Found Deceased Australia - Russell Hill, 74, & Carol Clay, 72, Wonnangatta Valley, 20 Mar 2020 #4 *ARREST*

[Bonnieroo]

The tail lights on that Nissan Patrol indicate that it is a GU Series 1 or 2 and they were only made from late 1997 to 2000. The Series 3 in 2001 had different tail lights and the blue was different as well. I don't believe the blue was a popular as other colours so hopefully that may help in locating the vehicle in question.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Fresh clue in missing campers case

Detectives had been unable to eliminate the mid to late 1990s model Nissan Patrol and its trailer from their inquiries and were keen to speak to the driver of the vehicle or any witnesses who may have seen it in the area on March 20 last year.

Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said witness statements put the vehicle at the campsite where Mr Hill and Ms Clay were last known to be before they vanished.

“Detectives have also been given information that a vehicle attempted to leave the valley late at night on the evening of Friday 20 March, but the Myrtleford gate was closed because of the bushfires, meaning that the driver had to make a complicated turn back in the direction from which they had come,” he said.

“That same vehicle is also spotted on two cameras at the top of Mount Hotham, consistent with where a vehicle would exit the valley given the closure of the Myrtleford gate.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Please ignore my earlier post.

I'm feeling much more positive now.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Re the two shovels found on Mt Hotham.

Maybe hikers left them as they were making their backpacks too heavy.

 

[Bonnieroo]

A key piece of information from the 60 Minutes episode is that they suspect the vehicle had a petrol engine, the majority of GU Patrol's have diesel engines.

 

[Zabble]

Re the two shovels found on Mt Hotham.

Maybe hikers left them as they were making their backpacks too heavy.

How big were the shovels? Usually backpackers use very compact, foldable shovels to save on space and weight in their packs

 

[TootsieFootsie]

The shovels didn't look huge but didn't look foldable, in my opinion.

 

[PingTheRouter]

Re the two shovels found on Mt Hotham.

i thought they might have been left behind by a road crew when fixing the road at some point

 

[bearbear]

a suspicious white ute seen in the area and the recovery of two shovels.
The shovels had been found in thick bush off the Great Alpine Road on April 14 and brought the search for the missing couple to an abrupt halt.
Police have only just revealed those shovels could not be linked to the pair’s disappearance
Cold case hunt for missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay is suddenly heating up | Daily Mail Online

 

[bearbear]

Lots of questions.
1/ Where did the car do the 20-30 point turn when it couldn't leave the valley via the "Myrtleford Gate" ? Does anyone know where this spot would have been. It seems like it must have been near a camp site as other campers heard the car.
2/ The car was then captured by video "on Mount Hotham" - where was this - is there a location? Is it the road near Mount Hotham that leads north, into Bright, or actually on the road going right over Mount Hotham (heading east).
3/ Did those CCTV road cameras catch the car at any other times - e.g. going IN to the valley? if so, which direction did it come from?
4/ Less important - Russel's car was locked, yet it seemed that wallets had been run through and contents scattered. Where were his keys? I assume probably burnt in the tent fire?
5/ Less important - Why do you think a car would tow a trailer like that. Just for extra supplies? But there isn't much/anything on the car's roof racks. It seems like a lot of bother to tow on those roads. Would a likely reason be to bring back deer? And what is covering the trailer - it looks like a board?

i wonder if the cards and wallet etc scattered in the front seat of the vehicle could have been because the perp threatened them for their money or russell was panicking looking for something and quickly locked the vehicle afterwards? i always thought the vehicle was locked because it was someone familiar who may benefit from the valuable truck not being stolen, so protedcted it from the fire and kept it locked

 

[SouthAussie]

The shovels were described as snow shovels (they do get snow in that neck of the woods).

In my experience, snow shovels are wide shallow shovels meant for scraping and throwing snow, more than for deep shovelling.

And they said they didn't think they had anything to do with Russell and Carol's disappearance, anyway. After they put them through analysis.

 

[Awakening]

i wonder if the cards and wallet etc scattered in the front seat of the vehicle could have been because the perp threatened them for their money or russell was panicking looking for something and quickly locked the vehicle afterwards? i always thought the vehicle was locked because it was someone familiar who may benefit from the valuable truck not being stolen, so protedcted it from the fire and kept it locked

I wondered if there had been ongoing tensions between Hill & mystery camper.

