Disappearance of Morgan Rae

On January 31, 2020, 32-year-old Morgan Rae was last seen leaving his friend's residence in Caringbah, New South Wales. He attended an appointment in Gymea. His family worry about his welfare.

Morgan is a white male and was 32-years-old at the time. He's 165 cm and has a thin build. He has brown hair and blue eyes. 

SOURCES:

Missing Persons

Disappearance of Daniel Sheppard

On December 31, 1994, 19-year-old Daniel Sheppard attended a New Year's Eve celebration with his brother and friends at Lennies Tavern Glenelg before catching a tram into the city to Hindley St in Port Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. 

In the early hours of New Year's Day Daniel would walk alone to the Adelaide Railway Station. He was moderately drunk but still in control of his facilities. He boarded the 4:13 am train to Outer Harbor to get home. There were around 30 people on the train including 3 girls that he went to school with. 

 On the train, Daniel told two of the girls, "I'm partied out ... I'm going home to crash." 

At 4:35 he got off the train at the Port Adelaide Train Station and was seen on the southern ramp walking towards Baynes Place. It was supposed to be a 10-minute walk from there, but he never arrived home and was never seen again afterwards.

Police believe that he was murdered. 

Daniel is a white male and was 19-years-old at the time. He is 165cm and is thin. He has blonde/red hair and blue eyes. He was wearing blue jeans and a maroon denim shirt.

SOURCES:

Missing Persons

International Missing Persons

Disappearance of Michael Adrian Lorenz-Schrader

In August/September 1996, 33-year-old Michael Adrian Lorenz-Schrader was last seen in Gordonvale, Queensland, Australia by his father. It was believed that he was on his way to Northern Territory from western Queensland.  His listed last seen date was August 21st.

At the time to close family and friends, He was going by his middle name Adrian. 

Micheal is a male and was 33-years-old at the time. He's 185cm (6'1") and has a solid build. He has black hair and brown eyes. He was sporting a beard and mustache. He would have been wearing glasses at the time.He has a scar on the back of his left shoulder from a traffic accident.

SOURCES:

Australian Federal Police

Murder of Mark Russell

On February 25, 2018, just after 11 a.m., the body of 53-year-old Mark Russell was found in his apartment on Clisdell St. in Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia. He had been brutally stabbed to death. A friend of his was worried because he never kept the door closed so they climbed in through a window and found him in the lounge.

Mark was very social having people coming to his home almost every day to drink and smoke. It's unknown if the same people who were there during the day were there that night. Neighbors told officers that they heard yelling or arguing around 10 p.m. the night before.

There is up to a $1 million award for information leading to a conviction in this case. 

SOURCES:

New South Wales Government

The Sydney Morning Herald October 15, 2020

Murder of Irma Palasics

 

At about 9:30 p.m. on November 6, 1999, two young men forced their way into the home of Gregor and 73-year-old Irma Palasics in the McKeller suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The elderly couple were bound and beaten and then the men would ransack the house. They would steal cash and jewelry. Irma would pass away due to her injuries and Gregor ended up in the hospital from his injuries. 

It's suspected that the people who had done this had done this before to the couple. They were victims of burglary twice before. Once in 1997 and aggravated burglary in 1998 when they lived in Red Hill. In the 1997 burglary, the offenders stole a large amount of money and jewelry. 

SOURCES:

Australian Federal Police

Who Killed Irma

Victims of Homicide Wiki

Murder of Michelle Pogmore

On the night of  Feb. 20, 2004, 14-year-old Michelle Pogmore went to a street party in Bidwill, New South Wales, Australia. Around 7 p.m. she would leave. She would then be seen on Carlise Ave, Mount Druitt. This would be the last time she'd be seen alive. 

Two days later Michelle's body would be found in bushland adjacent to the Town Centre Reserve at Mount Druitt. She would be found naked from her waist down. 

At the time Michelle was wearing a dark blue colored hooded sloppy joe with USA on the front, white tracksuit type pants, and a pair of light blue colored sandshoes. The shoes were brand new and were given to her the day before she disappeared.

SOURCES:

New South Wales Government

Sydney Morning Herald Feb 7, 2006

Daily Telegraph November 25, 2015

The Narrabeen Man

 In Jan. of 2005, the skeletal remains of a man were found by contractors digging for electricity cables near the corners of Octavia St. and Ocean St. in Narrabeen, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. It was determined that the remains were around 4,000-years-old. The man would be named the Narrabeen Man.

He was a man between 30 to 40-years-old when he died. He was 183 cm (6ft) which was tall for an Aboriginal man at the time. He was likely not from a tribe in the Sydney area as he still had his two front teeth. 

He was found in a posture that was not like tribal ceremonial burial. He was found on his side with one arm across his head instead of lying on his front with his arms across the chest or by his sides. He also seemed to have been speared to death with several spears ends seemingly broken off in his vertebrae and near other body parts. It's possible he may have been killed in a ritual murder for a crime.

