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calm [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
00:01:28
anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
00:01:34
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website the hume freeway is one of the busiest
00:01:46
interstate routes in australia linking the country's two most populous cities Sydney and to Melbourne
00:01:53
stretching for 840 kilometers the Hume is part of the oz link national network providing a vital connection for freight
00:02:01
and transit between the two major East Coast cities in 2013 the creation of the Holbrook bypass marked the completion of
00:02:11
an extensive overhaul of the roadway with Sydney and Melbourne now linked by a continuous dual lane freeway
00:02:18
unrestricted by the traffic lights and speed restrictions of passing townships but it wasn't always this way prior to
00:02:26
the upgrade the Hume Freeway was the Hume Highway those navigating the old Hume had to drive through a vast a
00:02:34
number of urban and rural townships traffic lights and intersections despite the bypass upgrades that
00:02:42
occurred throughout the years one aspect of the humain to the same it is the only
00:02:48
road providing access to the Belanger Lowe State Forest located 130 kilometres southwest of Sydney in the southern
00:02:57
highlands region of New South Wales palanga low state forest stretches 440 square kilometres and comprises 700
00:03:05
hectares of commercial pine plantations bordered by several thousand hectares of
00:03:10
native bush land entrance is gained only by driving or walking through the seemingly endless
00:03:16
rows of dense pine trees the forest is home to a plethora of native flora and fauna including koalas wombats kangaroos
00:03:27
and many species of birds providing a popular recreation spot for campers trail bike riders bush walkers
00:03:35
picnickers and photographers many parts of the seemingly endless rugged terrain are so remote they can only be accessed
00:03:43
by a four-wheel drive or on foot entrance to Berlin Gallo is gained via the hume 16 kilometres south of the
00:03:53
southern highlands town of Beryl where a sealed Road quickly gives way to rocky dirt roads steep hills and creek
00:04:00
crossings impossible to navigate without an off-road vehicle fire trails and a complex network of tracks and paths
00:04:08
crisscross throughout the forest which is so large and isolated that it's rare to encounter another person whilst
00:04:15
visiting there are no signs or obvious landmarks to signify one's the location within making it a very easy place to
00:04:24
get disoriented and lost the forest is thought to have been named by an early 1800s settler who was so enchanted by
00:04:33
the untamed beauty of the area that he christened that Berlanga low meaning good angel despite its splendor and
00:04:42
distinctively Australian landscape which continues to attract to nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts from all over
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the world those who venture to the secluded forest note the vast space is enveloped by an eerie silence
00:04:58
as visitors turned to the forest entrance a large ominous sign surrounded by a wall of towering trees warns
00:05:06
welcome to Berlin Gallo State Forest please be careful [Music] in the 1990s over 200,000 young
00:05:43
travelers ventured to Australia each year attracted by the Sun surf and rugged natural beauty of the countries
00:05:50
are varied to landscape travellers were promised the exotic and exciting adventures the backpacking lifestyle
00:05:57
offered a young people the opportunity to develop their independence gain new experiences and interact with a wide
00:06:04
range of new people from all over most backpackers who arrived to Australia were aged in their early to mid 20s and
00:06:13
either taking time off between studying or securing their first professional jobs all wanting to figure out their
00:06:20
next step in life the majority travelled alone or with one other person stayed in
00:06:26
the country for an average visit of six months and either lived frugally off their hard-earned savings or funded
00:06:32
their trip as they went with fruit picking jobs Bar chefs nannying or casual farm work 40% of backpackers came
00:06:41
from the UK and another 30% ventured over from continental Europe backpacking accounted for a major part of the
00:06:49
country's tourism industry contributing approximately 1.5 billion dollars to the
00:06:54
Australian economy annually in the days before the internet backpackers relied on word-of-mouth to plan their trips
00:07:03
knowledge was passed from one traveler to the next the best destinations to visit the areas to avoid and to the
00:07:11
cheapest ways to get from place to place notice boards on display at hostels provided an invaluable resource to
00:07:20
tourists seeking travel companions or looking to share the cost of transit with many backpackers partnering up to
00:07:27
cut costs and make new friends trains into buses were a common form of transport that many budget travelers
00:07:35
also purchased the cheaper used cars so they could cover more ground at their own pace although what was often frowned
00:07:43
upon hitchhiking provided another popular method of transit hitching provided a cheap convenient way to move around for
00:07:52
those on tight budgets while allowing visitors to meet locals and learn all about the area they were traversing by
00:07:58
the people who lived there although this risky practice was strongly discouraged
00:08:04
by police and many employers advised the truck drivers against picking up hitchhikers in the 90s it was a common
00:08:12
way for travelers to get around a free book titled the budget travelers guidebook was available in hostels
00:08:21
throughout New South Wales providing information written by backpackers for backpackers it listed the Hume Highway
00:08:29
as an ideal and popular hitchhiking spot for those looking to travel south from Sydney to Melbourne noting the Liverpool
00:08:36
train station as a good starting point the guidebook advised hitchhiking is generally safe and illegal if you stand
00:08:46
in a sensible spot solo guys empty couples have a good chance of a lift make a destination sign and have your
00:08:54
backpack visible women should not hitchhike alone nineteen year old James Gibson was one of many young travelers
00:09:07
who favoured hitchhiking as a mode of transit described as friendly free-spirited impulsive and somewhat
00:09:15
nomadic James was most passionate about two things in life art under the environment
00:09:22
he took conservation issues seriously and was dedicated to saving the planet by attending wilderness walks
00:09:29
volunteering in the country fire service and participating in anti logging protests his dedication to the cause had
