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

[Mjjj14]

I just saw a comment on the most recent The Lady Vanishes Facebook page post. It says “police still haven’t dug up BRIBIE road property”. Anyone have any clue what that is?

 

[brjakj]

That postcard sure doesn’t sound like it’s written by someone who is going to start a new life or under duress.

has anyone contacted big auction houses such as lloyds to see if they have records of any antique/art auctions from around this time?

 

[brjakj]

I just saw a comment on the most recent The Lady Vanishes Facebook page post. It says “police still haven’t dug up BRIBIE road property”. Anyone have any clue what that is?

I asked on fb what they are referring to. Wonder if they will respond.

there isn’t a bribie road anywhere near Armidale which is the only property they have searched so far. Will be interesting to see if anything comes of it.

 

[JLZ]

I just saw a comment on the most recent The Lady Vanishes Facebook page post. It says “police still haven’t dug up BRIBIE road property”. Anyone have any clue what that is?

Bribie Island?

 

[Mjjj14]

Bribie Island?

The only similar thing I can see is Bribie Island Road in Queensland near Caboolture. It looks like a long road. I don’t know of anything in this case that is anywhere near those areas or who had a property there. Weird.

 

[Mjjj14]

I asked on fb what they are referring to. Wonder if they will respond.

there isn’t a bribie road anywhere near Armidale which is the only property they have searched so far. Will be interesting to see if anything comes of it.

Let us know if he responds!

 

[TootsieFootsie]

That must have been on the trip to the UK with her then husband Johnny Warren.

Back in this country after 30 years - I thought Marion hadn't travelled to the UK before?

 

[JLZ]

The only similar thing I can see is Bribie Island Road in Queensland near Caboolture. It looks like a long road. I don’t know of anything in this case that is anywhere near those areas or who had a property there. Weird.

They could mean that road or just some road on Bribie Island (often called just "Bribie".)

 

[TootsieFootsie]

The postcard definitely says "with a nice family".

 

[SaintGertrude]

Maybe something to do with a follower reading another post on lost boys of TSS on FB. There was also a chap who kept coming on the lady vanishes forum who kept saying odd things but he was doing the same with other missing people posts and has some issues. I think the latter to be honest as I can vaguely remember his previous comments.

I just saw a comment on the most recent The Lady Vanishes Facebook page post. It says “police still haven’t dug up BRIBIE road property”. Anyone have any clue what that is?

 

[Itsapuzzle]

It says:

Dearest sister + family
Hope you are well
It's so special being back
in this beautiful country
after 30 years. This little
village of Rye is SO quaint
+ historic. Not far from Hastings
+ the battle of 1066.
Lots of interesting ruins
+ castles etc. Not so impressed with the beaches
+ cobble stones - no sand!
+ people are still sunbathing!
It's a gorgeous warm sunny day
today - great after a chilly rainy
few days. Food is great though
quite expensive. Antique shops +the most gorgeous hanging baskets you've ever seen
are unbelievable + I feel quite
(next line is the last and cut off image and hard to read but I think it says)
thankful at being + staying in an old town (or farm?). (rest?) with a nice family. Have seen squirrels + rabbits

really can't read the last bit which is written upside down at the top but she mentions blue spruce and silver birch trees.

Couple of thoughts :

Back in this country after 30 years - I thought Marion hadn't travelled to the UK before?

"with a nice family" - if this DOES say that she was staying on a farm with a nice family then this is new information. But she goes on to talk about rabbits and squirrels which makes me think I have misread this and she's talking about mice.

Postmark - definitely says Hastings, but can;t make out the date. Smaller places will have mail postmarked in the nearest large town so that does tally with what she says in the postcard.

Weather - could we check to see what the weather was like?

Beaches - she's right that most beaches are pebbly.

Comment about food - we know Marion isn't short of money, can other Aussies who visited the UK in the late 90s shed any light on whether they found eating out in pubs/cafes to be particularly pricey?

Good job Poppypopcorn, thanks for that ....... oh wow, this is really interesting and definitely new information. So now we know that Marion was in Rye at the time, probably just before she headed home, and staying with a family ..... FINALLY a connection with people over there, in Rye. Who the heck were they?? How did she end up staying with a family .... oh boy.

