Two young girls vanish during a football game at Adelaide Oval | Forensic Files

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compared to the five-level multi-million dollar stadium it is today in the 1970s adelaide oval was a
relatively small and quaint sporting ground the oval itself was framed by a white picket fence
and a manually operated heritage scoreboard kept tally of match progress cricket
and australian rules football were primarily played there with crowd numbers reaching over 60 000
during momentous games or grand finals the ground's humble size ensured that it always felt packed and busy
spectators were mostly crammed shoulder to shoulder in the standing areas around
the boundary line those who attended big games were willing to endure anything to
keep their place in the crowd if they were to leave their position for any reason someone else would step
forward and claim it therefore many spectators would arrive early secure their spot and remain there until
the final siren blew others opted to sit along the timber bench seating within the vintage
grandstands on the western side of the oval on the afternoon of saturday august 25
1973 thirteen-year-old anthony kilmartin was working as a mobile concession vendor had adelaide oval
around him twelve thousand spectators were eagerly watching a south australian national football league match between
the north adelaide roosters and the norwood red legs during the game's third and penultimate
quarter anthony was in the sir edwin smith grandstand when two young girls emerged from the
crowd and bounded down the steps towards ground level one was a preteen while the younger of
the pair looked barely five years old anthony stepped aside to let them pass he then moved on to the neighbouring
john creswell grandstand while passing through the concourse directly underneath the stand
anthony spotted the two girls again they were being followed by a man wearing eyeglasses and a wide brim to
kubra style hat once he caught up to the girls he snatched the younger one and carried her towards the oval
southern gate the older girl appeared frightened she immediately grabbed the man's coat and
began kicking him in the shins the man called her a [ __ ] and told her to bug her off his glasses
fell off during the scuffle and when he bent over to pick them up the man grabbed the older girl by the
arm he then pulled her towards the southern gate while keeping her younger companion
secure under his left arm the trio left via the gate still in conflict anthony assumed he had just witnessed a
father wrangling his two unruly daughters and didn't give it any more thought les and cath ratcliffe and their two
children thirteen-year-old david and eleven-year-old joanne were dedicated red leg supporters
they attended most games during footy season including the 1973 round 20 clash against the roosters in that day
les parked their car near what was then the river torrens police station and to jolly's boat ramp and to the
group and made their way across to adelaide oval shortly before the game commenced at 2
10 pm the ratcliffe family took a seat in row l of the sir edwin smith grandstand
there they ran into friend and fellow red legs fan rita huckle reader like the radcliffs
was part of the usual crowd of red legs supporters she had brought along her four-year-old
granddaughter kirsty gordon for the first time despite their seven year age gap joanne
took an immediate shine to kirsty it was their first time meeting but the girls quickly became friends
they spent the majority of their time playing together and with other children in the
grandstand while the adults watched the game australian rules football games are
divided into four 30-minute quarters quarter time refers to a six-minute break that occurs
at the end of the first and third quarters there is also a 20-minute break halfway through the
match les and cath ratcliffe didn't allow their children to wander off during these breaks or the game's final
quarter this was so they would avoid getting caught up amongst the crowds rushing to
use the toilets buy snacks or leave early early in the game kirsty needed to use
the bathroom and at the ratcliffes let joanna escort her to the nearest toilet block
roughly 300 meters away les and kath trusted their daughter entirely joanne was mature for her age always
followed their instruction and knew what to do in case of emergency the nearest toilets were located in a
thoroughfare under the john creswell grandstand next to where the ratcliffe's and rita huckle
were seated multiple busy walkways led there including the one that circled the perimeter of the oval
joanne and kirsty returned from the toilets without incident later they went to find straws for their
drinks at approximately 3 45 pm during the third quarter of the match kirsty needed to use the bathroom again
given there was still plenty of time until the break the radcliffs allowed joanne to escort
kirsty once more 20 minutes passed and joanne and kirsty still hadn't returned to their seats
as three-quarter time drew closer les ratcliffe went in search of the pair he expected to find them playing on
route to the toilets but didn't spot either girl on the short walk he reached the toilet block under the
john croswell grandstand he asked a woman to check the female toilets on his behalf
neither joanne nor kirsty were inside at 409 pm the three-quarter break commenced hundreds of spectators flooded
the concourses leading to the toilets and concession stands as was customary the iron gates at the
southern entrance of the oval were opened this allowed the general public to bypass the turnstiles and enter the
ground free of charge to watch the end of the match when the game entered its final quarter
at 4 17 pm joanne and kirsty were still nowhere to be seen although the roosters
were well ahead before the break the red legs made a comeback the nail-biting spectacle
drawing in more spectators and rolling up those already present the energy at adelaide oval was intense
derby munn the secretary of the south australian cricket association was overseeing the match in the oval
secretary's office when a panicked kath ratcliffe arrived she informed mun that joanne and kirsty
were missing and requested that an announcement be made over the public address system
munn refused citing a rule that prevented mid-game announcements in case it disrupted play
he told kath to inform a police officer though made no attempt to alert the officer that happened to be sitting in
his office at the time munn then instructed kath to return to her seat confident that the girls would make
their way back soon the radcliffs and rita huckel spent the remainder of the game
searching for joanne and kirsty at 4 49 pm the final siren rang signaling the end of the game there was
still no sign of the girls as the crowd dispersed the rat cliffs returned to the secretary's office and demanded