00:09:38
recently led him to hitchhike from his family home on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula to a protest in the New South
00:09:45
Wales town of nimbin upon his return home James was happy to be reunited with his
00:09:52
family of whom he was very close to yet the nomadic lifestyle called to him and he soon found himself eager to hit the
00:10:01
road again he decided to defer the sculpture course he had enrolled in at Frankston TAFE to have one more
00:10:08
adventure although he was happy traveling alone James invited his girlfriend Deborah Everest to join him
00:10:16
on the trip the two had met earlier that year at the beginning of 1989 where they
00:10:22
had hit it off immediately despite their many differences Deborah Everest was a bubbly into fallacious nineteen-year-old
00:10:31
noted for her dry mischievous sense of humor a budding writer and avid reader she was studying psychology at Melbourne
00:10:39
SMAW Nash University while working part-time for charity organization the quadriplegic Society Deborah intended to
00:10:48
eventually make the move into journalism she had been living away from home while
00:10:53
attending uni but as 1989 drew to an end she deferred her studies and returned to
00:10:59
her family home in suburban Frankston to help take care of her father after he was diagnosed with cancer
00:11:06
Deborah planned to return to university the following year but with her studies temporarily on hold she was free to join
00:11:14
James on his journey although she didn't share the same nomadic hippie traits as
00:11:20
her boyfriend and much preferred home comforts Deborah had never travelled before and thought it would do her good
00:11:26
to take a break and to broaden her horizons James and Deborah made a plan to travel
00:11:33
north to Sydney where they would catch up with some of James's friends before the group would head back south together
00:11:39
to Aubry a regional city on the new south wales Victorian border there they'd make their way to the small
00:11:47
Riverside town of Wawa to attend to confessed a bush camping festival that celebrates alternative lifestyles
00:11:54
offering workshops live music and vegetarian food on the morning of December 28 1989 James and Deborah's
00:12:05
parents respectively dropped their children off at the Frankston train station James told his mother the pair
00:12:12
intended the hitchhike from Melbourne to Sydney via the Hume Highway and she wasn't happy about the idea although her
00:12:20
son was a gregarious and experienced traveller she was aware of the dangers of hitchhiking and warned her son to be
00:12:27
careful James reassured his mother that hitchhiking was perfectly safe as long as you didn't travel alone so she had
00:12:36
nothing to worry about considering Deborah would be by his side unlike James Deborah didn't tell her
00:12:44
mother they planned on hitchhiking instead explaining they were catching a train to Melbourne and would then be
00:12:50
getting a lift to Sydney with some friends at around 9 a.m. James and Deborah farewelled their parents
00:12:58
purchased their tickets and to boarded the train to Melbourne James had packed his red with blue trim
00:13:05
burg house brand a backpack full of clothes as well as a small camping stove and a 35-millimeter rico brand SLR
00:13:13
camera his parents had given him earlier that year Deborah was equipped with a green nylon sports bag packed with
00:13:21
clothes and personal items a green and a beige sleeping bag that she had taken from her brother without asking and 260
00:13:29
dollars in cash the duo disembarked the train in Melbourne City and quickly succeeded in obtaining a riot northwards
00:13:37
to Sydney it was the summer holidays so there was plenty of traffic on the road and it was easy to get Ali
00:13:45
James and Deborah made the long journey north without any hiccups and arrived in
00:13:50
Sydney as planned upon their arrival at James's friend's house in the inner city
00:13:57
suburb of Surry Hills they discovered the group they were supposed to be meeting there had already left for
00:14:02
confessed without them their trip to Sydney was now pointless as James and Deborah had specifically traveled an
00:14:10
additional six hours north to join up with the confessed group a little frustrated but accepting the situation
00:14:17
James and Deborah decided to stay the night in Sydney before making the six-hour journey back south the
00:14:24
confessed in the morning James's friends flatmate invited them to sleep on the lounge room floor before they departed
00:14:32
for Aubry the next day that night December 29 Deborah phoned her mother to say we've arrived safely I knew you
00:14:43
would be in a panic until you heard from me we're fine don't worry I'll send you a postcard and
00:14:49
will ring you tomorrow James and Deborah set out for Aubrey the following morning of December 30 at
00:14:59
around 10:00 a.m. they intended to follow the well-worn backpackers paths which involved catching a train to
00:15:06
either Liverpool or Casula in Sydney southwest before heading towards the Hume Highway on foot and then attempting
00:15:14
to hitch a ride south from a passing motorist however the exact route they ultimately decided to take is unknown
00:15:23
[Music] that day Deborah's mother Patricia Everest waited eagerly for a phone call
00:15:29
from her daughter as promised but the evening came and went and there was no word from Deborah even though it was
00:15:38
unlike Deborah not to be in touch Patricia tried to reassure herself that the traveling couple were probably just
00:15:44
having such a great time that they forgot to call home as the days went by and still she hadn't
00:15:52
heard from her daughter Patricia became increasingly concerned she contacted James's mother peg Gibson who advised
00:16:00
she hadn't received any contact from her son peg wasn't too worried though she was used to James uh venturing off to
00:16:08
remote locations where there were limited means of communication so she assured Patricia their children were
00:16:14
probably just in an area with no telephone access but as the day's continued to pass by and still there was
00:16:22
no word from James or Deborah Peggy began to share Patricia's concern the two mothers kept in close contact see if
00:16:32
the other had heard anything but when no news came through they soon became frantic On January 15 1992 weight since
00:16:45
Deborah's last phone call home Patricia Everest and peg Gibson made their way to
00:16:50
the Frankston police station together where they reported their two children missing an officer entered James and
00:16:58
Deborah's names into the missing-persons register noting that although James was
00:17:03
known at times to live a somewhat nomadic lifestyle he was also a responsible young man and it was out of
00:17:10
