The Lost Ones

Enjoy a sneak peak into the new series, The Missing Australia. Episode one is here for your listening pleasure. Former cop-turned-reporter Meni Caroutas investigates some of Australia's roughly 2,600 unsolved missing persons cases. If you enjoy this episode, you can listen early and ad-free to The Missing Australia podcast now on Crime X+.

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Paul Byrne disappeared from the remote Tasmanian township of Rossarden in 1996. A friend realised he was missing when she visited his home and found his dog inside, hungry and thirsty. Not longer after he vanished, Mr Byrne’s home and the house he was last seen at were burned to the ground. It’s believed he was sexually tortured before he was murdered, and thrown down a disused mine shaft.

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High-profile lawyer Greg Barns SC discusses the pathological reasons why people commit violent crimes in places like Tasmania, why the dense wilderness makes investigations problematic, issues of corruption, and why so many missing persons cases in Tasmania remain unsolved.

You can listen to every episode of The Lost Ones, ad-free, plus access award-winning journalism at truecrimeaustralia.com.au

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Could a serial killer have been active in Tasmania during the 1990s? It’s a possibility that has often been debated in the wake of two cold cases on the idyllic East Coast, but now an anonymous woman has come forward to describe the man she thinks could be behind at least five - or up to 25 - disappearances in both Tasmania and interstate.

You can listen to every episode of The Lost Ones, ad-free, plus access award-winning journalism at truecrimeaustralia.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tasmania has a unique geology because of its karst landscape, meaning its surface is pockmarked by caves. The openings to these caves are often obscured by vegetation, with hikers, cavers, bushwalkers and adventurers sometimes plummeting to their deaths - never to be seen again. The island is also beset by other dangers like freezing cold, dense vegetation and freezing cold. And the Tasmanian devils are known for their ability to disappear a human body.

You can listen to every episode of The Lost Ones, ad-free, plus access award-winning journalism at truecrimeaustralia.com.au

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Billy Steffen was a Brisbane man besieged with troubles after his divorce, and losing custody of his two children. He kept returning to Tasmania, even “kidnapping” his kids and escaping with them to the island on the ferry at one point. Then one day in 1985, after visiting a Zen Buddhist retreat, he disappeared in Tasmania altogether.

You can listen to every episode of The Lost Ones, ad-free, plus access award-winning journalism at truecrimeaustralia.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The year was 1989 and Vietnam War veteran Ian Nichols went to a campground in central Tasmania to build a retreat shack for vets called the Red Rooster. But while the other blokes returned home, Ian was never seen again. A coordinated land and sea search of the area was called off on advice from outside Tasmania Police. But to this day, Ian’s daughter continues to receive messages that her father was murdered.

You can listen to every episode of The Lost Ones, ad-free, plus access award-winning journalism at truecrimeaustralia.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Bushman” John Norrish, who always wore an Akubra-style hat, went missing from the tranquil East Coast of Tasmania in 2018. In episode two of The Lost Ones, John’s family reveal how they they had to the investigative work themselves after he disappeared, and are sure he was murdered over a $200 debt. Not long ago, a clue was discovered hidden under foliage and tree limbs.

You can listen to every episode of The Lost Ones, ad-free, plus access award-winning journalism at truecrimeaustralia.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tasmania is a Mecca for bushwalkers, with its wilderness known world-over for its breathtaking beauty. But Australia’s most natural state has also increasingly become known for its secrets. Episode one of The Lost Ones reveals some of the reasons why people seem to literally vanish from the face of the Earth on this remote island. It also looks into the story of devoutly religious man Geoffrey Rallings, a piano accordion player who moved to Tasmania but disappeared without a trace about Christmas 1995.

You can listen to every episode of The Lost Ones, ad-free, plus access award-winning journalism at truecrimeaustralia.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tasmania is well-known for its beauty. But, deep within the dark bushland lies a string of secrets. 169 people have gone missing on the island since the mid 20th century, and dozens of those without a trace from the wilderness…..their bodies never recovered. The Lost Ones looks into the stories of those who’ve disappeared into the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, and asks the question, have they fallen victim to foul play?

Listen to the The Lost Ones, read our award winning journalism and see galleries of the cases being discussed at www.lostonespodcast.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.