Found Deceased Australia - Russell Hill, 74, & Carol Clay, 72, Wonnangatta Valley, 20 March 2020

[Kemug]

Actually several of my family and friends have had a TIA. Other people, and even themselves may not notice it happening, it can be so slight. There may not be any damage done from a small one. But over the course of having several, the damage can mount up and become noticeable.

 

[SouthAussie]

Have got a link for where you assumed he was working in the valley "for what appears to be decades"? I'm starting to wonder if it wasn't simply a job he might have done as a young man but not for an extensive period of time.

It sounds to me that Russell was a logger a long time ago .... "back in the day" "a long time ago and he was a lot younger".


Mrs Hill told Daily Mail Australia her husband was familiar with the terrain where he was believed to have gone missing.
'He knows the area,' she said. 'He used to work out there. But it was a long time ago and he was a lot younger.'
Mr Hill had been a professional logger back in the day where he worked in some of the country's toughest bush.
Mystery of missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay may have gone up in flames without a trace | Daily Mail Online


Herald Sun says Russell was a logger in the 1980s.
(It also says that they were setting up camp near the old station homestead site ... just to give us some more specifics about where they were in the valley.)

 

[Panda]

It sounds to me that Russell was a logger a long time ago .... "back in the day" "a long time ago and he was a lot younger".


Mrs Hill told Daily Mail Australia her husband was familiar with the terrain where he was believed to have gone missing.
'He knows the area,' she said. 'He used to work out there. But it was a long time ago and he was a lot younger.'
Mr Hill had been a professional logger back in the day where he worked in some of the country's toughest bush.
Mystery of missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay may have gone up in flames without a trace | Daily Mail Online


Herald Sun says Russell was a logger in the 1980s.
(It also says that they were setting up camp near the old station homestead site ... just to give us some more specifics about where they were in the valley.)

View attachment 253618

That was 40 odd years ago. A long time. A very long time. Tracks in the bush can change quite a lot in a few years, especially if they're still logging in the area, let alone in 40 years. I would be more interested to know if he kept going back into the area subsequently, or if he's only recently started going back into the area. If he kept camping in the area throughout the years after he stopped logging, that would indicate he still had a good grasp of the land and the tracks, as they changed.

 

[SouthAussie]

Is this the camping spot where Russell and Carol set up camp? It is described as being at Wonnangatta Station Hut camping area. There is also a very good map within the link that shows the routes in that area. And descriptions of using Dargo as a setting off point.

What a beautiful area it is.



Wonnangatta Station - High Country Victoria - Hema Maps

 

[ktime70]

RH's Cell phone GPS.

His phone is missing, so saved data wouldn't be available, and the camp zone in question (the one on the previous trip) is as remote if not more than the one they were in when they disappeared. so no phone reception. they also know his motive (to use the drone) for the earlier trip too. that doesn't seem like something to get from phone pings.

 

[ktime70]

I'm not sure the size of the area he knew like the back of his hand, but presumably not the whole middle section of the Victorian Alps. If he was thinking of driving east out of the valley toward Dargo, he would need a lot more than Google Maps. Try tracing it out and not getting lost just sitting at your desk. Look at all those river crossings that might or might not have functional bridges. Think of fallen trees and ground erosion. See the tracks that you follow from screen to screen for many miles and end in nothing. Sometimes you start out going south-east and find you've 'driven' far north instead and there's no turn off.

the tracks to Dargo are well maintained. It is one of the 2 or 3 towns people travel through to access this area. it is probably THE most frequented towns for people heading into this region of the Alps. Amongst the 4wders I know, the town name, i.e. "going for a trip to Dargo for the weekend", is short hand slang for visiting this part of the high country.

 

[SouthAussie]

His phone is missing, so saved data wouldn't be available, and the camp zone in question (the one on the previous trip) is as remote if not more than the one they were in when they disappeared. so no phone reception. they also know his motive (to use the drone) for the earlier trip too. that doesn't seem like something to get from phone pings.

Maybe Russell saved drone footage - from his overnight camping trip - onto a computer at home, and the police have seen it and identified where he was.

It was a new toy for Russell. He may have been experimenting with it ... taking drone footage, downloading it onto his computer, seeing what worked well and what didn't, seeing what he accomplished.

And I would think that the police have trawled through Russell's computer to see what clues (if any) they could find.

 

[trujac]

It sounds to me that Russell was a logger a long time ago .... "back in the day" "a long time ago and he was a lot younger".


Mrs Hill told Daily Mail Australia her husband was familiar with the terrain where he was believed to have gone missing.
'He knows the area,' she said. 'He used to work out there. But it was a long time ago and he was a lot younger.'
Mr Hill had been a professional logger back in the day where he worked in some of the country's toughest bush.
Mystery of missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay may have gone up in flames without a trace | Daily Mail Online


Herald Sun says Russell was a logger in the 1980s.
(It also says that they were setting up camp near the old station homestead site ... just to give us some more specifics about where they were in the valley.)