character for either of them not to be in contact with their families police took the report seriously but it wasn't
00:17:18
seen as a priority as the officers deemed it likely the 19 year olds had simply gotten swept up on an adventure
00:17:24
and would call home soon Patricia and Peggy knew such behavior would be out of character for their children but tried
00:17:33
to find comfort in the possibility James's sister's wedding day was fast approaching and to the Gibson and
00:17:41
diversed families held on to hopes the pair would return home in time for the occasion
00:17:46
James and his sister were close and his family knew there was no way he would miss such a milestone event but the big
00:17:55
day On January 21 came and went with no contact from James or Deborah their families had no doubt now that something
00:18:04
was horribly wrong friends and relatives gathered together to help with the search
00:18:12
wearing t-shirts asking for information they stopped at all the towns truck stops service stations and rest stops up
00:18:20
and down the Hume Highway they distributed posters featuring James and Deborah's photographs with the bold
00:18:26
title missing at revising anyone with information about the duo's whereabouts to contact the police despite these
00:18:35
efforts days turned into months and still there were no sightings and no word from James or Deborah on March 13
00:18:48
1991 named Wendy was driving along gulstan Gorge road a narrow pitcher esque stretch of asphalt hood road that
00:18:57
runs between the towns of Hornsby in general in the Northwest outskirts of Sydney
00:19:02
Wendy noticed the red backpack with blue trim on the side of the road and stopped
00:19:08
to pick it up throwing it in the boot of her car when Wendy arrived to work she had a look through the backpack but
00:19:16
didn't find anything of interest it contained a black pen a tin of sardines and some pine needles which she noted as
00:19:24
odd considering there were no pine trees in gulstan gorge she also noticed the ID
00:19:30
tag had been cut out of the backpack meaning there was no way of identifying its owner so Wendy put the pack aside
00:19:37
and to win about her day the next day she had another look at the backpack and to notice there was a name address and
00:19:46
telephone number of written inconspicuously on the bottom of the pack alongside the phone number read the word
00:19:54
Gibson Wendy called the number and the peg keeps unanswered advising the backpack belonged to her son James who
00:20:03
had been missing along with his girlfriend Deborah for three and a half months with this information
00:20:10
Wendy immediately drove to Hornsby Police Station intended the backpack in after the discovery of the backpack
00:20:19
James and Deborah's disappearance started gaining more attention local newspaper the Hornsby advocate ran a
00:20:27
story about the missing couple advising that James's backpack had now been located
00:20:32
but his Rico brand camera into Deborah's belongings were nowhere to be seen the story sparked the attention of a
00:20:40
local cyclist who had been riding his bike on gulstan Gorge Road on December 31 1989 the day after James and Deborah
00:20:49
were last seen in Sydney the cyclist found what appeared to be a near new 35 millimeter rico brand camera on the side
00:20:58
of the road considering there was nothing on it to help identify its owner the cyclist took the camera home and
00:21:05
didn't give it much more thought now realizing the camera might belong to missing backpacker James Gibson he
00:21:13
immediately handed it in to Hornsby Police Station members of James's family flew to Sydney
00:21:22
and formally identified the backpack into camera as belonging to the missing 19 year old they were confused about the
00:21:29
location in which the items were found James and the Deborah had plans to head south to confess'd near Aubree so it
00:21:37
made no sense that their belongings had shown up on the Northwest outskirts of Sydney
00:21:42
gulstan Gorge Road was about 45 kilometres northwest of Surry Hills the last place the couple were seen police
00:21:51
appealed to witnesses who may have seen or picked up the couple to come forward but to no success in April an extensive
00:22:00
police search of the rugged Galston Gorge area was conducted with police divers searching the river while 140
00:22:08
officers and emergency service personnel conducted a foot search along the winding gulstan Gorge Road investigators
00:22:16
remained open to all possibilities including the hopeful that the pair had run away together after dumping their
00:22:23
belongings to the Sinister that they fell to their deaths while climbing the cliffs enacted a suicide pact or had
00:22:32
fallen victim to foul play given the fact to James and Deborah were both close with their families and had
00:22:40
no prior history of self-harm accidental death or Fairplay were deemed the more likely of the worst case scenarios
00:22:49
despite the extensive search efforts no other items belonging to the couple were
00:22:55
found for Patricia Everest the uncertainty of not knowing what happened to her daughter was the most painful
00:23:02
aspect quote this is one of the worst things that can happen to parents you can't grieve the worst thing is not
00:23:12
knowing you lie awake at night and imagine everything the months continued to pass by and to no new information
00:23:23
came to light James and Deborah's disappearance quickly faded from the news and had very little impact on other
00:23:31
young travelers as the backpacking industry continued to thrive 21 year old Simone Schmitt all known to France as
00:23:41
semi was bitten by the travel bug early when she was 11 years old she traveled with her family from their home country
00:23:49
of Germany to Canada which sparked her keen sense of adventure after finishing high school
00:23:56
Simone headed to Yugoslavia remarking to her friend if I could afford it I'd spend the rest of my life traveling
00:24:04
around the world it was a passion well suited to her fun outgoing and trusting personality which made her a confident
00:24:13
jet setter two years after her trip to Yugoslavia Simone visited Canada and Alaska for a
00:24:21
camping holiday where she met a number of fellow travelers including several Australians there was one person in
00:24:28
particular she hit it off with a young woman from Sydney named Christine Murphy and Simone decided Australia would be
00:24:36
her next destination she considered it to be a safe and friendly country much like Canada and
00:24:42
was eager to see the striking colors of the Great Barrier Reef and to the angelus desert horizon of the Aussie
00:24:49
outback Simone returned home to Regensburg a Bavarian city near Munich in Germany
00:24:56
working hard as a bookkeeper to save money for her upcoming Australian adventure one Simone had successfully
