They might have a clue. They might have many clues. They might be in the process of publicly flushing/pressuring at the moment. IYKWIM

 

[JLZ]

Thinking about their phones: the news media reported that one or both of their phones was used to track their route into the site. But there's no mention of phone data from the campsite itself. For eg, I can imagine a scenario where police could monitor the phone(s) to a certain time when they were either turned off or burned.

This article implies the phones lost cell coverage at the campsite:

Using data from the pair's mobile phones, police have been able to track the route they took to the Wonnangatta Valley, however, once they reached the campsite the phone reception cut out. https://www.theage.com.au/national/...days-before-camping-trip-20200422-p54m7y.html

However, I think the author may have jumped to that conclusion because RH used his radio to contact friends...IMO that was a long tradition carried on in spite of new cellphone technology.

Interesting that RH had a cell phone, but his wife and friend didn't expect him to use it to call them...I wonder how experienced Russell was in using a smartphone, and what kind of plan he/she had.

We discussed this. There's little or no mobile phone reception in the valley where they were camping. On some of the peaks is different--for example the King Billies where Button Man is said to have his site. It was ascertained that their phones passed through localities such as Licola on the route into the remoter regions. Those are a couple or several hours away I think.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

LE might be lulling the perp or perps into a false sense of "having got away with it"

 

[Black-Cat]

I know I am in a minority here, and I may soon/one day have egg all over my face, but I have never believed, and still don't, that the drone had anything to do with it. Sorry!

 

[Black-Cat]

I know I am in a minority here, and I may soon/one day have egg all over my face, but I have never believed, and still don't, that the drone had anything to do with it. Sorry!

I agree with you!!