an announcement be made this time dubby munn obliged five minutes after the game had ended
munn said into the public address system joanne ratcliffe in adelaide oval come back to your mother and father
the loud noise generated by the thousands of spectators shuffling towards the exits
drowned out the announcement it was highly unlikely that joanne had gotten lost as she had been to adelaide oval dozens
of times reader suggested that the girls might have left at the oval after mistaking the three-quarter time
siren for the one signaling the end of the game the ratcliffs dismissed this possibility
joanne had been attending footy games since she was five years old and was familiar with how it all worked
even if she had thought the game was over les knew his daughter was far too responsible to leave the oval
quote on her own steam it was also unlikely that joanne was playing a prank on her family
she followed her parents instruction and was only mischievous when the time was right she also had no
reason to act out or test boundaries joanne was caring and sensible the type of child to help her mother
with housework buy her brother treats and handcraft a gift for her parents rebellion wasn't in her nature
above all else the ratcliffes knew that joanne took her duty to look after kirsty
seriously and would never leave her side the radcliffs and rita exhaustively searched the oval and its car park
as well as the adjacent lawn bowls area and tennis courts with little else left to do les used a
public pay phone and called the police they arrived at the oval near 10 minutes after the final
siren but the majority of the spectators had already left they walked through the grounds and
questioned those still lingering about the oval's assistant curator ken walling believed he had seen joanne and kirsty
at around 4 p.m nearly 10 minutes before three quarter time they were trying to coax some kittens
out from underneath a parked car in an equipment shed behind the john creswell grandstand
there had been an influx of stray cats around the oval in recent times and children often played with them
joanne would have been drawn to the kittens in particular as she loved animals and had a pet cat
of her own she would dress it up in doll's clothes wheel it around the yard in a pram
and sneak at treats when her mother wasn't looking she had a way with animals in general
that could have the most vicious looking dog eating out of the palm of her hand ken saw a man approach the girls from
behind and offered to get the kittens out he saw him again a short time later walking towards the
southern gate with the girls following closely the trio turned to the band and to can
lost sight of them the man was aged in his forties five foot eight inches tall walking with
a slight stoop he was wearing a sports coat brown trousers and a wide brimmed country style hat
there were also reports of a man dressed in women's clothing seen lingering near
the female toilets underneath the john creswell grandstand he was tall with a protruding jaw and a
large nose he was wearing a brown pants suit green shirt patent leather boots a brown
wig silver nail polish and carrying a handbag police were doubtful that this individual was involved in the girl's
disappearance as they didn't believe a perpetrator would draw attention to themselves in
such a manner with all the counts pointing to a possible abduction a full-scale investigation commenced
police established roadblocks on the city's outskirts while patrol cars swept nearby streets
the search radius extended outside adelaide oval to its surrounds covering the north adelaide parklands
the banks of the river torrens and a nearby golf club and railway yard when darkness fell a search boat cruised
up and down the torrence shining a spotlight on the water les ratcliffe spent the night wandering
adelaide's inner city streets meanwhile rita huckle prepared to make a difficult phone call
300 kilometers away in the riverside town of renmark greg and christine gordon had just sat
down to dinner they were visiting friends for the weekend and had taken their two-year-old
daughter catherine with them they planned to return home that saturday morning but decided to
extend their stay another night christine's mother rita agreed to look after the couple's
eldest daughter kirsty for one more day as they began their meal the manager of the restaurant announced there was a
phone call christine excused herself to take it on the other line her mother sobbed as
she broke the news that kirstie was missing the gordons immediately set out on the
three-hour drive back to adelaide scanning the radio the entire time for any updates
there still hadn't been any sign of joanne or kirsty by the following morning of sunday august 26th
as soon as daylight broke les ratcliffe returned to adelaide oval to walk investigators through his
daughter's last known movements emotionally drained les wept uncontrollably before falling to his
knees and passing out on the concrete when he regained consciousness he told investigators that joanne was very
intelligent and safety conscious if she had been abducted les was sure she would have dropped some of her
belongings like breadcrumbs to lead them to her location the southern end of adelaide oval backs
onto the river torrens an 85 kilometer long waterway that winds from its source in the adelaide hills
across the adelaide plains it flows past the city center before emptying into gulf saint vincent
between henley beach south and west beach two busloads of police cadets scoured the riverbanks around at the cbd
on their hands and knees they cut back the thick reeds using machetes nothing of
significance was found speculation that joanne and kirsty had fallen into the murky water and
drowned was also ruled out by the police aqualung squad who searched the river the torrens was also partially drained
but to no result a five thousand dollar reward for information authorised by south
australian premier don dunstan was deemed woefully inadequate by the adelaide people
community laborers selflessly donated a day's wages increasing the amount by an extra four
thousand dollars descriptions of the girls were broadcast throughout australia eleven-year-old joanne was four foot two
inches tall of medium build with blue eyes and dark brown hair tied into pigtails
she was last seen wearing a white blouse black tank top with white and mustard banding
black jeans white and blue striped shoes and white socks she was also wearing a watch
and an imitation gold chain and medallion four-year-old kirsty was three foot four
inches tall of medium build with blue eyes very fair skin with freckles and shoulder-length honey blonde hair
with a fringe she also had a slight scar above the bridge of her nose and a birthmark at the base of her spine