00:25:07
funded her trip she went shopping with her father to buy the items required for her Australian camping holiday she
00:25:15
purchased the blue salawa brand a backpack adorned with a lilac pattern a green and purple salawa brand a sleeping
00:25:22
bag a day pack and a cooking set the Verde brand Hogan model 10 she wanted wasn't in stock so the sales assistant
00:25:32
had to order one in from the manufacturer the tent arrived two weeks later and Simone returned to the store
00:25:39
to collect and sign for the item armed with everything she needed Simone made her way to the Regensburg train station
00:25:47
on September 29 1990 where she planned to catch a train to Frankfurt before boarding her flight to Sydney she was
00:25:57
fair world by her father who urged his daughter to be careful but Simone was more concerned about her father's
00:26:04
well-being than her own telling him take care and be careful that nothing happens
00:26:10
to you when I'm in Australia I won't be able to help if something happens during
00:26:17
her flight to Sydney Simone struck up a conversation with a fellow passenger and a backpacker named
00:26:23
Jeanette moola n2 the two became instant friends as neither had any solid plans upon their arrival to Australia they
00:26:32
decided to travel together their first stop was a visit to Christine Murphy whom Simone had met on her trip to
00:26:39
Alaska Simone and her new companion Jeanette arrived to Christine's house in the Western Sydney suburb of Guildford
00:26:47
which they used as a base while exploring the city after a week spent sightseeing Simone
00:26:54
and Jeanette caught a train to Liverpool and set out on foot down the Hume Highway hitching a ride to Melbourne
00:27:01
from there they bought a cheap car and drove north up to Queensland before driving back to Melbourne to meet up
00:27:09
with some friends in Melbourne the women sold their car and decided the hitchhike
00:27:15
back to Sydney they'd become very familiar with the Hume Highway during their travels and felt confident
00:27:22
accepting rides along this well trodden route in Sydney they stayed with Christine Murphy again before flying to
00:27:30
New Zealand on January 19 1991 Simone and Jeanette returned to Australia when they crashed their Christine Murphy
00:27:41
Sydney based house yet again it was there the Simone announced the next leg of her trip she planned to hitchhike on
00:27:50
her own back down to Melbourne to meet her mother who was flying over to join her on a campervan trip around the
00:27:56
country Simone's friends expressed War II over her plan to hitchhike alone Christine
00:28:03
fell Simone had already taken too many risks and should quit while she was ahead Jeanette had done her fair share
00:28:11
of hitchhiking with Simone yet even she agreed that her travel companion should adopt a more cautious approach from here
00:28:17
on out believing the reason their previous efforts were safe and successful was due to the fact they were
00:28:23
travelling as a pair Jeanette and Christine urged Simone to catch the bus to melbourne instead offering to buy her
00:28:32
a ticket even Christine's mother warned Simone of the dangers of hitchhiking alone but Simone shrugged it off showing
00:28:40
her a page from her travel guide that detailed Australia as a safe country to hitchhike Simone had already made up her
00:28:48
mind as Christine Murphy described quote Simone had a relaxed attitude towards hitchhiking and told her friends not to
00:28:58
worry she'd always found people to be friendly and helpful her argument when we tried to talk her out of it
00:29:05
don't worry about it I'm quite safe at 8:30 a.m. on January 20 1991 Simone SH middle-left Christine Murphy's
00:29:18
ass to begin her solo journey to Melbourne Jeanette walked her partway to the Guildford train station where the
00:29:26
two said they would buyers at a nearby news agency the trains weren't running that morning so Simone caught a bus from
00:29:33
Guildford to Liverpool where she began the walk to the Hume Highway at 9:00 a.m.
00:29:39
Simone's plan was to hold up a sign displaying her final destination of Melbourne in the hopes of catching a
00:29:46
lift from a friendly truck driver she set off down the Hume Highway wearing a bright yellow singlet green shorts and
00:29:54
hiking boots carrying her backpack tent sleeping bag into $20 cash three days later on Wednesday January 23
00:30:06
Simone's mother Ivania arrived at Melbourne Airport eager to see her daughter after four months apart
00:30:13
however Simone wasn't waiting for her mother in the arrivals lounge as expected Lavinia assumed she wouldn't be too far
00:30:22
away and continued to weigh wondering whether Simone had been confused about their plans perhaps she thought that was
00:30:30
supposed to meet at the house of a friend where they would be staying her Vania called a taxi to their friend's
00:30:36
house presuming Simone was already there but when she arrived Simone was nowhere
00:30:42
to be seen and nobody had heard from her the worried mother sat by the phone waiting for Simone to ring but no calls
00:30:52
came through her Vania called Christine Murphy's house the last place her daughter stayed
00:31:00
Simone's friends Christine and Jeanette had already begun to worry even before receiving no vania's phone call Simone
00:31:09
had promised to make contact upon her safe arrival to Melbourne but days had passed since she departed and they still
00:31:17
hadn't heard a word from her Christine said by Monday night when we hadn't heard from simi we began to worry by
00:31:27
Tuesday night logic began to hit on the fifth day of Simone's disappearance her Vania made her way to the Russell Street
00:31:37
police station in Melbourne to report her daughter missing the officers on duty weren't overly concerned Simone was
00:31:45
inexperienced young backpacker and there was every chance she had made a spur-of-the-moment decision to change
00:31:50
her travel plans the Dovan Ian used such a ding would be completely out of character for her daughter
00:31:58
when Simone's father Herbert was notified of his daughter's disappearance he sought assistance from his local
00:32:05
police station in Germany the German officers told him there was nothing they could do as it was an issue for
00:32:11
Australian police Herbert explained he couldn't speak English and wanted their assistance
00:32:17
gaining some more information but the German police advised him to find an english-speaking friend or relative who
00:32:24
could help instead Herbert contacted the German Embassy in Canberra and higher authorities in
00:32:31
German law enforcement but they advised him to contact foreign affairs time and time again his attempts to seek help
00:32:40
headed nowhere made all the more difficult by the language barrier impacting his ability to communicate