 

[KiwiNZ]

Good job Poppypopcorn, thanks for that ....... oh wow, this is really interesting and definitely new information. So now we know that Marion was in Rye at the time, probably just before she headed home, and staying with a family ..... FINALLY a connection with people over there, in Rye. Who the heck were they?? How did she end up staying with a family .... oh boy.

I am thinking a farm stay or B&B.

The closest farm stay I can find is Faversham Kent. 1.20hr from Hastings and 1hr from Tunbridge wells - Brenley Farm House

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I faintly recall someone posting "somewhere" and it was obvious they were getting two different Marions mixed up.

One was Marian Wallace of Bribie Island Search continues for missing Bribie Island woman Marian Wallace

 

[poppypopcorn]

Agree. Lots of B&Bs on farms in the UK, and we know (or have been told) Marion hired a car. So a rural B&B is entirely plausible. You'd have to search out the listings from the late 90s though to see which B&Bs were operating at that time. A B&B which happens to be on a farm, rather than a specific farm stay. There will be dozens in East Sussex and Kent.

 

[Mjjj14]

The postcard definitely says "with a nice family".

I agree! Now I’ve stopped to think about it ‘a mice family’ is not correct grammar and Marion being a teacher is probably unlikely to have made a mistake like that based on her usual writing.

 

[Mjjj14]

I faintly recall someone posting "somewhere" and it was obvious they were getting two different Marions mixed up.

One was Marian Wallace of Bribie Island Search continues for missing Bribie Island woman Marian Wallace

Oh that must be it! That solves that mystery!

 

[SaintGertrude]

It says:

Dearest sister + family
Hope you are well
It's so special being back
in this beautiful country
after 30 years. This little
village of Rye is SO quaint
+ historic. Not far from Hastings
+ the battle of 1066.
Lots of interesting ruins
+ castles etc. Not so impressed with the beaches
+ cobble stones - no sand!
+ people are still sunbathing!
It's a gorgeous warm sunny day
today - great after a chilly rainy
few days. Food is great though
quite expensive. Antique shops +the most gorgeous hanging baskets you've ever seen
are unbelievable + I feel quite
(next line is the last and cut off image and hard to read but I think it says)
thankful at being + staying in an old town (or farm?). (rest?) with a nice family. Have seen squirrels + rabbits

really can't read the last bit which is written upside down at the top but she mentions blue spruce and silver birch trees.

Couple of thoughts :

Back in this country after 30 years - I thought Marion hadn't travelled to the UK before?

"with a nice family" - if this DOES say that she was staying on a farm with a nice family then this is new information. But she goes on to talk about rabbits and squirrels which makes me think I have misread this and she's talking about mice.

Postmark - definitely says Hastings, but can;t make out the date. Smaller places will have mail postmarked in the nearest large town so that does tally with what she says in the postcard.

Weather - could we check to see what the weather was like?

Beaches - she's right that most beaches are pebbly.

Comment about food - we know Marion isn't short of money, can other Aussies who visited the UK in the late 90s shed any light on whether they found eating out in pubs/cafes to be particularly pricey?

I am sure in one of the postcards Marion mentions red squirrels ao that may give us all a better clue. Does anyone else remember that mention.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

****Deleted post and edited to add: May this post be stricken from the record, just looked at Poppypop's magnificent image, definitely farm not "friend" or "street". Whoopsie, I totally deleted all of post while editing. Never mind, it was dumb anyway. Haha

 

[poppypopcorn]

I think, on reflection that it says "staying in an old farm house with"..

If you look at the word "unbelievable" on the line above - Marion forms the "e" on the end of the word quite large. The "f" at the start of farm is just the same as the "I feel quite" on the line above.

Definitely farm. Possibly "farm base" but that makes less seense.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

I think, on reflection that it says "staying in an old farm house with"..

If you look at the word "unbelievable" on the line above - Marion forms the "e" on the end of the word quite large. The "f" at the start of farm is just the same as the "I feel quite" on the line above.

Definitely farm. Possibly "farm base" but that makes less seense.

Wow, that's amazing, definitely farm, thanks Poppypopcorn. I didn't know there were numbers printed behind it, but clear as a bell in your pic. Completely brilliant. Lock in farm