and to just below her hairline kirsty had been wearing a white pleated skirt purple jumper white pantyhose and brown
lace-up shoes on the morning of monday august 27 police searching the railway yards off
the morpher street bridge made an intriguing discovery the road bridge was a short walk from
the southern end of adelaide oval and spanned the river torrens into the northwest corner of the cbd
in a train carriage stored at the yard were two empty fanta soft drink cans and a half-eaten pastry that appeared to
have child-sized bite marks fanta was kirsty gordon's favorite drink meanwhile a composite sketch of the
suspect ken walling had seen leaving adelaide oval with girls believed to be joanne
and kirsty was widely circulated superintendent n.r lenten of south australia police
didn't sugarcoat the situation and asked the public to report sexual deviants they might know
specifically those capable of molesting children he remarked we don't want this to become
another beaumont case the beaumont comment was in reference to another high-profile missing children's
case that had occurred in south australia seven years earlier on january 26 1966 siblings nine-year-old
jane seven-year-old anna and four-year-old grant beaumont disappeared under mysterious
circumstances from the beachside suburb of glenelg as covered in episode 100 of case file
the beaumont children vanished in broad daylight from a grassy reserve near the glenelg waterfront during
australia day celebrations police at the time were more inclined to believe that the trio had gotten lost
or suffered an accident than met with foul play it's now widely accepted that jane anna
and grant were likely abducted and murdered proving that kidnappings can occur at any time any place or in view
of anyone south australia police had learned a lot since the beaumont investigation
and no longer took a conservative approach to missing children's cases they were up against someone with the
intelligence to wait until the final quarter of the football game to confront the girls
knowing the crowd's attention would be completely focused on the field superintendent lenten told the press
we do not know whether joanne and kirsty are dead or alive we cannot look into the future
we can only hope the beaumont children had left behind a national legacy of paranoia and fear
that reignited the moment joanne and kirsty disappeared both cases shared similarities including
the offenders modus operandi of targeting unsupervised children in populated areas during the middle of the
day some people also believed that the adelaide oval suspect resembled a sketch of the
unidentified man witnessed interacting with the jane anna and grant beaumont shortly before their disappearance
glenelg was just over 10 kilometers or a 20-minute drive southwest of adelaide oval there was
also a tram line that went from the city to glenelg yet the police were unconvinced that the
two crimes were connected at 5 55 pm on monday evening the gordon family was sitting in their
home in the outer metropolitan suburb of hackem when the phone rang kirsty's father greg
answered and a man with a thick australian accent said if you want to see your daughter alive i
want 25 000 by thursday greg asked for proof that the caller had joanne and kirsty but the caller replied never mind
the proof before hanging up greg contacted the police and attempted to have the call traced
but their efforts were unsuccessful almost an hour later at 6 50 pm the same man phoned the gordons again
and repeated his demand once again police weren't able to trace this call the mystery caller never made any
further contact it was believed that the extortion attempt was just a hoax following the police appeal for
information close to 400 calls came through from the public each one was recorded evaluated and then
assigned to special patrols to be followed up at 9 45 the night joanne and kirsty
disappeared a witness passing through adelaide railway station noticed two girls that apply card
the station was on the southern side of the river torrence with adelaide oval a short walk away the railway yard where
the cans of fanner and half-eaten pastry were found was less than 400 metres down the road
no one came forward to identify the girls seen at the pie cart a motorist reported a holden sedan
carrying two young girls one in the front passenger seat and the smaller of the two
in the back at 5 00 am the day after the abduction the vehicle had victorian license plates
it was driving down port road a major thoroughfare connecting the city with its north-western outskirts
three days later joanne and kirsty's disappearance were still making headlines a woman read about the case in the daily
paper and alerted her teenage son anthony kilmartin of the crime he had worked at adelaide
oval that afternoon selling drinks and lollies and witnessed two girls being dragged out the southern
gate by a man anthony contacted police and reported what he had seen anthony's description of the
confrontation was consistent with how joanne would react to such a threat she was protective of others especially
younger children one time she hid an older boy with a plank of wood when she caught him
bullying her brother the ratcliffes knew that if kirstie was being harmed joanne would sacrifice her own safety to
try and save her if someone were to take kirsty away they would also need to do so by force greg and
christine gordon said that their daughter was extremely shy and would never have
gone off with a stranger in fact she was so shy that she often hid behind the couch when visitors came
to their house and refused to show her parents the highland dance moves she was learning
at kindergarten anthony's description of the abductor matched the man ken walling had seen helping the girls
lure strike kittens out from underneath a car the green keeper of the nearby adelaide
bowls club also saw this man loitering around the oval between 11 and 11 30 on the morning of the
abduction requests for the man in the white brimmed hat to come forward to eliminate
himself from the investigation went ignored police did question 12 men in relation to the crime but all were
released without charge then a call came through to police from a catholic priest
a man had phoned him earlier wanting to clear his conscience he identified himself as a countryman
who had been in adelaide on an end-of-season footy trip at the time of joanne and kirsty's
disappearance his mates dared him to attend the roosters vs red legs football game dressed as a woman he donned a wig
a pantsuit with boots and painted his nails and was witnessed near the toilet block
under the john creswell grandstand he allegedly told the priest it was a joke for a bet which went wrong
tell the police it has nothing to do with this case and to let them get on with their
investigation les ratcliffe appeared on national television to appeal to his daughter's