00:32:46
with Australian authorities Affinia stayed in Australia holding our hopes that her daughter would show up
00:32:56
overwhelmed with fear and anxiety her vania began suffering regular bouts of nausea after six weeks of searching with
00:33:05
no sign of Simone she eventually returned to Germany alone during a public appeal for anyone with
00:33:13
information to come forward Simone's travel companion and Jeanette moolah said people in Germany want to
00:33:20
come to Australia because it's so far away the Great Southern land but Australia is also well known for its
00:33:28
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like the thousands of backpackers who were drawn to Australia there each year 21 year old Gabor Naga Bella was eager
00:38:12
to see as much of the world as possible born in Stuttgart Germany his father's job in the Air Force meant Gabor had
00:38:20
moved around a lot throughout his childhood so he felt confident venturing to new places even though he was quiet
00:38:27
shy and too liked to keep to himself passionate about nature and with the environment Gabor had a particular
00:38:34
interest in geology and to Volcanology after serving 15 months compulsory service in the German military he
00:38:43
applied to pursue these interests at university but when he failed to gain entry to his preferred course he
00:38:49
enrolled in a philosophy degree instead he promised his parents who would transfer to something they considered
00:38:56
more serious once he had scratched his travel itch it was around this time that Gabor met Anna have she'd a shy
00:39:05
kind-hearted 20 year old who shared his love for the environment Anna had recently completed a drafting course and
00:39:13
was eager to embrace the world beyond Germany before she recommenced her studies beyond to their shared passions
00:39:21
for nature and travel and yearned a Gabor had a lot in common neither smoked or drank and both
00:39:28
embraced the neezy going attitude towards life the two set off on their first adventure together around Europe
00:39:35
at the start of 1991 and over six feet tall Gabor towered over petty Tonia and he's fit strong physique in short she
00:39:45
felt safe traveling in his company the couple enjoyed to their European travel experience so much that upon their
00:39:52
return they began planning their next trip right away Gerber's uni course was scheduled to
00:40:01
resume in early 1992 and before returning to the books he and Dania decided to set off on a two-month
00:40:08
journey backpacking around Asia where they were mostly looking forward to visiting the temples than the volcanoes
00:40:14
of Indonesia they set off for Indonesia in late to 91 but while they were there the weather took an unexpected turn for
00:40:22
the worse and - the couple made a spur-of-the-moment decision to head to Australia instead Gabor and Dania landed
00:40:31
in Darwin in December 91 before venturing to the tropical city of Cairns in Far North Queensland with Christmas
00:40:39
fast approaching they met some other travelers along the way who told them bondi beach in sydney was the place to
00:40:45
be during the festive season as there was a large backpackers Christmas party put on there every year intrigued by
00:40:54
this tip the couple added Sydney to their itinerary with Anya writing a letter to her family in Germany saying
00:41:01
she was really looking forward to this leg of their journey upon their arrival in Sydney Gabor and Dania checked into a
00:41:09
hostel in Kings Cross an inner-city district which at the time was a hotbed for drugs crime and seedy nightlife but
00:41:18
was popular with backpackers due to the cheap accommodation available not liking
00:41:23
the vibes of the city and unable to sleep during the hot sticky summer night Gabor called his family in Germany from
00:41:31
a payphone in the hostel corridor at 4 a.m. on Christmas morning although the international connection
00:41:38
was poor Kapoor's mother could tell her son wasn't in good spirits he and Dani are much preferred Asia over
00:41:45
Australia and were looking forward to leaving before the phone line disconnected Gabor told his mother he
00:41:52
wanted to leave Australia as soon as possible the next day December 26 1991 Gabor and Dania settled their bill and
00:42:04
checked out of the Kings Cross hostel telling staff they were heading north to Darwin
00:42:10
they had booked a flight to Indonesia departing New Year's Day and were eager to resume that portion of their trip
00:42:17
before flying from Indonesia to Germany on January 14 however January 14 came and went and - nobody back home heard a
00:42:27
word from an Jakob or nor had they returned to Germany as planned their families clung to the possibility that
00:42:37
they may have simply missed their flight or had decided to extend a vest a and weren't able to reach a phone to let
00:42:43
anyone know but fears for their well-being were quickly exacerbated when it was revealed that Gabor and Dania
00:42:50
hadn't touched over three thousand dollars worth of traveler's checks since checking out of their Kings Cross hostel
00:42:58
knowing they would be returning to Darwin after Sydney Gabor and Dania had let their friends and family know to
00:43:05
direct an email for them to the Darwin post office it was common practice for backpackers who had no fixed address to
00:43:13
nominate a post office where they could collect mail while passing through de Bourgh's mother had sent a couple of
00:43:20
Christmas package containing cookies and other treats but the package remained at
00:43:24
the Darwin post office uncollected indicating the couple may have never made it there On January 30 1992 a
00:43:34
little over a month since Anna and the Cabal were last seen checking out of the hostel in Sydney their disappearance was
00:43:41
reported to German police the report was forwarded on to the Australian Federal Police who
00:43:48
immediately began looking into the case yet they uncovered very little information to suggest that what had
00:43:54
happened to the couple Gabor and Danny's family is hired a private investigator but they too failed to find any trace of
00:44:02
the two young backpackers after months of searching and no leads it was as though they had simply vanished into
00:44:11
thin air frustrated with the fruitless investigation gabor spare ins honker and demand friend Anita Bella along with a
00:44:21
Mia's brother Norbert decided to head to Australia to initiate their own search they were convinced the couple may have
00:44:28
been involved in an accident and we're eager to increase the media attention to see if anyone came forward with
00:44:34
information Alka Manfred and - Norbert arrived in Sydney in April 1992 meeting with the
00:44:43
New South Wales Police Force and inducting several press conferences for Norbert his sister's disappearance was
00:44:50
