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

[JLZ]

@TootsieFootsie something clicked reading the timeline. The postcards sounded distracted. Genuine but not fully engaged with the trip Marion was on, in a way. Like a woman who was going through the motions. The Remakel name may have just been plucked from thin air. Changing her name may have been an overly dramatic move to thwart the boyfriend (in her own mind) and get away from him. The only reason we link it to the classified ad and to the footballer is because it's rare and when we google they pop up.

BBM. There used to be an ad for hair dye where the woman separates from a man, cries a bit, dyes her hair and steps out again ready to conquer the world.

 

[Meligator]

I’ve been wondering more about the pilot. Marion’s aide described her as seemingly crushed when his son pointed out his potential wife. Seems like an over reaction if he an Marion weren’t anything other than flirty. Plus, he might be able to get her out of Australia without needing a passport.

 

[KiwiNZ]

I’ve been wondering more about the pilot. Marion’s aide described her as seemingly crushed when his son pointed out his potential wife. Seems like an over reaction if he an Marion weren’t anything other than flirty. Plus, he might be able to get her out of Australia without needing a passport.

They podcast did locate him, and I believe he flew for Cathy Pacific which happens to the the airline Marion returned on. I don't believe he lives in Australia anymore, and I assume he didn't want to talk, at least on the podcast, but they did speak to his Ex-wife and son.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I think Marion had her hopes up there. I think she thought the pilot was interested in her, but I'm thinking that wasn't the case.

She seemed devasted and ran out of the room when the son was said to have said that his father the pilot was going to marry someone else.
I think Marion may have thought the relationship might go somewhere, but from what we've heard , he didn't seem to be the one making any moves towards a relationship.

I think maybe he wanted Marion to know he wasn't interested. I think it did hurt her very badly.

I’ve been wondering more about the pilot. Marion’s aide described her as seemingly crushed when his son pointed out his potential wife. Seems like an over reaction if he an Marion weren’t anything other than flirty. Plus, he might be able to get her out of Australia without needing a passport.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

Haven't thought of this case in a year or so, but I have a new theory. It struck me reading the brilliant Time Line on page 11 which suddenly made Marion make sense to me.

FWIW. . . .

Spring 1997 - Marion has an affair she keeps from family, friends, colleagues. Maybe he's married, maybe he's abuse. Marion knows what the family thinks of her infatuations and failed marriages, so she is loathe to open herself to criticism. She is reassured that Sally is marrying, and Owen is old enough to take care of himself. The rocky relationship gets rockier. Sally sees Marion with this man.

early Summer 1997 - Fed up and wanting to extricate herself or to punish the lover, Marion ends the affair and to make sure she doesn't give in to him, she plans to leave Australia. She changes her name impetuously, sells her house, and leaves the man behind.

UK Summer 1997 - Marion gets what she wants. The man begs her to come back. Marion resists but then capitulates. Last thing she does is call Sally, maybe even wistfully. She can tell Sally everything once the relationship is concrete and things work out.

August 1997 - Marion returns to Australia. The man turns up the pressure either emotionally or criminally, and Marion withdraws her money. She either can't contact her family or she is too humiliated that her grand tour never happened, and she still hopes the man will make good his promises. She's trapped.

Late 1997 - By the end of the year, Marion is dead. The man makes off with her money. His wife or accomplice phones police about the body.

What's different for me about this theory is that UK and Europe are innocent. The danger was all in Australia. What if Marion was trying to get away but then gave in and returned?

The Time Line is brilliant. Now I'll go back and catch up. Thanks for listening!

Good to have you back Mrs EmmaPeel. This is a really good theory, but why would she put "Departing permanently to Luxembourg" on the outgoing passenger card? What's that all about?

 

[Lord Peter Flimsy]

@ 1 min into the video - " they suspect someone in northern NSW knows more about Marion's disappearance than they have previously told police " ? ??

$250,000 reward offered for information on Marion Barter's disappearance | 7NEWS - YouTube

0.22s into the video above is a photo of Marion in what looks like Venice? Sorry if I’m wrong but when was that taken?

Being an old cynic I did wonder if the NSW Police were offering up such a large reward because they believe nobody will ever find Marion.

 

[KiwiNZ]

0.22s into the video above is a photo of Marion in what looks like Venice? Sorry if I’m wrong but when was that taken?

Being an old cynic I did wonder if the NSW Police were offering up such a large reward because they believe nobody will ever find Marion.

Agree that looks like Venice.

The police have been offering up very large rewards for missing people in Aus lately, there is quite a focus on missing peoples cases

 

[Itsapuzzle]

0.22s into the video above is a photo of Marion in what looks like Venice? Sorry if I’m wrong but when was that taken?

Being an old cynic I did wonder if the NSW Police were offering up such a large reward because they believe nobody will ever find Marion.

