Found Deceased AUS - Tayla Spies,29, white 2017 dual cab Toyota Hilux I’d also missing. Left a hotel in Daley & travelled west to Surat, Queensland, 2 Feb 25

[Vern]

DBM, wrong thread!!

 

[HoneyBunOne]

This is what I can't get past...

On 7/2/25 QPS said that Tayla "was last seen travelling along the Carnarvon Highway, just south of the Condamine turnoff heading towards Roma between the hours of 10am and 1pm, on Sunday afternoon February 2."

I can't find any updates from them after this that report this detail. In Update 1 from QPS on 10/2 they said "Following information received from the community, police have confirmed Tayla Spies was last seen in the Surat area between 11-11.30am on Sunday, February 2."

In Update 2, they stated "Her vehicle was last seen at the intersection of Burrowes Street and Cordelia Street in Surat at 11.10am." This is what the CCTV in Surat shows. It also shows her driving in the opposite direction from what would be expected if she was heading back to Roma.

ACA reported that she "met with friends just north of town, and then her partner". Her car was captured "after that on CCTV". It was also reported in ACA that the phone tower which her phone last pinged on could "capture the Surat-Development Rd" - which IS in the direction from the way Tayla's car was actually seen driving on the CCTV in Surat at 11.10am.

(IMO "just north of town" is not 30km up the road. My guess is maybe the park on the north side of Surat, or someone's house).

I don't know the area personally but there are roads that head north off Surat-Development Rd at least towards the area Tayla's vehicle was found e.g. River Rd. If you follow River Road to Petreat Road that starts to head up to the Yuleba State Forest. In Google Maps, from Surat, this gave me a 47 min drive.

A news.com.au article also said "Police said Ms Spies's mobile phone data placed her east of Surat about an hour after her car was seen driving through town". I think I've read somewhere this was at 12.13pm.

Is there any proof that she was ever on the Carnavon Hwy, just south of the Condamine turnoff heading towards Roma?


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It seems to me that the time and location of the meeting with friends has been kept quiet from the public, and even the last meeting with the boyfriend has sketchy details. Apparently she and her car were never seen again, in the flesh or on CCTV. That makes those sightings incredibly important and you'd think the location of both would be widely publicized to enable more possible sightings and information to come out to help piece things together.

Hey thanks!! You bolded it, I'm not a good reader... sorry... some of the long posts are a bit for me lol

I only bolded it when I quoted myself for you.

 

[HoneyBunOne]

I also reviewed the footage of her at the Condamine BP and noticed a few things.

1. The handbag she is carrying and it could be a Mimco handbag. It's a crossbody bag with a thick strap and has a gold badge on the front. Mimco has definitely made bags like this. If I'm not mistaken no one ever said Tayla CHANGED bags, just that she was seen with one later?
2. When she goes back to the car to pop the fuel cap, she seems to reach under her left arm/put something under her left arm. (This could be nothing, just something I noticed). She also almost seems to be nursing her arm as she walks back to her car to pop the cap. If she's not nursing her arm (as she does then use this arm to fill up), maybe she put arm like that because she wasn't feeling well.
3. It looks to me like she has a tattoo on her right thigh.
4. She definitely takes her seat belt off when she arrives but I don't think she put it on as she left. Again, could mean nothing. Maybe she put it on as she started driving just out of frame.

I also see the tattoo on her right thigh, but it was mentioned she had one on her left - nothing said about the right.

I also noticed she didn't put her seat belt on, but some people drive off then put it on.

I haven't re-reviewed the footage but could she have tucked her phone under her armpit?

 

[Rocket333]

What was the purpose of the quick Surat trip?

What happened 30kms north of Surat on the drive home?

Why didn’t TN realise sooner that Tayla wasn’t travelling along the road towards Roma with him?

Why didn’t TN know after meeting Tayla 30kms north of Surat, that she or her car had turned back towards Surat?

What was TN thinking and what did he do when he arrived home but Tayla failed to arrive?

Did anyone witness TN arriving in Roma that afternoon?

30kms north of Surat could be the highway around Tingun, or it could be (slightly more north west) the private property where the car was found. Both are about 30kms from Surat.

What is TN’s job?

How does someone know a property is uninhabited, and feels safe enough to enter, possibly even twice. A tradie? A local? A friend of a friend of a neighbour?

Key to this:

The purpose of the Surat visit.
The meet up north of Surat.
The autopsy.
The forensics.
TN.

 

[HoneyBunOne]

What was the purpose of the quick Surat trip?

What happened 30kms north of Surat on the drive home?

Why didn’t TN realise sooner that Tayla wasn’t travelling along the road towards Roma with him?

Why didn’t TN know after meeting Tayla 30kms north of Surat, that she or her car had turned back towards Surat?

