Australia Australia - Marion Barter, 51, missing after trip to UK, Jun 1997 #5

[KiwiNZ]

Oh wow, good on ya KiwiNZ, brilliant - so now we know it led to nowhere ..... h'mm, are they going to let everyone know what the lead was, what the publication was .... err, be good and fair if they did, I reckon. MOO

agree - would be nice if they did a podcast on things they had followed up like the Remakel @ trendwest, LA library lead etc...

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Maybe she contacted that teacher from the Uk that came to the school.
Although didn't the team track her down and eventually her husband talked to them and asked to be left alone or something.

This is a great point @Curiosity Cat, @Lord Peter Flimsy .... this has to mean Marion was mixing with teachers over there ..... tourists walking around in different parts of the world don't get offered random teaching jobs, do they?

 

[KiwiNZ]

yeah her husband said she didn't want to speak when Alison called him back, this was after a UK sleuth tracked her down and spoke to her, she didn't know Marion was missing and hadn't seen her or heard from her in the UK or since she herself left Australia, when Alison followed up, they basically hung up on her

 

[sunnynz]

This is a great point @Curiosity Cat, @Lord Peter Flimsy .... this has to mean Marion was mixing with teachers over there ..... tourists walking around in different parts of the world don't get offered random teaching jobs, do they?

Yes a bloody good point @Lord Peter Flimsy

Did Marion just happen to bump into someone with teaching connections in a restaurant and get talking and make a connection to the point that they offered her a job? Unlikely IMO. More likely it was someone she was in close contact with - someone at a bnb she was staying at. Or Someone she had made plans to meet up with to advance?

 

[sunnynz]

yeah her husband said she didn't want to speak when Alison called him back, this was after a UK sleuth tracked her down and spoke to her, she didn't know Marion was missing and hadn't seen her or heard from her in the UK or since she herself left Australia, when Alison followed up, they basically hung up on her

That’s right! I forgot about her. She was very cagey which could have been that she was of a generation that doesn’t like publicity or maybe something else. This couldbe related to the job offer on the postcard.

 

[Laughing]

This is a great point @Curiosity Cat, @Lord Peter Flimsy .... this has to mean Marion was mixing with teachers over there ..... tourists walking around in different parts of the world don't get offered random teaching jobs, do they?

Or -- Marion had no intention of returning, and felt that mention of a teaching position would soothe her family???

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[AStartoSteerBy]

Yes a bloody good point @Lord Peter Flimsy

Did Marion just happen to bump into someone with teaching connections in a restaurant and get talking and make a connection to the point that they offered her a job? Unlikely IMO. More likely it was someone she was in close contact with - someone at a bnb she was staying at. Or Someone she had made plans to meet up with to advance?

That Marian maybe had plans to start afresh in the UK is another good possibility.

However, in relaxed tourist accommodations like a bob or restaurant, it could be a casual, chance type encounter. Generally, occupation is discussed about like weather with unfamiliar people.

Sometimes, people of like occupation find something in common to discuss and share stories, and compare/contrast experiences and methods. Teachers find other teachers.

IMO, being a teacher was an important part of Marion's identity. I think her last ex-husband said something to the effect that she highly valued her career. All of her recent negative experiences with the school could have dampened her enthusiasm. But, perhaps, not obliterated it.

I can recall an experience visiting family in a hospital, where it turned out the person next to us in the cafeteria was a nurse manager. After talking for awhile, she offered me a job on the spot. Not really a serious connection since I was from out of the area.

Perhaps, Marion's conversation was something like that. Just a casual encounter. Not something she took seriously, but made her feel more confident after her difficult time with the school.

Still, it would be helpful if we could track down school teachers/admins from 1997 in that area to see if they remembered Marion.

 

[Curiosity Cat]

How To Disappear Completely – The Great Vanishing Act

This isnt the same book I was referring to, however, it has similarities. If you read it, what did you think?

 

[KiwiNZ]

This website is interesting - claims to have 17 records connected to the East Ballina phone number from the ad. Cant register because it say registration to the website are closed, link below if anyone wants to enter this rabbit hole

0266864788 who called from (02) 6686 4788? (reverseaustralia.com)


The comment left on website shows someone has tried to get the list, not sure how successful they were

 

[KiwiNZ]

delete

 

[KiwiNZ]

interestingly East Ballina is very small, someone would know something if a name could be located for the phone number

 

[SaintGertrude]

Yes a bloody good point @Lord Peter Flimsy

Did Marion just happen to bump into someone with teaching connections in a restaurant and get talking and make a connection to the point that they offered her a job? Unlikely IMO. More likely it was someone she was in close contact with - someone at a bnb she was staying at. Or Someone she had made plans to meet up with to advance?