captor he requested that joanne be dropped off on a street corner as she would do the right thing and go
to the nearest trustworthy person for help les said if you have any decency in you
and respect for these children who are only 11 and 4 who have never done any harm to
anybody whatsoever if there is more than one of you i would like the both of you to sit down
and talk it over les then addressed his daughter directly saying if you happen to listen to this
love or you happen to get hold of the newspapers i think there is a chance that we can sort this
out and get you back without any harm your first duty is to protect kirsty with whatever you can
do not leave her if possible if you do don't go too far away i want you and this little girl back with us your
mother she's holding up pretty good she's got every faith in you you know we all love you
greg and christine gordon were reluctant to speak publicly about kirsty's disappearance addressing the
media from their home greg said we have to try to keep up a front if we let our emotions get the best of
this it won't do anyone any good christine added it might seem to some people that we're trying to remain as
detached as possible from all this but i can assure you it is only a front it is something we have to do for our
baby catherine as well as ourselves by the end of the first week police had received over 1400 calls from the public
with 200 sexual deviants named as persons of interest a 19 year old man named michael mitchell
crossed their radar after it was discovered he had recently escaped from a mental health facility
the teenager had been convicted of murdering six-year-old cheryl hutchinson and hiding her body
underneath the corrugated iron sheet on the banks of the river torrens but investigators stressed they weren't
directly linking mitchell to the incident at adelaide oval the amount of information provided to
police was overwhelming and they struggled to keep up two weeks later police were informed of
a sighting of two girls believed to be joanne and kirsty in the city fringe suburb of theberton
less than three kilometers west of adelaide oval the pair were seen with a man on port
road at 5 pm on the saturday of the football game the man was holding the younger girl
while the older one attempted to fight him off the older girl then turned and walked
towards the city at which point the man let go of the younger child and grabbed the older one by the arm
he then held both children by the forearms and dragged them onwards with the older girl
appearing to be in distress the man was described as having an athletic build a mustache and sideburns and was dressed
in a blue shirt and a wide brimmed hat another witness in theberton saw a man matching this description
carrying a young girl outside the southwest hotel on the corner of port road and phillips
street at around 5 15 pm the older girl was spotted at the same time with another man
further down the road the two girls were then seen at 6 00 pm on north parade in the neighbouring
suburb of torranceville the times and locations of these sightings fit the timeline of joanne and
kirsty's abduction it was all part of a connected route that started with adelaide oval
and moved across the river to the pie cart at the adelaide railway station from there they progressed down the
street to the railway yard that backed onto port road which led to theberton and torrensville although the thebarton
man didn't precisely match descriptions of the perpetrator witnessed at adelaide
oval investigators couldn't dismiss the possibility that he had changed clothes or had an accomplice they appealed for
anyone who had been walking along port road with two girls at this time to come forward
but no one did seven detectives and 30 uniformed officers commenced a week-long search of
thebertons parks cemeteries backyards and riverbanks they also door knocked thousand nearby
homes their inquiries led to an abandoned house in theberton identified as a possible hiding spot for
the girls kidnapper an extensive search of the location came up empty despite reaching a dead end
investigators considered deciding in debiting their strongest lead to date in the following months
the reward for information was increased to ten thousand dollars angered by the possibility that
the girls had been killed the public called for the death penalty to be reinstated for convicted child
murderers premier don dunstan denied their request in the gordon household there were
reminders of kirsty everywhere from her pink toothbrush to the toys next to her bed
christine and greg gordon prayed every night for their daughter's safe return but couldn't help but feel they'd never
see her again two-year-old catherine gordon missed her older sister and often asked where kirsty was
one day catherine awaited kirsty to return home thinking she was at kindergarten
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promo code case file may 1974 marked to nine months since the disappearance of joanne ratcliffe and
kirsty gordon police continued to receive around seven calls a week regarding the case
to maintain the public's attention les ratcliffe had photographs of the missing girls
screened at drive-in movie theaters around the city he spent his saturday nights walking the
streets of theberton and torranceville with family and friends looking for clues
both suburbs consisted of close-knit working-class communities that would notice anything out of place
but there were no further alleged sightings of joanne or kirsty in july of that year assistance was
sought from renowned dutch psychic gerard croissant he was often used by police to help
locate missing persons in 1966 croisette had been flown to adelaide to assist in finding the beaumont children
a media frenzy had ensued but his attempts to locate the children were unsuccessful
although croisette's overall success rate in other cases was deemed no better than
chance many continued to believe in his psychic abilities adelaide journalist dick wordley
traveled to holland to discuss joanne and kirsty's disappearance with croiszat the psychic was now elderly and in ill
health after suffering from stomach ulcers croisette said that his son 36 year old
gerard croisette jr had inherited his psychic abilities and would be happy to help
croisette jr told dick he knew where joanne and kirsty were buried and who was responsible for their deaths
he also claimed that the killer would strike again quote somewhere in australia during the
current cycle of the moon croissant senior added that a farm a red bus and a high chimney were also significant
clues 1974 ended with both the ratcliffe and gordon families welcoming new arrivals
in august christine gordon gave birth to her third daughter alyssa two months later kath ratcliffe had her
second baby girl susie by 1977 four years had passed with no breakthroughs in the case the radcliffs
