Points of Interest
There are several details in this story which raised doubt with both the parents of the children and the local police department. When the children departed for Glenely Beach in the morning of January 26th, they left with only enough money to cover their bus fare: six shilling and a sixpence. However, the shop owner, who sold several pastries and a meat pie to the children at 11:45am, reported that the children paid for the food with a $1 bill, an amount of money that they did not have when they left their mother’s care.
In addition, the shop owner knew the children well and had sold them food and pastries several times before. He reported that the children had never purchased a meat pie before. This suggests that the …show more content…
Their mother also remembered a seemingly innocuous comment from Arnna, who had previously told her mother that Jane had “got a boyfriend down the beach.” Nancy assumed that her daughter was referring to a young playmate, but in hindsight it seems that she may have been referring to the tall blond man spotted by witnesses.
Police Investigation
The South Australian police force began investigating the disappearance of the children in full-force the evening of their disappearance. After interviewing several witnesses who were present at Glenely Beach, they were able to determine that the children were playing with a tall blond, “thin-faced” man while at the beach. He was described as being a blond man in his late 30s with a thin or athletic build.
Furthermore, several witnesses stated that the man was seen dressing the children prior to leaving the beach. The children’s parents said that the kids, especially Jane, were very shy and unlikely to speak to a stranger. This later led police to theorize that the children had met the man in question prior to the date of their disappearance and had grown to know him over a period of several …show more content…
He stated that he exchanged greetings with the young children and that they seemed to be in good spirits. In particular, the postman said that he say the children were “holding hands and laughing” as they walked down the road alone, with no blond companion in sight. Police later said that they believed the postman was mistaken about the timeline and that he likely saw the children walking sometime before
There are several details in this story which raised doubt with both the parents of the children and the local police department. When the children departed for Glenely Beach in the morning of January 26th, they left with only enough money to cover their bus fare: six shilling and a sixpence. However, the shop owner, who sold several pastries and a meat pie to the children at 11:45am, reported that the children paid for the food with a $1 bill, an amount of money that they did not have when they left their mother’s care.
In addition, the shop owner knew the children well and had sold them food and pastries several times before. He reported that the children had never purchased a meat pie before. This suggests that the …show more content…
Their mother also remembered a seemingly innocuous comment from Arnna, who had previously told her mother that Jane had “got a boyfriend down the beach.” Nancy assumed that her daughter was referring to a young playmate, but in hindsight it seems that she may have been referring to the tall blond man spotted by witnesses.
Police Investigation
The South Australian police force began investigating the disappearance of the children in full-force the evening of their disappearance. After interviewing several witnesses who were present at Glenely Beach, they were able to determine that the children were playing with a tall blond, “thin-faced” man while at the beach. He was described as being a blond man in his late 30s with a thin or athletic build.
Furthermore, several witnesses stated that the man was seen dressing the children prior to leaving the beach. The children’s parents said that the kids, especially Jane, were very shy and unlikely to speak to a stranger. This later led police to theorize that the children had met the man in question prior to the date of their disappearance and had grown to know him over a period of several …show more content…
He stated that he exchanged greetings with the young children and that they seemed to be in good spirits. In particular, the postman said that he say the children were “holding hands and laughing” as they walked down the road alone, with no blond companion in sight. Police later said that they believed the postman was mistaken about the timeline and that he likely saw the children walking sometime before