What was TN thinking and what did he do when he arrived home but Tayla failed to arrive?

Did anyone witness TN arriving in Roma that afternoon?

30kms north of Surat could be the highway around Tingun, or it could be (slightly more north west) the private property where the car was found. Both are about 30kms from Surat.

What is TN’s job?

How does someone know a property is uninhabited, and feels safe enough to enter, possibly even twice. A tradie? A local? A friend of a friend of a neighbour?

Key to this:

The purpose of the Surat visit.
The meet up north of Surat.
The autopsy.
The forensics.
TN.

Good observations and questions, and I agree with the key points you noted.

The friends/boyfriend meet ups are very thin on information, and sketchy to me.

As for the property, I'd say in locations like this that are big on area but small in population that people know a lot if they're locals. And by locals, I mean those in a wide radius, the term doesn't mean the same as it does in the suburbs. Everyone knows everyone, along with who lives where. Many families have lived there for generations and are all over the local news. I don't find it odd that locals would know enough details about a property to know it's quiet or not traversed often.

 

[1ivimay]

30kms north of Surat could be the highway around Tingun, or it could be (slightly more north west) the private property where the car was found. Both are about 30kms from Surat.

I also noticed that the km distance to where she was alleged to have been (just south of the Condamine Hwy, heading towards Roma approx. 30km from Surat) is approx. the same distance north of Surat her car was found (but also east). I find it odd that her car was found potentially due east of here…

 

[Rocket333]

I also noticed that the km distance to where she was alleged to have been (just south of the Condamine Hwy, heading towards Roma approx. 30km from Surat) is approx. the same distance north of Surat her car was found (but also east). I find it odd that her car was found potentially due east of here…

Sorry, yes I meant to say that the property is north east (not north west) of Surat!! Thanks

Tayla probably drove past that same property too on her way to Surat, as she came through Condamine. She didn’t drive directly home through Chinchilla and Miles. Something was pre-planned around Surat, and it was known by at least a few. I’d say that once one person talks, the whole thing could quickly collapse like domino’s.

 

[mishy66]

The friends/boyfriend meet ups are very thin on information, and sketchy to me.

As for the property, I'd say in locations like this that are big on area but small in population that people know a lot if they're locals. And by locals, I mean those in a wide radius, the term doesn't mean the same as it does in the suburbs. Everyone knows everyone, along with who lives where. Many families have lived there for generations and are all over the local news. I don't find it odd that locals would know enough details about a property to know it's quiet or not traversed ofoften.

Yes I agree.
Everyone would know everyone out there, whether personally or at least by name, and would know what properties may have its owners away on holiday or "gone to town for the day".

These properties are so vast that owners wouldn't know whats on every section of it, everyday. So for me, I believe the owner when he says the car wasn't there 12 days earlier.

The property backs onto the Yuleba Forest and it was said early on in the case that it was an area known for pig hunting, camping and that Tayla had "camped out" from time to time.
Those areas are pig hunting areas, and TN page shows he and mates are hunters. Probably how they make money on the side.

Its known she had changed shirts because her sister had said. As I said before, either the sister recieved a snapchat from her or TN did and told the sister or police.

WHY she changed her shirt is key IMO

I keep looking at that last image of the car going through Surat and although the sister said you can see a pink twinge in the image, personally I cant at all.

I guess another theory Im edging toward, is the possibility that she had changed her shirt prior to that car seen in Surat and someone else was driving it. Maybe they were taking her to a location for something she was involved in but instead took her somewhere else for a period of time. Maybe holding her for money that she perhaps owned. This could be why the b/f was selling online throughout her disappearance. In my opinion just this alone raises suspicion. His partner goes missing and he is selling off gear all through that period and still is.

Maybe someone knew that property was known to be "unattended " and it was there she was *#"** , with her car left locked and someone then picked up the driver from that property.


I just can not see that the car and her being there on that property for 2 months.

Her changing her shirt is key IMO

 

[1ivimay]

The friends/boyfriend meet ups are very thin on information, and sketchy to me.

I agree. And the timeline really isn’t adding up. She leaves Dalby approx 8.10am and is captured in Surat at 11.10. It’s a 2h50m drive and she stopped for fuel so approx. 3 hours. When did she have time to meet with friends and THEN her partner and THEN was captured on CCTV?

Also, why did she need to meet up with the partner in Surat? They were just together in Dalby and heading home after Surat. Why did they both need to be there when it’s been implied the friends THEN the partner aka two separate meetings?

 

[1ivimay]

WHY she changed her shirt is key IMO

I keep looking at that last image of the car going through Surat and although the sister said you can see a pink twinge in the image, personally I cant at all.

I guess another theory Im edging toward, is the possibility that she had changed her shirt prior to that car seen in Surat and someone else was driving it.