View attachment 253618

Thanks for uploading RH logging info--so he was a logger camping in the area going back to the 80s...over 30 years ago. His familiarity with the area was extensive.

 

[trujac]

the tracks to Dargo are well maintained. It is one of the 2 or 3 towns people travel through to access this area. it is probably THE most frequented towns for people heading into this region of the Alps. Amongst the 4wders I know, the town name, i.e. "going for a trip to Dargo for the weekend", is short hand slang for visiting this part of the high country.

Yes, there are several 4 wheel drive clubs in Victoria that routinely go out on field expeditions to cut back bush/trees and maintain the roads.

 

[trujac]

His phone is missing, so saved data wouldn't be available, and the camp zone in question (the one on the previous trip) is as remote if not more than the one they were in when they disappeared. so no phone reception. they also know his motive (to use the drone) for the earlier trip too. that doesn't seem like something to get from phone pings.

GPS data information is available through the cell phone service providers...some people have their cell phones set to automatically upload to data base management systems.

 

[trujac]

Is this the camping spot where Russell and Carol set up camp? It is described as being at Wonnangatta Station Hut camping area. There is also a very good map within the link that shows the routes in that area. And descriptions of using Dargo as a setting off point.

What a beautiful area it is.

View attachment 253635

Wonnangatta Station - High Country Victoria - Hema Maps

According to this article their burnt campsite was found at "Dry River Creek Track near the Wonnangatta campground." Another article said, their campsite was a four hour drive from the Wonnangatta Station.
Police say drone could hold vital clues about disappearance of elderly campers

 

[Seajay]

It’s like the spontaneously combusted. Only no remains of them were left. So bizarre.

 

[neesaki]

His phone is missing, so saved data wouldn't be available, and the camp zone in question (the one on the previous trip) is as remote if not more than the one they were in when they disappeared. so no phone reception. they also know his motive (to use the drone) for the earlier trip too. that doesn't seem like something to get from phone pings.

They know his motive for using the drone? Could you elaborate? TIA

 

[Orgona]

I have a feeling the fire is unrelated to their disappearance, but it’s just a feeling based on absolutely nothing. They could accidentally have left something on the table which ignited a fire although if Russel was meticulous that makes the chance of this smaller. Or someone happened on their camp, took something from the table and set the tent on fire to clean his/her traces, or just because he/she could. This is just as big of a mistery as is their disappearance.

 

[trujac]

It’s like the spontaneously combusted. Only no remains of them were left. So bizarre.

yes, and I find it strange that Victoria Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper stated that his investigators were investigating who started the fire and then later extinguished it...that would imply that it was a controlled fire--not a quickly set on fire and run away type of arson. It was deliberate and someone remained at the scene while everything burned.

 

[trujac]

They know his motive for using the drone? Could you elaborate? TIA

neesaki--TIA is a mini-stroke. As of now, there is no known motive for using the drone.
TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack)

 

[trujac]

I have a feeling the fire is unrelated to their disappearance, but it’s just a feeling based on absolutely nothing. They could accidentally have left something on the table which ignited a fire although if Russel was meticulous that makes the chance of this smaller. Or someone happened on their camp, took something from the table and set the tent on fire to clean his/her traces, or just because he/she could. This is just as big of a mistery as is their disappearance.

Here's what I question--if someone came upon the campsite and decided to burn the tent and contents--including the chairs and table...what was their motive? Why didn't they attempt to break into RH's truck? I would think they could have broken a window on the truck...or pried open the truck's utility rear rack compartments to search for valuables...imo, the motive for the campsite fire doesn't seem tied to anything but getting rid of evidence.

 

[Orgona]

Here's what I question--if someone came upon the campsite and decided to burn the tent and contents--including the chairs and table...what was their motive? Why didn't they attempt to break into RH's truck? I would think they could have broken a window on the truck...or pried open the truck's utility rear rack compartments to search for valuables...imo, the motive for the campsite fire doesn't seem tied to anything but getting rid of evidence.

It’s possible someone just set it on fire because they could, or somebody started the fire accidentally. Or the fire just lit up from something left there when no one was present. AFAIK no one could say how it started. LE as I remember wasn’t able to say somebody started the fire. It’s s a mistery to me. I would love to know. Maybe one day we will. One can only hope...

 

[trujac]

It appears to me that it's possible that RH and CC were sitting on their chairs next to their table in front of their tent when something happened...creating microscopic evidence to splatter everywhere...which in turn resulted in their chairs, table and everything else close by to be heaped up on a bonfire. Even the scorched side of their truck seems suspect to me--perhaps, it was purposely burnt to destroy blood splatter evidence.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I was a bit confused about TIA.
I've only seen it used as an abbreviation for Thanks in Advance.
But it didn't fit with what was written here.
Had to google. I see it's what I and my friends would say is a mini stroke.