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

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  • #281
None of the articles I read mentioned whether the ham radio equipment was left at the campsite and among the burned out remains. I understand criminals not taking his vehicle. Unique and easily spotted. But the drone is missing. It’s not cheap. And I would think radio transmission equipment is not cheap, either. But if the radio equipment was among the burned out remains, it would appear they walked away to use the drone and got lost. Or were using the drone and stumbled on criminal activity.
VicPol do not release any information that they don't consider relevant or that they think might compromise the investigation.
So... we make assumptions.
I assume the Ham gear would be stowed away in the truck. Notice that the truck is actually adjacent to the tent such that the lockers were most likely accessible in all weather from under shelter of the tent annex.
A great setup indeed.
Questions questions...
Where did they stay on the Thursday night?... Since they were just getting the camp set up late Friday.
 
  • #282
None of the articles I read mentioned whether the ham radio equipment was left at the campsite and among the burned out remains. I understand criminals not taking his vehicle. Unique and easily spotted. But the drone is missing. It’s not cheap. And I would think radio transmission equipment is not cheap, either. But if the radio equipment was among the burned out remains, it would appear they walked away to use the drone and got lost. Or were using the drone and stumbled on criminal activity.
VicPol do not release any information that they don't consider relevant or that they think might compromise the investigation.
So... we make assumptions.
I assume the Ham gear would be stowed away in the truck. Notice that the truck is actually adjacent to the tent such that the lockers were most likely accessible in all weather from under shelter of the tent annex.
A great setup indeed.
Questions questions...
Where did they stay on the Thursday night?... Since they were just getting the camp set up late Friday.
 
  • #283
Wonder if a medium could help with this baffling case?
 
  • #284
Where did they stay on the Thursday night?... Since they were just getting the camp set up late Friday.
There is evidence Russell made it to the Wonnangatta camp from his radio broadcast but did Carol?

What happened the day and night before? There was plenty of time to get to the Wonnangatta camp on the first night of their trip... Why would they set the tent up for just one night on Thursday night and then pack it up to move to Wonnangatta?

Wouldn't Russell have called his wife and got on the radio the first night too? They only mention him making contact on the second night
 
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  • #285
Hi, I'm wondering about the possibility of Russell and/or Carol deliberately burning the tent, in an attempt to get help for whatever reason? What do you all think?
 
  • #286
Welcome @Kemug!!

Possible yes. Probable no. In my opinion.
 
  • #287
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  • #288
Herald Sun, yesterday or today I think. Can't see past the PayWall

Police believe Russell Hill and Carol Clay met with foul play in high country

https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa...QVU6Ug&usg=AFQjCNFdFwdb2pqCW9ZPXMsVrgn5lGLbmw


Can't find on PressReader

Full article from Herald Sun:

"Foul play is now the most likely scenario in the High Country mystery of missing friends Russell Hill and Carol Clay, police believe.

Investigators are looking at the prospect a “third-party” is involved in the disappearance of the pair in east Gippsland almost three months ago.

Detective Insp. Andrew Stamper of the missing persons squad said the circumstances of the mystery indicate they are the victims of foul play and has urged anyone in the area at the time to come forward.

Mr Hill and Ms Clay vanished after arriving in the Wonnangatta Valley in East Gippsland for a camping trip.

They were last known to be alive on March 20 when Mr Hill made brief contact with a mate via radio at 6.30pm as they set up camp before dark at the Dry River Creek Track.

Something happened to them in the 18 hours after that call.

The next day, at about 2pm, other visitors came across the campsite and saw no sign of Mr Hill and Ms Clay.

A large-scale search of the area, which has run on-and-off for more than 30 days, has found no trace of the couple.

Experienced officers from the search and rescue squad have told missing persons squad detectives they believe the couple are not in the search zone.

This has made the likelihood of them perishing in an accident or some other non-suspicious circumstances increasingly remote.

Mr Hill was known to not stray too far from where he set up camp.