I don’t agree that her changing her shirt is key but I am someone who feels like I can see a pink shirt in the CCTV and am also keen on the theory you mention.

 

[Rocket333]

I agree. And the timeline really isn’t adding up. She leaves Dalby approx 8.10am and is captured in Surat at 11.10. It’s a 2h50m drive and she stopped for fuel so approx. 3 hours. When did she have time to meet with friends and THEN her partner and THEN was captured on CCTV?

Also, why did she need to meet up with the partner in Surat? They were just together in Dalby and heading home after Surat. Why did they both need to be there when it’s been implied the friends THEN the partner aka two separate meetings?

Tayla was captured on cctv in Dalby, Condamine & Surat. The big stuff happened after she left Surat. After 11.30am ish, and a little further north of Surat.

 

[TMich6811]

I don’t agree that her changing her shirt is key but I am someone who feels like I can see a pink shirt in the CCTV and am also keen on the theory you mention.

I agree about the shirt I don’t think that matters. I can barely make it through a day without having to change for some reason - temperature, hole in my lip, touched car and got dirty, sensory overload and not comfortable anymore Etc

 

[mishy66]

When did she have time to meet with friends and THEN her partner and THEN was captured on CCTV?

Also, why did she need to meet up with the partner in Surat? They were just together in Dalby and heading home after Surat. Why did they both need to be there when it’s been implied the friends THEN the partner aka two separate meetings?

Yes weird.
I read that he was doing a chore for his mother and that's why they left at different times. Who knows if that accurate.

IMO she met with him and the "friends " together and then her or someone driving her car, was seen driving through Surat.

At the end of day, lots of things in this case are not adding up. Someone is telling porkies and the police would be really honing in on all people close to Tayla and her last movements.

 

[1ivimay]

I agree. And the timeline really isn’t adding up. She leaves Dalby approx 8.10am and is captured in Surat at 11.10. It’s a 2h50m drive and she stopped for fuel so approx. 3 hours. When did she have time to meet with friends and THEN her partner and THEN was captured on CCTV?

Also, why did she need to meet up with the partner in Surat? They were just together in Dalby and heading home after Surat. Why did they both need to be there when it’s been implied the friends THEN the partner aka two separate meetings?

I’ve also thought that if she met with someone perhaps on any of the streets east of Cordelia St in Surat, she may have gone back to the Carnarvon Hwy via Alexander St/Byrmont Rd but looking at this on Google Maps it looks like a pretty rough dirt road. It seems odd that she’s not captured going back past the same camera if she did indeed head back to the Carnarvon Hwy.

 

[1ivimay]

Tayla was captured on cctv in Dalby, Condamine & Surat. The big stuff happened after she left Surat. After 11.30am ish, and a little further north of Surat.

What do you mean by “big stuff”? And if this is the case why is her car not captured going back in this direction?

 

[mishy66]

@chief quimby gave a good account of roads taken earlier on in the thread. It shows the direction the car may have gone to end up where it did.
And yes, how does anyone know "big stuff happened after Surat". It hasnt been reported the time or place of the meet up with friends. That could have happened prior to her car captured on CCTV and could be a very important clue in the lead up to her car being found on a private property

 

[HoneyBunOne]

Tayla was captured on cctv in Dalby, Condamine & Surat. The big stuff happened after she left Surat. After 11.30am ish, and a little further north of Surat.

Was she on CCTV in Surat, or just her car? Is this the footage of her doing the odd left hand turn? (Instead of the expected right?)

 

[1ivimay]

As expected, police have confirmed the remains found near the car are Tayla’s. Post mortem and forensics ongoing.

Update 6: Missing Roma/Dalby Woman - Queensland Police News

Police have confirmed human remains located at a Surat property are that of missing Roma woman Tayla Spies. The remains were discovered during a search

mypolice.qld.gov.au

 

[MountIsaLurker]

I wonder if it's two different cars - the tinting on the car reported in Surat looks awfully dark compared other footage in Condamine and Dalby. And what if she changed clothes earlier in Condamine before meeting up with *friends* in Surat?

 

[mishy66]

No same car.

The reason Im sticking with the change into white shirt being one of the key factors in this case, is more nefarious than just being dirty or something spilt on it.

IF she told members of her family and friends, she was heading straight back to Roma, then why change shirt? It was mentioned she camps, has lived out west all her life, she would be use to dirty shirts on all day. She is in her car heading home she tells family , so cant see her putting on a nice clean shirt.

In my mind that shirt was changed because:

1. She was heading to somewhere else and wanted to look tidy.

2. Something happened during the time of "the friends, TN meet up" , prior to the car leaving Surat and she had to change her shirt.

Personally I DO think that shirt change is very important.