Australia Australia - Marion Barter, 51, missing after trip to UK, Jun 1997 #4

[TootsieFootsie]

Haha We both posted the same site at the same time

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Police note on missing teacher 'scant'

Why did a loved and respected schoolteacher upend her life, secretly change her name, slip back into Australia and quietly vanish?

The question that has stumped Marion Barter's family and friends for decades is now before NSW State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan, who on Monday opened an inquest into the former Sydney and Gold Coast teacher's disappearance.

Before going to Byron Bay police in 1997, Ms Leydon was told by a Commonwealth Bank employee a series of $5000 withdrawals had been made from her mother's account.

Those transactions records no longer exist, the inquest was told.

"Limited" documentary evidence following Ms Barter's return to Australia includes the August 7 cancellation of an RACQ membership and policy, which would have required a phone call or branch attendance.

An optometrist who was recorded by Medicare as consulting Ms Barter in Grafton in 1997 is also due to give evidence at the inquest.

 

[Deleted member 249471]

The first report from the inquest - from Luke Costin, AAP

Things to note:

- Detective Senior Constable Gary Sheehan was a witness today.

- Commonwealth Bank transaction records for the withdrawals made from Marion’s account no longer exist.

- Marion’s RACQ membership and policy was cancelled on 7 August 1997. It would have required a phone call or in person visit to branch.

- Marion’s Medicare card used on 13 August 1997 at Grafton Shoppingworld was not a doctor visit but an OPTOMETRIST and WILL be a witness during the inquest.

- The inquest will remain in Sydney until Friday, before continuing in Byron Bay and BALLINA!

They're going to Ballina What's in Ballina? Monsieur MF Remakel's phone and PO Box were from Ballina/Lennox Head, anything else?

Oh. Some on this thread mentioned there were reports of bones found in Ballina and they were likely going to try to see if DNA from Marion's ballet slippers matched I was prepared for a lot of things, but I am not prepared for bones, to be honest.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

They were not able to get any dna from the ballet slippers.

Oh. Some on this thread mentioned there were reports of bones found in Ballina and they were likely going to try to see if DNA from Marion's ballet slippers matched I was prepared for a lot of things, but I am not prepared for bones, to be honest.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

So we can stop wondering what the Drs visit was about.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Wasn't one of the banks at Ballina ?

No, not a bank. There were posts here about Ballina airport.

Or maybe it was the talk of Marion possibly using the airport at Ballina.

 

[Deleted member 249471]

Wasn't one of the banks at Ballina ?

Don't think so. It was Commonwealth Bank in Byron Bay and Burleigh Heads, and Colonial Bank in Ashmore.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

After all this time, would people be able to identify Marion as the person they saw, like the optometrist.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Teacher not sighted, but marked 'located'

Why did a loved and respected schoolteacher upend her life, secretly change her name, slip back into Australia and quietly vanish?

The question that has stumped Marion Barter's family and friends for decades is now before NSW State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan, who on Monday opened an inquest into the former NSW and Queensland teacher's disappearance.

Ms Barter has not been seen since leaving Australia for an indefinite trip to England on June 22, 1997.

But her relatives and police now know she'd already changed her name by deed poll to Florabella Natalia Marion Remakel and would soon slip back into Australia.

The coroner was told Sally Leydon reported her mother missing in Byron Bay October 1997, noting her suspicion Ms Barter was back in the country.

But police did little for 10 years, having marked Ms Leydon's report "occurrence only" and "no further action required" in the first 36 hours.

Detective Senior Constable Gary Sheehan picked up the case in 2009 and said the police narrative was "very, very scant in detail" and the file lacked a picture of Ms Barter or a detailed statement from Ms Leydon.

The "occurrence only" marking was "inappropriate" in light of the available information, he said.

Before going to police in 1997, Ms Leydon was told by a Commonwealth Bank employee a series of $5000 withdrawals had been made from her mother's account.

But the transactions records no longer exist, the inquest was told.

Limited documentary evidence includes proof her Medicare card was used at a Grafton optometrist on August 13, six days after her RACQ membership and policy was cancelled over the phone or at a branch.

Det Sen Const Sheehan defended suspending the case in 2011, causing Ms Barter to be marked "located" despite no sighting or proof of life.

He decided Ms Barter went "to great lengths" to estrange herself from her family and start a new life, including calling and writing to family from England in June and July 1997, he said.

"She was keeping up a front on one hand but also covertly arranging herself a new life," he told the inquest.

"It's not the job of the police to find out why, it's the job to find out what happened."

He denied it was inappropriate to mark an unsighted person "located", saying there were no fears for the teacher's safety.

Ms Barter, who would now be aged 75, married three times, including first to Australian soccer legend Johnny Warren.

From the 1960s, she taught at various locations including the Blue Mountains and the NSW South Coast before taking a job in 1994 at prestigious The Southport School on the Gold Coast.