The working theory is that someone has removed them from the area.

There are unusual elements which have added to the puzzle of what happened at Wonnangatta.

The cause of a fire at their campsite remains unexplained.

It was ferocious enough to destroy a tent, a table and chairs and scorch the side of Mr Hill’s Toyota Landcruiser.

Another element is Mr Hill’s drone, which has not been found.

Ms Clay’s belongings were found in the locked Toyota and her vehicle was later located at her Pakenham home.

This always made the possibility they staged their own disappearance remote because they would have needed a third vehicle.

Tracking everybody who was in the area has for weeks been a major part of the inquiry.

Investigators are still keen to hear from as many as 200 who had been in the area but have still made contact after a recent public appeal.

Detective Insp. Stamper said they were not in trouble but that the process of working out who was there – whether they knew anything or not – was crucial.

Anyone with any other information on the disappearance or who has any CCTV or dashcam footage can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit the website"
 
  • #289
Thanks Panda!
 
  • #290
  • #291
Hi all, I'm new here, I just joined because I'm interested in this case.
I have camped in the Wonnangatta valley twice in the last 18 months, don't know the area super well but have a decent idea of the landscape and general area. I also spend a lot of my free time in the Victorian high country and bush as I'm a keen camper/4-wheel-driver, so I have some experience with the general behaviors of people out camping in the Australian bush and the dangers you might encounter I guess.
I don't have any firm theories about this case as to whether it was an accident or foul play but I lean towards foul play (also I realise police have now said they think it might be foul play) but I have a few thoughts on the possibilities either way and some of the theories that have been posted here.
The Wonnangatta valley is a massive open area, when I have camped there the only walks myself and others in the camp have taken are to the old homestead and cemetery site, this is in the open area and its an easy flat walk on the main tracks. If they went for a walk on the friday evening I cant imagine they would stray far from camp so maybe they would go to the homestead. If they did go for a harder bush walk perhaps leaving early saturday morning, I find it hard to believe they would walk from camp, if it were me I would drive closer to my location. So I don't think them going for a walk and getting injured or having a medical emergency is likely.
With the missing drone, again, if i was flying a drone and it lost battery and landed itself or crashed etc, unless is was very close to camp I would drive as close as I could get to it, remembering the Wonnangatta valley is a massive open area, chances are you could drive a long way before having to walk thru bush to find it.
The burnt campsite is super sus to me, it could be a crazy coincidence but i just find it weird. Camping equipment is generally not super flammable, I've had embers from the campfire burn holes in my chairs and tents before, but nothing has ever gone up in flames. It would be so unlikely that anyone with common sense would accidentally burn down their campsite, you would have to be doing something really stupid or have a crazy freak accident and I just don't see two people in their 70s lacking common sense.
So it seems most likely to me that something happened to them at the camp and they were removed from the area and the campsite purposely burnt to hide evidence and the drone taken because there was something incriminating recorded. Who, what and why I really have no idea. I highly doubt it was an angry spouse or kids looking for an inheritance etc, it just wouldn't make any sense to follow them hours into the bush where vehicles are more likely to be noticed and where things could go wrong like their vehicle break down and have to get help.
The drug crop theory would make more sense to me however i don't know if the conditions would be right for growing or if it would be too cold etc? I have heard of bike riders stumbling across marijuana crops in the bush before though.
There hasn't been a lot discussed here about the "button man" theory, but I have heard chat from locals to the area and hunters/campers that they think Russell was looking for him with his drone during his previous visit to the area and he was returning to dig a bit deeper. I don't know if there's any truth to that theory but it could fit.
 
  • #292
Elderly campers missing for almost three months in Victoria's high country most likely met a sinister end, according to the head of the Missing Persons Squad.
In an exclusive sit-down interview with A Current Affair, Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper revealed he believed a "third party" was involved in the mystery disappearance of Carol Clay, 73, and her companion Russell Hill, 74.
Mr Stamper said the most-compelling theory was that "something bad has happened to them and they've either been removed from the [Wonnangatta] Valley or they've been concealed somewhere in the Valley".