SOURCES:
Wikipedia

Northern Beaches

Academic

History of Sydney

The 2002 Abernethy Bushfire and the death of Ronald Gillett

Darren Pateman's photograph of the cricket match that took place at Cessnock as the bushfire approached

On October 19, 2002, a fire was set behind the Cessnock racecourse in New South Wales, Australia. The fire would accelerate quickly and then split into two major fire fronts. The flames were large and dangerous as they started doing their damage in Abernathy, Kearsley, and Kitchener. 

13 homes would be destroyed and one life would be lost. Abernathy was hit that hardest. Ronald Gillett who was from Sydney was driving down Kearsley Road when his car was engulfed by the flames. He was the only casualty in the bushfire.

It's unknown who started this fire. A $100,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in this case.

SOURCES:

New South Wales Government

The Sydney Morning Herald

Cessnock Advertiser

Murder of Joan Marie Wech

 

On October 2, 1971, 19-year-old Joan Wech was working at the Sydney Service Station, a petrol station on Flinders Street in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia. At 10:35 p.m. her body would be found in a small storeroom of the petrol station. She had been stabbed seven times and had defensive wounds on her left hand and bruising on her face suggesting she'd been hit in the face. Motive is unknown in the murder, There was no sexual assault and no evidence of a robbery.

Joan was not a native to Australia, she was from New Zealand and was living with a couple in Darlinghurst at the time. She was popular and well-liked. She had first visited Sydney in 1970 and worked as an attendant at a car wash in Rushcutters Bay. She would return home in December of 1970. She would come back to Sydney in Feb. of 1971 to find work at the Sydney Service Station.

SOURCES:

New South Wales Police

Find a Grave

Murder of Susan Wilburn

 

On January 12, 2004, around 7:20 p.m. 45-year-old Susan Wilburn went to purchase items from the Erindal Chemis in Erindal Shopping Centre in Wanniassa, Australia. She would then speak to her sister on the phone at 8:40 with her sister, and this was the last time anyone heard from her.

The next day Susan's sister came over to her home on Knoke Ave. in Gordon. Susan had missed work that day. Inside Susan's body was found naked in the bathtub, she had been strangled to death.

SOURCES:

Australian Federal Police

Murder of Nell "Alma" Tirtschk

 

Nell "Alma" Tirtschke named after her mother was born on 14 March 1909 at a remote mining town in West Australia, Australia. She was the oldest child and in 1911 her father Charles Tirtschke accepted a position with a mining company in Rhodesia and the family moved there. Soon after in 1912, her little sister Viola was born. During Nell's third pregnancy she died and Charles unable to take care of his daughters full time sent them to their grandparents. The whole family helped raise the two girls.
By 1921 Henry, Alma's, and Viola's grandfather died and the grandmother took all parental duties. Alma was described as shy, studious, and well behaved and excelled in her studies. Her grandmother raised the two girls and was a strict disciplinarian and would restrict the girls from social activities with other students this could have been the reason why Alma was shy and didn't make friends readily. She was also described as having soft speech and a soft manner.

On the afternoon of 30 December 1921, 12-year-old Alma was sent on an errand by an aunt. She was supposed to get a package of meat from her uncle's butcher shop in Swanston St. Melbourne and deliver it to a customer on Collin's street. It wasn't supposed to take more than 15 minutes and Alma was typically fast with her errands.

When Alma didn't return her family began to worry because they knew she was reliable and responsible. She was reported missing and the family and police searched for the girl through the night. It wasn't until early the next morning that her nude body was found in Gun Alley a laneway off of Little Collins Street. The poor girl had been raped and strangled to death.

She was last seen alive between 2:30 and 3:00 p.m. at the corner of Alfred Place and Little Collin Streets close to where her body had been found. Among the men interviewed about the murder was 29-year-old Collin Ross, a saloon manager, and was seen with a girl matching Alam's description that day outside his saloon.

Collin was known by the police and had recently been acquitted in the shooting and robbery of his customers.  He claimed that he had been tending the bar the whole night and had not killed the girl. He nominated several witnesses who did see him tend the bar that night. Police were convinced it was him, he was arrested on 12 Jan. 1922.

Even though police were convinced of him being the murderer family members of Alma didn't believe it to be him. Collin had, throughout the trial, claimed innocence. The trial then began on 20 Feb. John Harding who was previously found of perjury was in jail with Collin. He testified against Collin and claimed that Collin made a confession to killing the girl.

A detective noticed several strands of blonde hair on a blanket inside of Collin's home. Alma's hair was compared to the blanket's and Charles Price a trained chemist looked at the hairs and claimed they came from the same person. This helped lead to a conviction against Collin. He was sentenced to death on April 24, 1922 by hanging

 In 2008 hairs that were claimed to have come from Alma were tested. It was found that those hairs did not belong to the girl and the man who claimed Collin made a jailhouse confession had been subject to perjury and it's possible he lied about the confession.Collin has been pardoned for Alma's murder. It's unknown who had actually attacked and killed the young girl.