But Ms Barter quit midyear in 1997, sold her house at a loss, packed her belongings in an unknown storage unit and - without her family's knowledge - changed her name to the "highly unusual" Florabella Remakel, counsel assisting Adam Casselden SC said.

"It is likely that the reasons behind her change of name are intrinsically connected with the mysterious circumstances of her disappearance and the question of whether she is alive or deceased," he said in his opening address.

Just before leaving Australia, Ms Barter was spotted late one night in May 1997 at a petrol station. The man seen in the passenger seat of her car has never been identified.

Mr Casselden said the investigation was "very much ... ongoing".

"If any member of the public has any information ... I strongly encourage you to come forward," he said.

The inquest is due to run two weeks, including hearings next week in Ballina and Byron Bay.

 

[Deleted member 249471]

After all this time, would people be able to identify Marion as the person they saw, like the optometrist.

I doubt it. I mean, I don't remember the bank teller or optometrist I crossed paths with in 1997.

I may be very wrong, but for now I'm of the mind that Marion did return to Aus and was tidying up loose ends and wrapping up her life in Aus because she thought she was going to permanently live in Luxembourg with her new husband.

Which was perfect for whoever was scamming her because she did do all those things herself. She was the perfect victim.

But I don't for a second think Marion did these things completely of her own volition. I can't fathom her dreaming up this intricate international plan had she not been heavily influenced.

I also suspect she was intending to visit and tell her family about it. But that is when she met her fate.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I believe that something did happen that made her leave the school so abruptly, and sell her house for a loss.

I don't believe she would just never contact her family again. Something happened that prevented her, ie she was no longer alive.

And that man in the car with her at Macdonalds who never came forward. Either he was married or in another relationship, or he had something to do with her disappearance.

Another thought is that he didn't know anyone was looking for him. He could have been someone Marion met, like a casual teacher or the friend of a real estate agent etc who she gave a lift to, and they didn't exchange names.

The fact that Marion tried to hide, makes me think she didn't want word to get back to someone she was interested in.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

So six days after she cancelled her drivers license, she goes to see an optometrist.

Limited documentary evidence includes proof her Medicare card was used at a Grafton optometrist on August 13, six days after her RACQ membership and policy was cancelled over the phone or at a branch.

 

[Loxoli]

So six days after she cancelled her drivers license, she goes to see an optometrist.

I’m not 100% sure, but I think RACQ offer roadside assistance and insurance. I don’t think it means that she cancelled her driver’s license.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Oh Thanks!

So it's sort of like the NRMA.

I’m not 100% sure, but I think RACQ offer roadside assistance and insurance. I don’t think it means that she cancelled her driver’s license.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I forget if we talked about this before, but did Marion wear glasses.

 

[Deleted member 249471]

So six days after she cancelled her drivers license, she goes to see an optometrist.

Here's the timeline of her last known movements:

1 August 1997 (late afternoon/early evening AEST)
Marion calls Sally from payphone. She says she’s in Tunbridge Wells having tea and scones with ladies she just met. However, it’s likely she was already in transit to Australia.

2 August 1997 (AEST)
Marion arrives in Australia on Florabella passport. Not sure if she entered through Sydney or Brisbane airport. There’s some mention of her possibly staying at the Novotel hotel in Brisbane.

7 August 1997
Canceled RACQ membership and policy (roadside assistance and vehicle insurance).

13 August 1997
Medicare card is used at optometrist at Grafton Shoppingworld.

August to September 1997
$5000 withdrawn every day for 3.5 weeks at Commonwealth Bank Byron Bay and 3 days in middle at Burleigh Heads, totalling between $85k to $120k.

18 October 1997
Owen’s birthday. He did not hear from Marion.

22 October 1997
Sally visits Byron Bay bank and police, and reports Marion as missing.

Seeing as we know it took 3.5 weeks to drain her account, her last known activity would be at the Commonwealth Bank Byron Bay. There are no paper trails after that.

If she is deceased, the likely date is between late August and September. Whatever her fate, she was not able to call her son for his October birthday.

 

[Deleted member 249471]

Detective Sheehan told the inquest "I believe she was covertly arranging a new life. That was my opinion and still is. I think she went to great lengths to do so." Inquest report by Paige Cockburn, ABC

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I think we could all say we don't know what happened to her.

We are all just guessing as new facts come to light, though anything new has been few and far between.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Mystery as to why a respected schoolteacher vanished before secretly changing her name | Daily Mail Online

 

[TootsieFootsie]

An older but quite interesting long women's weekly article.

PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines.

"At a goodbye dinner with one friend, she sat on their friend's bed for a long time just watching him.
And then asked her friend to stand under a light post "so I can remember you".

"She said a similar thing to me" says Sally.
"She wanted to come to dinner so she could remember me in my house"