sought compensation from the south australian government under the criminal injuries compensation
act les acknowledged that no amount of money could replace a hair on any of his family's heads
the purpose of the lawsuit was to address the family's dissatisfaction with the state government's handling of
the case they also wanted to offset the costs for the ongoing search for joanne and
kirsty if successful they stood to receive a maximum of 52 000 dollars in compensation
the family ultimately received six thousand dollars sometime after this a woman named sue
laurie contacted the police to make a belated statement a memory had haunted her since she first
learned of joanne ratcliffe and kirsty gordon's abduction she had been hesitant to report it until
years later when her husband finally convinced her to do so on the day of the abduction a teenaged
sue had been visiting the adelaide zoo the zoo was nestled on the city side bank of the river torrens
less than one kilometer east from adelaide oval on the opposite side of the water
sue and her father had been walking in the direction of the oval in the late afternoon she looked across
the river and saw a young girl being carried by a man whom she assumed to be the girl's
grandfather the girl was crying and an older pre-adolescent girl was chasing after
them she was thumping the man while crying out we want to go back the man was aged in his fifties of thin
build with high cheekbones and hollow cheeks he had been wearing a checked coat and a
wide brimmed hat she was certain about the time of the sighting as she remembered hearing the
siren blair from adelaide oval signifying either the beginning or end of the third quarter
the men and girls were heading in the opposite direction to where police had searched immediately following joanne
and kirsty's abduction sue told reporters the only other thing i need to say is the parents of joanne
should take heart that their little girl did everything she could to protect her little friend
desperate for answers les ratcliffe reached out to clairvoyance for help with his blessing in july 1978
the channel 10 television network paid to fly gerard croisette jr to adelaide their intention was to make a
documentary about his search for joanne and kirsty kreuzet jr visited adelaide oval
and claimed that a man had approached the two girls outside of the toilets he had convinced
them to follow him to the river to play with the ducks there croisette jr said the abductor wasn't
wearing a wide-brimmed hat but a grey suit with square patterns a striped shirt and a floral tyre
he was 42 years old and driving a blue car croissant junior claimed the abductor
had taken the girls to one of the old adelaide city glass houses near the oval where he
killed them he then disposed of kirsty's body at the wingfield dump 15 kilometers north of adelaide joanne
was then buried 100 kilometers further north near an old cellar in the country town
of bowmans investigators descended on the alleged to dump site in bowman's anxious yet dubious about what they
might uncover they dug for remains but nothing was found croissant junior declared that searching
the wingfield dump for kirsty's remains would be useless just like his father's trip failed to
locate the beaumont children in 1966 croisette jr's so-called visions didn't bring the police any closer to finding
joanne and kirsty in july 1979 the ratcliffe family called for a coronial link quest to be
held in relation to joanne and kirsty's disappearance it was conducted by state coroner kevin r hearn
he openly criticized the derby man the secretary of the south australian cricket association
who had refused to broadcast an announcement during the football match when the girls were first
noticed to be missing coronary hearn also criticised the man for instructing the ratcliffes to return
to their seats saying that the cricket association should have notified the police of the
situation right away it wouldn't have been a difficult task considering an officer was in the
secretary's office at the time cath ratcliffe was present coroner hearn was unable to uncover any
new information he concluded what was already known that the girls were most likely taken by
force or under duress by a man whose identity hadn't yet been established ahern believed that the suspect would
eventually be apprehended and made to answer for his quote heinous crime the radcliffs were satisfied with the
findings of the inquest with les telling the media i intend to keep searching until i die or
i catch the bastard whichever comes first the following year les was diagnosed with cancer this prompted him to pen an
open letter to the people of adelaide which read do not forget the adelaide oval abduction of august
1973 the men is still loose and there are still children on the streets as a parent i could not wish for anyone
to live through what i have had to live through after joanne disappeared it took me
years to get back to three parts of what i was before we lost her i smiled but i was crying inside
one has to go on however difficult it is i do not want sympathy my family does not want sympathy
the illness has caught up to me just when i was beginning to accept joanne was gone forever despite it all
i am happy now two weeks later les ratcliffe passed away at the age of 46. by the early 80s the investigation into
joanne and kirsty's disappearance went cold then a few years later a new person of
interest emerged on sunday june 3 1983 fifteen-year-old richard kelvin was walking approximately 300 meters from
his family home in the affluent city fringe suburb of north adelaide neighbours heard several raised voices
followed by car doors slamming and the sounds of a car with a loud exhaust speeding away
after that richard was never seen again richard was the son of local television personality
rob kelvin and his abduction received extensive media attention a wide-scale search ensued and a reward
was announced just over seven weeks later a family was searching for moss rocks in the town of
kursbrook 36 kilometers northeast of adelaide they made their way down a dirt airstrip
where they came across richard's body an autopsy revealed that richard had likely been kept alive
and held captive for up to five weeks the presence of alcohol and a variety of sedatives in his system
indicated he'd been drugged he'd also been beaten and subject to brutal sexual abuse
several months later accountant bevan spencer von ninem was arrested for richard's murder
it's speculated that von arnhem acted with a group of other high-profile and influential men known as the family
who may be responsible for the unsolved murders of at least four other young men
von arnhem went to trial in 1990 during a committal hearing in the lead up a crown witness told the court that
von oneum allegedly confessed to abducting two children from the football this lead was taken seriously as he had