completely out of character as he knew she was looking forward to returning to Germany to resume her studies he told
00:44:58
the media we decided the only way to know what was happening was to come here to look for ourselves for us there are
00:45:06
only a few possibilities if someone is murdered the first thing you do is steal their money but no checks have been
00:45:14
cashed they could have had an accident fallen over a cliff but nobody has seen it
00:45:21
we know they would contact us if they could the media attention was helpful in generating public awareness with the
00:45:31
police receiving over 200 tip offs from witnesses who believed they had cited the couple every lead was followed but
00:45:39
each went nowhere with the sightings believed to be a case of mistaken identity Alka Manfred and Norbert decided to
00:45:49
follow the trail Anja and took a bore had taken but were faced with the problem that no one knew 100% which way
00:45:56
the couple had traveled after leaving Sydney although their flight from Darwin to Indonesia had been scheduled to leave
00:46:03
just six days later Gabor had told his parents they were heading south down the Hume Highway making their way to
00:46:10
Victoria specifically Mildura a historical country town on the banks of the Murray River from there the couple
00:46:19
would visit Adelaide in the neighboring state of South Australia before heading north through the outback on the Stuart
00:46:25
Highway to their final destination of Darwin but this contradicted reports from the Kings Cross hostel staff in
00:46:33
Sydney who were adamant Gabor and Dania said they were taking the North route via Queensland towards Darwin as they
00:46:40
had asked for hostel recommendations in that direction ANCA Manfred under Norbert spent the
00:46:47
next five weeks traveling through Australia in a camper van they decided to follow the advice from the Kings
00:46:54
Cross hostel staff and head north from Sydney going to Brisbane Townsville Murtaza Darwin Alice Springs Port
00:47:02
Augusta and Broken Hill they visited every hostel cafe and a local store they could asking if anyone had seen the
00:47:11
missing backpackers after covering over 10,000 kilometres without finding a single trace of Annie
00:47:18
or Gabor the desperate trio visited a clairvoyant on their final day in Australia who told them your children
00:47:26
are no longer alive your son died very quickly but his friend Daniel suffered terribly before she died Gabor Nagar
00:47:39
Bella and Dania have shades disappearance came almost two years to the day after James Gibson and Deborah
00:47:46
Everest were last seen in Surry Hills and two just 11 months since Simone SH Mittal was last seen walking down the
00:47:52
Hume Highway near Liverpool although all three cases involved young travelers disappearing in Sydney there was no
00:48:01
evidence to link them in any way and nothing that made them stand out for police amongst all of the other active
00:48:07
missing person cases in Australia in the early 90s 24,000 people were reported missing each year a majority of those
00:48:18
reported missing a the reappeared who were found within the first two weeks but 300 missing people remained
00:48:25
unaccounted for each year James Gibson Deborah Everest Simone Schmidt or Gabor no you Bella and Dania had she'd joined
00:48:34
the thousands of names of persons who were disappeared without a trace during a missing-persons where you could peel
00:48:41
for information the spokesperson for the New South Wales police missing persons unit stated we just cannot ever give up
00:48:49
hope we are constantly reviewing and re reviewing our files twenty-two-year-old Joanne Walters had
00:49:01
always dreamed of visiting Australia and New Zealand destinations she considered
00:49:05
far more exotic than her hometown of my stick near Cardiff in Wales Joanne had a
00:49:12
humble life growing up with a mother who worked as a shop assistant and father who worked in a paper mill Factory she
00:49:19
was a model student at school and her warm nature ensured others were drawn towards her having recently travelled
00:49:27
through Europe Joanne was looking forward to her next adventure as she flipped through a
00:49:33
newspaper she noticed an advertisement offering to return flights to Australia for the price of one excited by the
00:49:41
offer she contacted her Scottish friend Pauline read whom she had met the previous year while travelling through
00:49:47
grace the two decided to venture to the land down under for an extended working holiday with Joey and promising to call
00:49:56
and ride home regularly Joanne and Pauline arrived in Sydney in early June 1991 spending the next few weeks
00:50:05
traveling north to Queensland before deciding to part ways and made up again further down the track Joanne returned
00:50:13
to Sydney where she rented a flat in Kings Cross with another backpacker and applied for a job as a nanny she was one
00:50:21
of 100 applicants for the nanny position but for the Jensen family Joanne was the
00:50:26
ideal candidate sensible independent in the up going they happily hired her for the job Joanne loved being a nanny for
00:50:37
the Jensens spending her spare time visiting the source of Sydney and mingling with other travelers and locals
00:50:43
at various bars and cafes throughout the Kings Cross area it was during this time
00:50:49
that Joey and crossed paths with another young female backpacker entered the to immediately hit it off 21 year old
00:50:59
Caroline Clark was a well-educated determined young woman who enjoyed an upper-middle class upbringing in the
00:51:05
county of Surrey in England where she loved playing netball and hockey and socializing with her wives
00:51:12
of friends always up for a laugh Carolyn had a knack for impersonating teachers family members and celebrities to the
00:51:21
amusement of others Carolyn was driven to make a difference in the world applying for a job as a police officer
00:51:29
at age 20 the recruitment offices at the Surrey Police Department thought her qualities made her a great candidate but
00:51:36
felt she was a little too young they advised her to go out and gain more life experiences then come back to see them
00:51:44
again in a couple of years caroline recognized this as a great opportunity to travel the world and started saving
00:51:52
no money for an extended backpacking trip her older brother had recently travelled to Australia and had spoken so
00:51:59
highly of his experience there the Caroline decided to add the destination to her bucket list Caroline got a job as
00:52:08
an assistant manager for a pizza restaurant where she was well-liked by customers and staff after saving enough
00:52:16
money she spent a month travelling through Europe before making her way to Australia where she planned to work and
00:52:23