After driving somewhere, Hill & Clay come back to the campsite & spot mystery camper in their site or doing something Hill found offensive. Hill throws down the wallet in anger, Hill & Clay get out, Hill automatically locks his car & shoves his keys in his pocket and all hell breaks loose?

Did Hill own a gun? I wonder if there was some sort of gun fight that saw Hill get shot?

Even a punch/blow to Hills head that saw him knocked out before hitting the ground could be enough to kill him. It's killed younger men then Hill before. Perhaps Carol then threatened to call the police/ambulance or they just killed her anyway.

I don't know. Even this accidental killing scenario that the police were implying seems weird to me.

Would be one thing if it was just Hill vs Perp but to murder 2 people? Get rid of the bodies, the evidence & not crack 20 months on? Seems more like the work of a psychopath and/or someone who has done it before.

 

[Kemug]

WTH?! Why are they only telling us about the car now?!

Yes, how can they expect us to solve it for them if they don't give us all the information?!

 

[Awakening]

Yes, how can they expect us to solve it for them if they don't give us all the information?!

Haha, well yes that too! We surely would of cracked it then.

No. What I meant was did they only just get that CCTV footage? I'm assuming it hasn't taken 18 months to rule it out now but maybe it has?

My point was; if they had CCTV earlier why did they sit on it? Anyone who saw that car & trailer in the days or weeks afterwards may have seen the occupant/s. But to try & recall the occupant/s with any degree of accuracy 18 months on would be very difficult.

I'm assuming the car & trailer would have long ago been sold or destroyed so I guess they are relying on someone who knew the owner before the event and knew them reasonably well: friend, family, neighbour, as opposed to a passerby or petrol station attendant?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The sister of missing woman Carol Clay has revealed she was well aware of her secret affair with Russell Hill and knew they embarked on multiple trips to remote campsites before they vanished last year.

The forbidden relationship unfolded under the nose of Mr Hill’s wife, Robyn, who had been oblivious to her husband’s exploits prior to an investigation into his March 2020 disappearance.

In a bombshell 60 Minutes interview on Sunday, Ms Clay’s sister Jill confirmed the affair had been ongoing for some time before the pair went missing.
Affair between campers Carol Clay and Russell Hill confirmed

 

[MissMarpleAU]

Maybe he was illegally dumping rubbish or greenwaste, or bringing his crop home?

Lots of questions.
1/ Where did the car do the 20-30 point turn when it couldn't leave the valley via the "Myrtleford Gate" ? Does anyone know where this spot would have been. It seems like it must have been near a camp site as other campers heard the car.
2/ The car was then captured by video "on Mount Hotham" - where was this - is there a location? Is it the road near Mount Hotham that leads north, into Bright, or actually on the road going right over Mount Hotham (heading east).
3/ Did those CCTV road cameras catch the car at any other times - e.g. going IN to the valley? if so, which direction did it come from?
4/ Less important - Russel's car was locked, yet it seemed that wallets had been run through and contents scattered. Where were his keys? I assume probably burnt in the tent fire?
5/ Less important - Why do you think a car would tow a trailer like that. Just for extra supplies? But there isn't much/anything on the car's roof racks. It seems like a lot of bother to tow on those roads. Would a likely reason be to bring back deer? And what is covering the trailer - it looks like a board?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

New pictures released after 'SIGNIFICANT BREAKTHROUGH’ in case of missing campers

 

[Monsoon]

related?
fight at a campground near Bunyip, a week before the man disappeared.
Man dies after campground fight suspected to have started over dog

edited to add: the note about the man is strangely specific mentioning Noojee East

 

[Kemug]

related?
fight at a campground near Bunyip, a week before the man disappeared.
Man dies after campground fight suspected to have started over dog

edited to add: the note about the man is strangely specific mentioning Noojee East

That does it! I'm selling my tent, and never going camping again!

 

[Intriguedbymissingpersons]

From the CCTV the trailer also appears to have a hard lid, yet the sketch makes look like it’s a soft covering?