Could that photo have been taken on Marion's honeymoon with Ray Barter - I think I heard in the podcast they went on their honeymoon to Europe, so that would be 1985 - wonder if they went to Holland too?

 

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Good to have you back Mrs EmmaPeel. This is a really good theory, but why would she put "Departing permanently to Luxembourg" on the outgoing passenger card? What's that all about?

God Bless You, @Itsapuzzle ! I knew someone would remind me of crucial facts. I can offer two explanations which are pure conjecture, after all. 1. Impetuousness and drama to match her leave-taking. OR a modification to the theory: 2. The Lover and Marion were to both leave Australia and meet up in UK/Europe. Marion was just biding her time in UK. Lover calls her back or does not come, with an excuse. Maybe when he finds out there is more money in Australia than in UK, or that the money there would be easier to access or more dangerous. Marion returns to Australia.

If it's 2, that carries us back to the Remakel and Luxembourg being clues. If 1 they are just part of Marion's fancy.

Whatever the case, reading the Time Line, I remembered Marion so clearly. I absolutely doubt that she, at this time of her life, would have found pleasure traveling alone for 2 years in Europe. That was never her intent. I don't believe Marion would ever abandon her family if a man were not involved.

________


As for the reward money, isn't it possible someone just might remember seeing Marion in the time period she was living in Australia and withdrawing her money?

 

[Lord Peter Flimsy]

Could that photo have been taken on Marion's honeymoon with Ray Barter - I think I heard in the podcast they went on their honeymoon to Europe, so that would be 1985 - wonder if they went to Holland too?

Did travelling to Venice give Marion the idea of the Orient Express? Where did Marion & Ray Barter visit in mainland Europe during their honeymoon? Has anyone asked? Are there more photos? I’m assuming the UK didn’t play any part in their honeymoon?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Or was she an Agatha Christie fan.

Did travelling to Venice give Marion the idea of the Orient Express?

 

[MrsEmmaPeel]

RE: Orient Express. It was a big thing in the 1990s, I think I remember. They renovated or recreated the train cars, and it was a well-publicized luxury experience. Like a cruise. Your travel companions like you would have been of a certain class. I wanted to do it for about 10 minutes. It sounds like it would have been Marion's cup of tea.

 

[KiwiNZ]

Or was she an Agatha Christie fan.

I am convinced she was a Agatha Christie fan ... and left us all one big mystery lol

 

[Laughing]

RE: Orient Express. It was a big thing in the 1990s, I think I remember. They renovated or recreated the train cars, and it was a well-publicized luxury experience. Like a cruise. Your travel companions like you would have been of a certain class. I wanted to do it for about 10 minutes. It sounds like it would have been Marion's cup of tea.

10 minutes? I still want to ride it, round trip.

'fraid that won't bring us closer to Marion.

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Well maybe the name Natalia was chosen because she was a main character in the book Murder OnThe Orient Express.


Natalia Dragomiroff

10 minutes? I still want to ride it, round trip.

'fraid that won't bring us closer to Marion.

 

[KiwiNZ]

Well maybe the name Natalia was chosen because she was a main character in the book Murder OnThe Orient Express.


Natalia Dragomiroff

love it !

 

[Curiosity Cat]

I am convinced she was a Agatha Christie fan ... and left us all one big mystery lol

Love it, exactly what I have been thinking. I'm waiting for her novel, really!

 

[MrsEmmaPeel]

@TootsieFootsie, brilliant! That makes sense to me.

__

Listening to the inquest now. Wonderful to have the entire case summarized or added to in these episodes. I may add thoughts as I have them. But one thing I do want to say, is that Sallie is a daughter any mother would be more than proud to call her own. Whatever, whoever Marion was, she raised a great daughter. Just hearing how the systems have changed due to Sallie's perseverance is heartwarming. Her crusade seems to have made a difference in how Missing Persons will now be handled in Australia.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

Found this in Trove .... just found it of interest, being Lennox Head and October '97, might be worth a bit of a look into. Will have a read of the Act later to see what it's all about. Wonder if there's any connection with East Sussex back in '97 too.

Found this too, 1993
Europeans pray and plan for church in Luxembourg | The Christian Chronicle

 

[Itsapuzzle]

The address given here as belonging to Commonwealth Bank--56 Jonson Street--is also the address connected to Colonial State Bank BSB number 402-549. This address is now occupied by a skate shop called Street Machine. There is at present a Commonwealth Bank branch at 58 Jonson Street, right next door to the skate shop.

Found where the Colonial Bank's mentioned in the podcast, A Tangled Web (Episode 13) at around 27.45 minutes. Clever find JLZ, the Colonial BSB. So 56 Jonson Street was the original Colonial State Bank and the Commonwealth moved in there after the takeover. In the podcast Sally says the bank had moved, so would this confirm it was the Commonwealth Bank she went in?