travel before passing through Indonesia and Thailand on her way home 18 months later Joanne Walters had already been in
00:52:33
Australia for four months when she met Caroline Clarke the two became instant friends and decided to embark on their
00:52:40
further travels together although Joanne enjoyed a nannying for the Jensen family word from other
00:52:47
backpackers was that fruit-picking presented a great opportunity to see more of the country while earning a wage
00:52:53
along the way Johanne ran the idea past Caroline who agreed fruit-picking sounded like a
00:53:00
great idea and to the two decided to make their way to mill juror in regional Victoria known
00:53:06
for its great production the Jensen family was sad to see Joanne leave but we're understanding and supportive of
00:53:14
her decision in early February 1992 Joanne and Caroline set out for Mildura with two other backpackers they had met
00:53:25
catching a train to Liverpool before walking towards the Hume Highway the foursome decided they'd have more
00:53:33
success hitching a ride if they split into pairs and the plan paid off all four women made it to mill juror safely
00:53:40
where they each got to work picking grapes in a local vineyard it was in Mildura that Joanne and Caroline struck
00:53:49
up a friendship with an Englishman named Steve Wright and to the trio decided to
00:53:53
head the Tasmania together as they'd heard it was a good spot to get work picking apples
00:53:59
when their job in Mildura was complete they made a brief return to Sydney before once again hitching a ride down
00:54:06
the Hume Highway to Melbourne where they caught the ferry to Tasmania the nights
00:54:12
in Tasmania were much colder than the women expected so Joanne purchased the blue and orange ultimate branch sleeping
00:54:20
bag that was much warmer than the one she had originally brought with her in Tasmania Steve Wright decided to leave
00:54:29
the women and to go his separate way but as he didn't plan on doing any more camping he offered to swap his blues
00:54:36
three person tent for Joanne and Caroline's two-person tent they were grateful for the exchange as the tent
00:54:43
they had been sleeping in was too small for the both of them they even over looked at the fact that Steve's tent had
00:54:50
a hole in it as he had patched it up with an adhesive label after their apple-picking job came to an end
00:54:58
Joanne and Caroline departed Tasmania and returned to their Sydney based hostel in Kings Cross from there
00:55:07
they planned to venture to Western Australia as they'd heard there was upcoming work available during the melon
00:55:12
picking season they made a rough plan to slowly make their way there by driving along the scenic a great ocean road in
00:55:20
Victoria to Adelaide then proceeded north to all the Roo in the northern territories desert before finally
00:55:27
reaching the Western Australian town of Kona Nara on April 16 1992 both Joanne and
00:55:35
Caroline called their families back home to let them know their plans they were both happy ending' good spirits looking
00:55:43
forward to the next portion of their adventure which was set to begin the following morning
00:55:50
the next day they received a visit at the hostel from Pauline Reade the friend who Joanne had originally
00:55:57
travelled to Australia with they filled Pauline in on their travel itinerary advising her they intended to get around
00:56:05
by hitchhiking most of the way they had hitched many rides already and had nothing but positive experiences so far
00:56:13
seeing it as a great way to meet friendly locals despite their plans Joanne and Caroline
00:56:20
were quite unorganized and the day quickly got away from them as the afternoon descended into Twilight they
00:56:28
decided to put their trip off until the next day as the idea of hitchhiking at night held a very little appeal at 7:30
00:56:41
a.m. on April 18 1992 Joanne and Caroline spoke with Steve Wright the backpacker with whom they had previously
00:56:49
traveled to Tasmania with they advised him they were taking the same route down the Hume Highway they had taken
00:56:56
previously when hitching to Mildura and Melbourne they planned to catch a train from Kings Cross the Casula the
00:57:04
station after Liverpool then make the short walk to the Hume Highway from where they'd hitched their first lift it
00:57:13
was a beautiful day and the Sun was shining as Steve fair world his friends and wish them luck
00:57:19
two weeks later Joanne's parents in Wales felt uneasy when they hadn't heard a word from that daughter Joanne was a
00:57:28
dutiful child who calls and wrote letters home on a regular basis keeping her parents in the loop of her next
00:57:35
contact able address it was very unlike her to be out of touch but they gave their daughter the benefit of the doubt
00:57:43
hoping she was just having too much fun or was currently travelling through a remote area with no telephone access
00:57:51
in England Caroline's parents were becoming equally concerned as they too hadn't heard from their daughter they
00:58:00
assured themselves she was probably in the outback with no access to a phone or post office and would surely be in touch
00:58:07
soon the alarm bells really started to ring when Caroline sisters birthday came and
00:58:13
went on May 8th with no word from Caroline a few weeks later on May 24 when Caroline failed to contact her
00:58:23
father to wish him a happy birthday her family started to get incredibly anxious a few days later Caroline
00:58:32
Clark's family received the phone call from Joanne's dad great Walters advising them of his concerns regarding his
00:58:38
daughter's silence ray had recently been digging around and found that Joanne hadn't accessed her bank account since
00:58:46
April 15 which was the day before she had lost called home he had also been in touch with Joanne's former employers in
00:58:55
Australia the Jensen family who shared his concerns they had expected to hear from Joanne over Easter but the holiday
00:59:03
had gone by without them hearing a word realising almost 6 weeks had passed since either family had heard from their
00:59:12
daughters they reported Joanne and Caroline's disappearance to local police who then contacted the Australian
00:59:19
Federal Police the Jensen family also made their own report to New South Wales police in Sydney Rae Walters stayed up
00:59:30
late at night making international phone calls to fruit picking farms backpacker
00:59:34
hostels and rural police stations in areas Joanne and Caroline had already visited or intended to visit but no one
00:59:42
had seen or heard from them Caroline's father Ian Clark was well-connected due to his high-level job at the Bank of
00:59:51
England he contacted an associate Phillip Corbett who was a former commander for Scotland Yard and was more
00:59:58