"We would have found them by now if they were still up there," he told A Current Affair.


Third party revealed to be involved in Victorian campers' disappearance
 
  • #293
Elderly campers missing for almost three months in Victoria's high country most likely met a sinister end, according to the head of the Missing Persons Squad.
In an exclusive sit-down interview with A Current Affair, Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper revealed he believed a "third party" was involved in the mystery disappearance of Carol Clay, 73, and her companion Russell Hill, 74.
Mr Stamper said the most-compelling theory was that "something bad has happened to them and they've either been removed from the [Wonnangatta] Valley or they've been concealed somewhere in the Valley".

"We would have found them by now if they were still up there," he told A Current Affair.


Third party revealed to be involved in Victorian campers' disappearance

and this...
Wife of missing camper Russell Hill found out via a news report that police believe he was murdered | Daily Mail Online

The wife of missing camper Russell Hill had no idea police were treating his disappearance as a murder - until her daughter saw it on TV.

Mr Hill, 74, went camping with Carol Clay, 73, in the remote Wonnangatta Valley in Victoria's Gippsland region on March 19, and the pair have not been heard from since.

Robyn Hill told Daily Mail Australia she learnt about the shock revelations from her daughter, who had seen a promotion for Monday night's edition of Channel 9's A Current Affair program.
 
  • #294
I'm assuming the A Current Affair programme is on tonight?
 
  • #295
I had a thought. Just a thought mind.

What if someone had known or suspected that Russell went camping with Carol for some time?

What if they knew the area that Russell and Carol camped at? (Or had a good guess, owing to the fact Russell went camping at that same area on many previous occasions).

Now, let's think about the tent burning down. Think about a "normal" crime scene, a crime of passion, for example, whereby anger is expressed.

What if someone had a good idea that Russell was going camping with Carol and decided to go and have a look to see if this was the case?

If this person (or them) was very passionate and jealous, angry, upset etc, to have found Russell and Carol camping together in the same tent, (especially if they found them at nighttime possibly sleeping in the same sleeping bag, for example), what do you think they might have done out of anger, to the tent, to the intimate place they shared?

As I said, just a thought.
 
  • #296
This is my second post ever! My first was wondering if maybe Russell and/or Carol had deliberately lit the fire in the hope of getting help. I don't particularly think that, it was just a thought. And here's another one - it has been suggested that they couldn't have faked their own disappearance because they would have needed another vehicle handy. People have also wondered why Russell was there just the previous weekend - is it not possible that he was putting another vehicle nearby then? As I said, just a thought.
 
  • #297
  • #298
This is my second post ever! My first was wondering if maybe Russell and/or Carol had deliberately lit the fire in the hope of getting help. I don't particularly think that, it was just a thought. And here's another one - it has been suggested that they couldn't have faked their own disappearance because they would have needed another vehicle handy. People have also wondered why Russell was there just the previous weekend - is it not possible that he was putting another vehicle nearby then? As I said, just a thought.

I doubt very much they would have set fire to the tent etc, to get help. They had a perfectly good vehicle to use if they needed to get help. Not sure what kind of help you're thinking about.

Regarding Russell being there the previous weekend and leaving a vehicle there, that would require someone's help. I don't think personally that's likely. They would need to really, really trust someone to do that, let alone having someone who would be prepared to be involved in such a deception in the first place.
 
  • #299
I doubt very much they would have set fire to the tent etc, to get help. They had a perfectly good vehicle to use if they needed to get help. Not sure what kind of help you're thinking about.

Regarding Russell being there the previous weekend and leaving a vehicle there, that would require someone's help. I don't think personally that's likely. They would need to really, really trust someone to do that, let alone having someone who would be prepared to be involved in such a deception in the first place.

unless the second person was Carol!
But foul play or misadventure are higher on my list than them running away together.
MOO
 
  • #300
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