been living in theberton at the time of joanne and kirsty's disappearance vananam also claimed to have killed the
beaumont children and dumped their bodies in the maiponga reservoir 60 kilometers south of adelaide
the house in debating had since been demolished but a large-scale search of the reservoir commenced
police divers from the underwater recovery unit entered the 28 mega liters of water
their vision compromised by the fine silt and depths of up to one hundred meters
they searched for days but failed to uncover any evidence linking von on to either case
in 1998 another suspect emerged when an arrest was made over a cold case murder in queensland
on august 26 1970 five-year-old susan mckay and her seven-year-old sister judith
disappeared from a bus stop on their way to school in the coastal city of townsville
three days later their bodies were found 25 kilometers away in a dry creek bed both sisters had been raped and stabbed
three times in their chest susan had died by strangulation while judith had been suffocated
by sand their school uniforms had been neatly folded and placed in their school bags nearby
townsville police worked tirelessly to catch the sisters killer but to no avail 28 years later
a sexual assault survivor came forward to report her suspicions about the man who had molested her
as a child arthur stanley brown an investigation ensued with police uncovering circumstantial evidence to link brown to
the murders of susan and judith mackay he was arrested and charged with his photo circulated on
national news bulletins in the picture he was wearing his signature wide-brimmed hat
many noticed that even in his old age brown bore a striking resemblance to the suspect
sketch from the adelaide oval abductions when sue laurie saw brienne's photo on television
she screamed he looked just like the man she had observed on the afternoon of august 25
1973 carrying a girl away from the adelaide oval area while another fought him off even down
to his wide-brimmed heart although brown lived in queensland he had travelled interstate frequently over
the years during the 1960s and 70s he worked for the queensland public works department
his employment records were no longer available so it couldn't be confirmed whether or
not he was away from work in august to 1973 efforts were made to determine whether
brown had passed through south australia at that time but accommodation operators
and banks were only required to keep their records for seven years any documents that might have confirmed
his presence were long gone by the time brown was arrested for the murders of susan and
judith mackay he was suffering from alzheimer's disease and dementia and was ruled unfit for trial
he passed away in 2002 without ever being convicted following his death it was determined he
may have lied to investigators about his mental capacity and successfully duped them into
thinking his health was more deteriorated than it really was south australian police were unable to establish any
links or evidence to indicate that brown was connected with any offences in adelaide
they confirmed that brianne had been ruled out as a suspect in joanne ratcliffe and kirsty gordon's abduction
in mid 2000 former senior inspector colin lehmann called for joanne and kirsty to be declared illegally dead
having initially led the investigation into the girl's disappearance he told reporters
being involved in the case as i was you've got to try to tell the family something
so they don't give up you have to tell them something will come up but sometimes
it does not during national missing persons week in august 2002 a special plaque commemorating the loved
ones of missing south australians was unveiled in rymill park on the northeastern edge of adelaide's
cbd embedded into a bench had aimed to provide a place for the friends and relatives of missing people to reflect
speaking publicly for the first time in many years kirsty's mother christine gordon said
it will not bring closure but it will provide us with a place we can go we don't have a cemetery or burial site
this is all we've got time does not make it worse but it does not get any better
either it just takes any little memory to trigger things we always wonder what kirsty's first day
of school would have been like we always wonder what could have been by 2006 joanne and kirsty had been
missing for 33 years as the anniversary of their disappearance approached joanne's
younger sister susie spoke publicly about the case for the first time having been born 14 months after joanne
went missing susie remarked i may not have been born when joe disappeared but i know i would
have loved her all the same after enduring years of anguish susie said her mother
and older brother david had resigned to the fact that they would never find a joanna
alive they just wanted her body found so that she could be laid to rest as a teenager susie had a strong desire
to find the person responsible so she could make him suffer the way her family had
as she got older her need for revenge subsided and was replaced by the need to properly
grieve she urged quote i no longer care who it was the main thing i want is not to know why
but to have closure for my family it would lay joanne's soul to rest and that of my father
i think that even though dad has been dead for a number of years he is still out there still looking
i really want that closure for him so his soul can lay at peace as a result of susie's plea for
information 19 new reports were made to the police one came from a woman identified as mrs
f who had been nine years old at the time of the girl's disappearance mrs f told police that on saturday
august 25 1973 she had been playing on the steps near a toilet block at adelaide oval
a man had approached turned to begin asking inappropriate questions such as if she had ever kissed a boy or
had sex this went on for about 10 minutes before mrs f's father noticed the interaction and
called his daughter back to her family as soon as joanne and kirsty's abduction made headlines
mrs f's parents reported this incident to the police they were told an officer would be sent
over to speak with them right away but no one showed up and the report was never followed up on
given the time that had passed all mrs f and her father could recall was that the
man had been about 30 years old clean-shaven with light brown hair and a dress in a sports jacket
he hadn't been wearing a hat nor did he match the composite sketch of the man witnessed leaving adelaide oval with two
girls believed to be joanne and kirsty mrs f still found it difficult to visit the
area surrounding the oval as it gave her the eerie feeling that something bad had happened
there the following year in 2007 south australia's sexual crimes investigations branch