than willing to assist the Clarks with the search for their daughter Courbet made contact with Caroline and
01:00:05
Joanne's former traveling companions to get a better insight into their movements he also put pressure on New
01:00:13
South Wales police to treat the disappearance as a priority Corbett's intervention attracted media
01:00:19
coverage in the United Kingdom prompting Australian authorities to treat the missing person report with precedence
01:00:27
with New South Wales police now making inquiries the disappearance of Joanne Walters and Caroline Clarke was
01:00:34
headlining the Australian media as a nationwide search commenced a police spokesperson explained both women were
01:00:43
in the habit of telephoning their parents about once every two weeks but neither family has heard from that
01:00:50
daughter since mid-april deaf failure to contact home is completely out of character and it is for this reason we
01:00:58
hold fears for their safety within the first day of launching the appeal over 100 witnesses came forward to report
01:01:07
possible sightings of the pair one witness reported seeing two women who matched Joanne and Caroline's
01:01:14
description getting into a combi van with a male driver which received strong media focus and generated hundreds of
01:01:21
further tips the police weren't convinced that had been inaccurate citing further complicating efforts was
01:01:30
the discovery that two young women with British accents were travelling a similar route to the one Joanne and
01:01:35
Caroline plan to follow meaning witness sightings could be confusing this separate set of travellers for the
01:01:42
missing pair over the following two months calls continued to come through and police followed up every lead but
01:01:51
none of the sightings were proven to be Joanne or Caroline in August to 1992 Joanne's parents ray and Jill Walters
01:02:01
travelled to Australia to assist the search for their missing daughter they participated in press conferences
01:02:07
making an urgent appeal to the public for anyone with information to come forward
01:02:13
ray Walters told the gathering media Joann didn't do anything on the spur of the moment if she turned right or she
01:02:22
turned to left shouldn't let us know on the day Joann and Caroline were last seen in Sydney only four months had
01:02:34
passed since Gabor knew you Bella and Dania have sheet had disappeared from the same area into their case was
01:02:40
still gaining media attention as their devastated families traveled the country searching for clues given that both
01:02:48
pairs of international backpackers had vanished from the Kings Cross district the press were quick to link the two
01:02:54
disappearances New South Wales Police refused to confirm whether there was a connection simply advising they were
01:03:02
considering all possibilities Joanne and Caroline's case continued to gain an increasing amount of media attention
01:03:10
leading the press to look into other recent incidents where international tourists are gone missing under similar
01:03:17
circumstances the mysterious disappearance of German backpacker Simone Schmidt or two years earlier was
01:03:25
mentioned from torrent attire the very little was said about James Gibson and Deborah Everest given they were
01:03:32
Australian citizens traveling within their home country countless articles debating the safety risks involved with
01:03:40
backpacking and hitchhiking were published with the hostile industry coming under scrutiny hostel owners
01:03:47
maintained Australia was a safe country and there was nothing for travelers to worry about but the negative press was
01:03:53
threatening to tarnish the thriving backpacker tourism industry despite this youngtravellers were not
01:04:01
deterred from hitchhiking many provided interviews to the media stating they had
01:04:06
never encountered any issues while hitchhiking across the country and had no intention of stopping defending it as
01:04:13
an affordable mode of transport police called for the establishment of a central registry to record the names and
01:04:22
contact addresses for all foreigners traveling in Australia to help keep track of their movements although that
01:04:30
may have been a useful tool it was too late for the families of the seven backpackers who mysteriously vanished in
01:04:37
Sydney between 1989 and to 1992 on September 19 1992 eight members of the scrub runners orienteering Club ventured
01:04:51
down the Hume Highway passing the kilometres of pine plantations before reaching the natural bush portion of
01:04:57
bowling Guillou State Forest from the Rangers hearts the teams separated into pairs and ventured into the thick scrub
01:05:06
as part of a training exercise two members Keith Seeley and Keith Caldwell partnered up and began navigating the
01:05:15
steep rocky terrain west of the Long Acre fire trail heading towards an area known as executioners drop at 4:15 p.m.
01:05:26
the two men trekked into a shallow gully and made their way towards a large boulder as they walked closer they were
01:05:34
hit with an overwhelming stench which they assumed was emanating from a dead animal
01:05:40
they edged closer to the border where they noticed the pile of sticks and branches on its western side forming a
01:05:48
mound approximately 2 meters long and a 60 centimeters high out of the debris they noticed the tuft of dark fur they
01:05:59
figured it must have been a dead one bat or a kangaroo but upon closer inspection
01:06:05
they noticed the thin bone sticking out of the mound along with the heel of a shoe and a patch of clothing kaseylee
01:06:15
quote what I thought was the kangaroo leg was an elbow the wombat was the hair on the back of the head the men hastily
01:06:28
made the two kilometer trek back to the closest ranges her where they contacted police and escorted them to the human
01:06:35
remains a crime scene was established as Twilight descended with floodlights illuminating the deserted area as police
01:06:44
uncovered the heavily decomposed body of a young woman facedown and gagged with strips torn from a shirt a search of the
01:06:55
rugged terrain was put temporarily on holder due to the pitch darkness with police commencing a thorough search of
01:07:02
the site at daybreak in that next morning just thirty meters from the skeletal remains discovered by the large
01:07:10
boulder in the shallow gully police noticed a similar mound of sticks in the branches part alongside a fallen log
01:07:19
hidden underneath was a second body when news of the gruesome discoveries in palanga life State Forest hit the media
01:07:29
speculation ran rife as to whether more bodies would be uncovered at the site in
01:07:35
response a police spokesperson said there is nothing to suggest that it's a mass grave but we're keeping an open
01:07:44
mind about what might be out there to be continued next week [Music] [Music] you