Collin Campbell Ross

SOURCES:
Murderpedia

Wikipedia

June 4, 2004 Blue Mountains, in New South Wales, Australia John Doe

On June 4, 2004, the body of a ma was found at the base of Echo Point in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. He had died 1 to 6 months earlier and was likely from a fall. 

He's a male between 56 to 60-years-old. His teeth and his left ear are distinctive.

SOURCES:

Doe Network

Unidentified Wiki

Disappearance of Vera Macey

 

In 1972 58-year-old Vera Macey was a patient at Edith Cavill Nursing Home in Burwood, New South Wales, Australia. In December of 1972, Vera walked out of the Nursing Home and was never seen again. It isn't stated why Vera was staying at the nursing home. 

Vera was 58-years-old at the time. She is 145 cm and a medium build. She has black hair and brown eyes. 

SOURCES:

Doe Network

Disappearance of David Dyke

 

In Jan. of 1976 25-year-old David Dyke took his 3-year-old son and 8-year-old niece to Edithvale Beach 30 km south of Melbourne, Australia. He was last seen by his niece going into the water. The children were then found alone on the beach and brought home by the police. It's possible that David had drowned that day. The sea was reported to have been calmed and there were no reports of distressed swimmers though. 

David was 25-years-old at the time and is a white male. He was wearing a yellow -shirt, brown pants, and swimming trunks. 

SOURCES:

Doe Network

Australias Missing Person Register

The Age

Disappearance of Stanley Lionel Cooper

On 19 August 1959 27-year-old Stanley Cooper was last seen in the Bellingen area in New South Wales, Australia. He was last seen leaving his home in Thora in his blue/grey Holden Sedan. He hasn't attempted to make any contact with family and friends since his disappearance and his family worries about his safety and welfare. There was an unconfirmed sighting of Stanley on Fraser Island in 1962.

Stanley is a White male and was 27 at the time. He was 182 cm with a medium build. He had fair skin, blue eyes, and black hair. The tip of his right index finger had been amputated. 

SOURCES:

Doe Network 

Missing Persons

Disappearance of Patricia "Pat" Daphne Broun

At 8:30 a.m. on 4 June 1953, Broun left her home in Mount Lawley suburb of Perth, West Australia, Australia for work at HC Griffin, ANA House, 22 St. Georges Terrace, Perth. While at work she got a phone call from an unidentified male around 3 p.m. Towards the end of the call she agreed to meet the man at 6. A coworker overheard her phone call. 

At 4:30 Patricia asked to leave early. She caught a trolley bus to Mount Lawley. At 5 she then was at Simmon's Grocery store at 291 Walcott St. in North Perth and bought a can of Coca Cola. She then left the store and went to Osborne's, a corner store at the intersection of Walcott and Cliveden Streets. She then returned to Simmon's around 5:45 and under her arm, she was carrying a parcel approximately 8"x9"x3" (20cm x 22cm x 8cm) in size. She was last seen around Walcott St. at 6. Possible the man she was supposed to see was in this area. 

A friend stated that Patricia told her she was 2 months pregnant. Her parents weren't aware of this and were quite religious. If she ran away her child would have been born in late 1953 or early 1954.

Patricia is a white female and was 17 at the time. She's 5'5" (165 cm) and has a thin build. She has fair to light brown hair and large blue eyes. She was described as having a fair complexion with a faint chickenpox mark towards the middle of her forehead just above her right eyebrow. She was soft-spoken and inclined to drop the g off the end of relevant words. She may be pregnant.

SOURCES:

West Australia Crime Stoppers

Mirror

Sunday Times

Murder of Barbara May Williams

In 1958 26-year-old Barbara Williams was working as a nursing assistant at the Tresillian Hospital on the corner of Edward and Tyrell streets in Nedlands, West Australia, Australia. She has been working there for around two years and lived on the premises in the staff area in her own room.

At about 6:30 p.m. on 7 November 1958 Barbara finished work and told friends she intended to go to bed early. At 7 p.m. she was seen by a ward maid hanging her laundry. Barbara asked the ward maid to buy her a newspaper and gave her the money before going to her room. The ward maid knocked on Barbara's door at 7:45 p.m. to give her the newspaper, but she didn't answer and the room was dark.

Police believed that she left soon after going to her room to an unknown location. Her makeup, cigarettes, and handbag were left in her room. She was last seen still wearing her work clothing. A red topper, blue blouse, red skirt, and black shoes. She was not seen at the hospital the next day was reported missing on the 9th. 

On 16 November 1958, her body was found in a shallow grave in the sand dunes near the intersection of West Coast Highway and Ross Avenue in Sorrento Beach.

SOURCES:

The Sydney Morning Herald December 21, 1958

Crime Stoppers