conducted an unrelated investigation into the abuse of children in state care as part of what was titled the mulligan
inquiry convicted pedophile mark trevor marshall submitted a 40-page handwritten document
marshall was serving infinite jail time for committing various sexual assaults on children
authorities had declared him unable or unwilling to control his sexual urges in the document marshall claimed to have
knowledge of multiple crimes including the abduction of joanne ratcliffe and kirsty gordon
although he was only three or four years old at the time of their disappearance he claimed to have been present when the
girls were kidnapped by his grandfather known pedophile stanley arthur hart marshall alleged that hart who worked as
a butcher at the time donned an apron and then killed the girls before burying their bodies in
barrels he referenced two locations including a property in the rural town of yatna approximately
220 kilometers north of adelaide the other was the pekina dam a further 28 kilometers north
marshall also provided hand-drawn maps and descriptions of the burial site he claimed there were two wells located
on the property major crime investigators said the documents would be reviewed but ultimately dismissed the claims as
nothing more than marshall's sexual fantasies he had submitted similar allegations over the years which
further investigations had proven to be false furthermore police confirmed they had
interviewed hart immediately following joanne and kirsty's abduction and there was no evidence to link him to
the crime he had since passed away in 1999 private investigators working on behalf
of the ratcliffe and gordon families looked into marshall's claims they believed that the documents contained
credible information which was being ignored by the police not only was hart known to abuse
children he also physically resembled the prime suspect in the ratcliffe gordon case
he was also a north adelaide rooster supporter who regularly attended games during the
70s in 2009 the private investigators visited the pekina reservoir formed in the early 1900s the reservoir
served as an early irrigation system to supply water to surrounding farms access is granted via a long dirt road
that leads down to the water's edge it's an isolated place hidden at the base of the rolling
oreroo hillside and framed by thick bushland although the dam is no longer in use
it still fills with water during wet seasons at other times the water dries and recedes
exposing the dam's sloping bank and muddy base following the maps provided by marshall
the private investigators came across a concealed and submerged tunnel carved into the reservoir wall
after trudging some distance into the dark passage they eventually came across a set of
sealed metal gates further in they discovered two fuel barrels stamped with the acronym usaf
united states air force inside the barrels was a reddish honeycomb-like substance it was independently tested
and came back positive for traces of blood and acid they also found a girl's shoe
arthur stanley heart's former yetna property was located 30 kilometers south of the reservoir
a search of this location uncovered a stained butcher's apron with matching butcher's pants
a medical book newspaper clippings related to joanne and kirsty's disappearance and a wide brimmed a kubra style hat
the evidence was handed to the police a few days later the private investigators received a
letter from the attorney general asking them not to pursue the case later police went to yatna and conducted
their own searches of the property they also ran their own forensic tests on the substance found in the barrels
but only found a quote weak to very weak trace of blood that couldn't be confirmed to be human
while police weren't ruling hard out as a suspect they were satisfied that nothing
uncovered at his property was related to joanne and kirsty's disappearance they dismissed marshall's claims there's
nothing more than a fabrication of his imagination in 2012 susie ratcliffe launched an
online appeal for information this prompted a former neighbor of the ratcliffes to come forward to implicate
her father in the crime she also claimed to know where the girl's bodies were buried
the woman provided certain information about the rat cliffs that gave police reason to believe
that this lead was credible they investigated the claims further until it was revealed
that the woman's father had been friends with the joanne's grandfather she had often overheard the two men
discussing the case over the years she had convinced herself that her dad was involved
but it turned out to be nothing more than a child's wild imagination as the 40-year anniversary of joanne and
kirsty's disappearance approached in 2013 police once again appealed for witnesses
to come forward as a result 73 year old robert mcmahon reached out to adelaide based in newspaper the
sunday mail claiming to have seen the girls on the day they went missing at the time robert had lived in a
boarding house on vine street in the inner northern suburb of prospect the house was less than four kilometers
north of adelaide oval which could be reached in a five-minute drive depending on traffic
robert said he was watching footy on the television when one of his housemates came inside
with two young girls he claimed were his grandchildren he was a scottish man aged in his
forties whom robert knew only as scotty the older girl attempted to say something but scotty
told her to shut up scotty showed the girls off to his housemates and then locked them into a cream-colored
van that was parked at the back of the house robert found the incident so unsettling
that he had taken notes and drawn sketches of the girls which he then placed in a sealed
envelope when he later learned of joanne and kirsty's abduction he recognized the pair as scotty's
supposed to grandchildren he reported the incident to the police but they didn't get back to him he tried
again the following week as well as on the first anniversary of the abduction but the police never responded and
robert eventually gave up out of sheer frustration for the first time since 1973
robert opened the sealed envelope in front of reporters for the sunday mail the sketches of the girls within were
labelled taller girl and little girl taller girl had hair just below her ears and a distinct short fringe that
barely covered her forehead robert had taken note that she had light hair the little girl sketch depicted a
younger looking child with short curly hair that robert had noted was dark taller girl and a little girl looked
eerily similar to joanne and kirsty robert described scotty as being about 165 centimeters tall
with a broad scottish accent and distinct limp major crime detectives collected the
documents and interviewed robert but nothing further came from this line of inquiry
susie ratcliffe questioned why police had dismissed certain pieces of evidence over the years