One of the B&B in Tunbridge Wells had both owners also working at TW Grammar school. (Read that myself on an old boys FB group) I am pretty certain UK sleuths followed up but they had never heard of Marion.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Every place in Australia, is bound to have a family history group pertaining to the area and I'm positive that all of them would keep a copy of every years local phonebook. Most likely they've digitised them. They may be on micofiche at the nearest public library.

interestingly East Ballina is very small, someone would know something if a name could be located for the phone number

 

[SaintGertrude]

Okay, so I'm still intrigued with the LA library find ... am thinking now it wasn't a magazine - Bryan says "publication", so it's either a journal or a book, hey ...... have started looking in issuu, which is pretty interesting and completely wonderful, to say the least. Waldorf/Steiner had Journal editions, and they list conferences and seminars in them for the year ..... can anyone find an issue from 1997 or 1998 so we can check 'em out? Was there anything going on re teaching conferences in the Uk at the time Marion was there? The weekend beckons, so will look then as I will be in Covid lockdown and unable to do a single thing but housework
"Journal for Waldorf" – issuu Search
PS: Or if anyone knows what was found in the LA library, please, fill us in. Confidentiality guaranteed, of course.

Someone commented on the Lady Vanishes page and the LA library clue leads no-where.

 

[SaintGertrude]

Still none the wiser as to where Marion may have stayed in Tunbridge Wells. There was a bed and breakfast where the owners were also teachers at the Huntley School for Boys in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. I hoped this was a good lead with Marion being a teacher but they said when quizzed that they had never met Marion

 

[FOXINBOX]

Fox is at a lose end & has just dropped by out of idle curiosity on what seems a real oddball of a case, so please forgive I have not read previous 26 pages, but Florabella Natalia Marion Remakel? That's a name calculated to draw attention, if ever I saw one. And I guess my question is, who does that benefit, and why?
This is a question of genuine interest, and I am not trying to disrupt the thread, just seeking some clarity,
Regards
Fox

 

[KiwiNZ]

Fox is at a lose end & has just dropped by out of idle curiosity on what seems a real oddball of a case, so please forgive I have not read previous 26 pages, but Florabella Natalia Marion Remakel? That's a name calculated to draw attention, if ever I saw one. And I guess my question is, who does that benefit, and why?
This is a question of genuine interest, and I am not trying to disrupt the thread, just seeking some clarity,
Regards
Fox

Hello Fox - welcome - I think you will find there are 250+ pages and we still cant figure whom could benefit from her name change lol, fresh pair of eyes would be good

There is also a podcast - The Lady Vanishes

This is a very strange case, and has been referred to the coroners court in Aus, where we hoped more information would come to light, but nothing was exposed that wasn't already known, however the coroners requested a few leads be followed up and they will reconvene in Jan 2021

Thanks for joining us

 

[FOXINBOX]

I probably shouldn't have pushed my nose into this case because I'm quite handicapped, my resources mainly being for the northern hemisphere [Not a choice, but what is available to me]
UK newspapers 1997-2021 don't mention the case. I searched in both the UK & US archives. The name only arises with a Marion Barter of English Heritage [i.e not her pedigree but an organisation that restores crumbling old ruins] Even in the Australian newspapers available, the only snippet I found was this, which almost certainly has nothing to do with the case, but I'll post it on the faint chance that someone else might see a connection

 

[SaintGertrude]

I probably shouldn't have pushed my nose into this case because I'm quite handicapped, my resources mainly being for the northern hemisphere [Not a choice, but what is available to me]
UK newspapers 1997-2021 don't mention the case. I searched in both the UK & US archives. The name only arises with a Marion Barter of English Heritage [i.e not her pedigree but an organisation that restores crumbling old ruins] Even in the Australian newspapers available, the only snippet I found was this, which almost certainly has nothing to do with the case, but I'll post it on the faint chance that someone else might see a connection

The Marion Barter who is the architect in the UK is someone else with the same name.
Sydney morning Herald Marion Barter has a middle name Ann and Marion who is being looked for has no middle name.
Keep at it though as you may find a piece of the puzzle. It is always good to have a fresh pair of eyes. If you have some time on your hands I would recommend listening to the lady vanishes podcasts The Lady Vanishes on acast

 

[Itsapuzzle]

One of the B&B in Tunbridge Wells had both owners also working at TW Grammar school. (Read that myself on an old boys FB group) I am pretty certain UK sleuths followed up but they had never heard of Marion.

Marion mentioned the relief teacher offer on a postcard depicting Strand Gate, Winchelsea, postmark Tonbridge, so maybe a preparatory school for boys in that area. Just a thought.