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

[JudgeJudi]

OMG! Was scrolling through William Tyrrell thread when I saw your post Tootsie!

I was doing a post for the William Tyrrell thread and my husband just came in and told me the news. I always tell him about cases I'm following and he just heard it. I can't wait to learn more.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

No Cookies | Herald Sun

Specialist police swooped in on helicopters at a remote East Gippsland campsite, dramatically arresting a 55-year-old man over the disappearance of Russell Hill and Carol Clay. Meanwhile, loved ones have expressed relief and hope for closure.

Experienced bushman arrested.
Remote country north of Sale

Ron Ashlin speaks of his relief and hopes they've got the right person

Behind paywall

 

[JudgeJudi]

As he's been arrested, he will have been cautioned, told he has the right to remain silent and can speak to a lawyer. I'd love to be a fly on the wall.

He'll have been told why he's under arrest and they'll give him the barest amount of info and then get him to tell his story. As he wouldn't have been expecting this sudden arrest, he won't have had an opportunity to cook up a good alibi. Neither will he know what evidence LE has. First interviews are critically important because once they start changing their story, that's usually when their goose is cooked.

 

[srper2]

I am hoping that he was caught red handed checking on or close to where he hid the bodies and dogs might be able to find them now

 

[Blueberry2720]

I’d love to see more extensive photos of his mates vehicles.

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** They'll get you's post is a page or 2 before this. I don't know why Websleuths plopped my post here. And the dumb program denied me a Like button at the bottom!

They'll get you:

The top photo you posted, I assume is of the radio guys on one of their outings. There several pictures on the web like this. My question is why did you post this?
Do you somehow know the truck in the picture is "the one"?
Or are you just guessing, have a hunch that it is?
Do you think one of the radio guys killed them? I have often wondered that myself.

 

[JudgeJudi]

We're ending the year on a high note. CS, WT at an interesting stage and now this.

The Court's fixed vacation period begins on 20 December and the first day of the new term will be Monday, 31 January 2022. We'll all need a breather too. Back to WT now.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

But he may have been on the run. He may have thought that it was only a matter of time before he was caught.

If it is him he would have had 20 months to come up with an alibi, if needed.

Anyway he hasn't been charged yet, let alone found guilty of anything.

I hope it's not just some poor person who bought a vehicle from someone.

As he wouldn't have been expecting this sudden arrest, he won't have had an opportunity to cook up a good alibi.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

No Cookies | Herald Sun

How a marathon investigation may have cracked campers mystery

Behind a paywall, but nothing new in it.

 

[JudgeJudi]

He doesn't know what evidence LE has, so no matter what alibi, if any, he's come up with, the fact that he's been arrested says a lot. It's not as though he was considered a POI and just brought in for questioning.

 

[PingTheRouter]

Specialist police swooped in on helicopters at a remote East Gippsland campsite, dramatically arresting a 55-year-old man over the disappearance of Russell Hill and Carol Clay. Meanwhile, loved ones have expressed relief and hope for closure.

makes a lot of sense given the profile police gave out about who he might have been

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I tried to find the distance from where he was found to Wonnangatta, but High Plains got too many results and none of the right ones.

It was said that High Plains was north of Sale. The distance from Wonnangatta to Sale was said to be over 200km to drive there.

LE haven't said, at least today, if they still think Russell and Carol are still in the Wonnangatta area.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I wonder if they were tracking him when off he went and drove to the campsite that they found him in.

Maybe they had a tracker on his car ? Or just undercover watching him.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

On Tuesday, Victoria Police said they had arrested a 55-year-old man from Melbourne in connection with the case.

Passers-by found their campsite destroyed by fire the next day, but police were not notified until later that week. Campers noticed that Mr Hill's car, parked nearby, also bore signs of fire damage.

The investigation has picked up in recent months. Authorities released pictures of a 4x4 car that had been spotted near the pair's campsite at the time, saying they wished to speak to the driver.

"It's really hard. It's not getting any better not knowing. It's just unknown - he just disappeared and you're just stuck in the middle," said Mr Hill's daughter, Debbie, last month.

Ms Clay's sister, Jill, said: "We need to know what happened and we need to know where their bodies are so we can put them to rest."

Mr Hill knew the area well from frequent visits and work decades ago as a logger, local media reported.
Australia missing campers: Man arrested over pair's disappearance

 

[Awakening]

Half an hour ago this article said he hadn't been interviewed yet, but the update in the last 15 minutes said he is now being interviewed.

Man arrested over disappearance of missing Victorian campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay

A man has been arrested over the disappearance of Victorian campers Carol Clay and Russell Hill, who vanished in March last year.
The 55-year-old man from Caroline Springs was arrested in the High Plains area, part of the Victorian Alps, yesterday.

He is being interviewed by police and no charges have been laid.

CS case has a suspect arrested and charged, now this case has a man arrested. Hopefully Aussie police are on a roll and they say things happen in 3s and there is an arrest and charge in young Williams case. 3 for 3 I hope!

 

[Detective Willy]

Reports say the man that has been arrested is an "Experienced Bushman" and from what we know Russell is/was an "Experienced Bushman". I wonder if the 2 men had crossed paths before March 2020?

 

[Kemug]

Well, well, this is a surprise! I had just about given up hope. It's not exactly good news of course, but finding their bodies is the best that can be hoped for at this stage. I do hope that further revelations won't be too awful.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Oops I meant Rob.

Having a day at home, after a bad allergic reaction to something.

Ron Ashlin speaks of his relief and hopes they've got the right person

 

[spangled]

Fantastic news to wake up to! Can't believe it! Thinking of Carol and Russell's families, hope to hear more news soon.

 

[JayWill]

I am hoping that he was caught red handed checking on or close to where he hid the bodies and dogs might be able to find them now

I think Gippsland is a fair way from the highlands, isn't it?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Blue 4WD Drive Seized During Arrest

No Cookies | Herald Sun

A Nissan four-wheel-drive was seized during the dramatic Gippsland-campground arrest of a suspect in the Russell Hill-Carol Clay disappearance.

The blue off-roader was taken away from a remote campsite in East Gippsland following the arrest of a 55-year-old man from Caroline Springs on Monday afternoon.

The Nissan is in the process of being transported back to Melbourne where it will be examined at the Victoria Police Forensic Services Centre at Macleod.