and failed to follow up on particular leads she called for further investigations to
be made stating we seem to be left in the dark it might be 40 years to police and just another case but to us it is 40
years of us not getting to watch joe grow up that's 40 years of not having a daughter a sister
an auntie the following year in february 2014 the south australian government offered
a 1 million dollar reward to solve 13 of the state's highest profile missing person cases
including that of joanne ratcliffe and kirsty gordon the reward was meant to be a strong
inducement for any reluctant witnesses to come forward but the money went unclaimed
in 2015 south australia police took inspiration from a crime solving strategy used in the united states and created a
bespoke deck of playing cards that were distributed to prisons throughout the state each of the 52
cards detailed a specific south australian cold case along with a photo of the associated
victim or victims the cards were given to prisoners to play with and were accompanied by a
letter offering various incentives for information prisoners could benefit from potential
immunity from prosecution a reduction to their current sentences financial rewards
and assistance with personal safety joanne ratcliffe and kirsty gordon were featured on the ace of hearts
in that same year susie ratcliffe and journalist brian littley founded lever light on
the organisation aims to raise awareness of cold missing person cases in australia
while also providing help to affected families the name was inspired by the ratcliffe
family's habit of leaving their porch light on every night to help joanne find her way back home
suzy explained that families of missing people are often disappointed with the way
investigations are handled with evidence often going missing and police failing to follow up on certain
suspects and witnesses oftentimes it's the families themselves who are left to investigate potential
leads she said you struggle to be able to deal with this on an everyday basis dealing with grief and anguish of losing
a loved one in this sort of situation but to have that added torment of doing things
that realistically the police should be doing adds to that pain in 2016 the otherwise private gordon
family released a statement explaining why they had chosen to avoid the media spotlight
in the years following kirsty's abduction they described enduring a rollercoaster
ride of emotions including some lows of extreme intensity refusing to let kirstie's abductor take
them as collateral victims the gordon stated it was important to us to be independent
and to feel in control of our lives for the sake of our family two years later in 2018 another
potential burial site was explored in the suburb of north plympton approximately eight kilometers south
west of adelaide oval it was the former casterloy factory site which had once been owned by prominent
businessman harry phipps two brothers had come forward claiming phipps had paid them to dig a large hole
there three days after the beaumont children went missing in 1966 phipps had lived in adelaide in 1973
and resembled the sketch of the main suspect in joanne and kirsty's case prompting speculation that he might also
have been involved in the adelaide oval abductions a major excavation of the site was
conducted but nothing was uncovered to link fips to either of the unsolved crimes
on march 13 2019 kath ratcliffe passed away announcing the death on social media
susie said my mum took her last breaths this morning and gained her angel wings joining my stepdad dad and joanne
i know she is now at peace free from her pain and suffering the answers she has longed for finally
in reach as of 2020 joanne ratcliffe and kirsty gordon still haven't officially been declared dead
and the investigation into their disappearance remains open the lever light on foundation which is
still run by susie ratcliffe is calling for the creation of specialist missing person units in every
state and territory the organization wants long-term missing persons to be automatically reported to the national
register greater cooperation between states and territories equal rewards for information and all
evidence for long-term missing person cases to be retested for dna each year on october 21 the organization
asks that people across the country leave their porch lights on or burn a candle in memory of the many
missing persons across australia and as a symbol of hope for their loved ones susie has inherited several treasured
gifts that joanne either handmade or bought for her family among them is a wonky clay ashtray and a delicate
christmas candle which she plans to one day hand down to her own daughter as a gift
from her auntie joanne she keeps a photo of joanne on her desk as a constant reminder of the sister she
never met who has helped raise awareness of many other missing people through lever light on
susie has stated i am so incredibly proud of joe because i know she fought she fought so hard to get
kirsty back from that man people say to me why didn't she run away but she was given a responsibility that
day to look after kirsty and to not let her out of sight under any circumstances and she stuck
with it she had a temper like you wouldn't believe so she would have given him hell
she fought to try and keep kirsty safe you

Case 163: Joanne Ratcliffe & Kirste Gordon

During the games third and penultimate quarter, Anthony Kilmartin was in the Sir Edwin Smith grandstand when two young girls emerged from the crowd and bounded down the steps towards ground level...

CREDITS

Casefile would like to give a special thanks to Suzie Ratcliffe for her assistance with this episode Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production, scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn

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Brief Summary

The episode covers the 1973 abduction of Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirsty Gordon from Adelaide Oval, detailing witness accounts and the ongoing investigation.

Key points

BetterHelp: Your Path to Happiness. BetterHelp offers professional counseling online, making mental health support accessible to everyone.
The Disappearance of Joanne and Kirsty. Two young girls went missing during a football match, sparking a massive search effort.
The Phone Call. A man demands a ransom for the kidnapped girls, sending shockwaves through the family.
A Mother's Plea. Les Ratcliffe appeals to the captor for his daughter's safe return, urging compassion.
Les Ratcliffe's Determination. Les vows to continue searching for his daughter until he finds the truth.
The Pain of Loss. Christine Gordon shares the ongoing struggle of losing her daughter Kirsty.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

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