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Disappearance of Sarah MacDiarmid

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Sarah MacDiarmid
Born(1966-11-15)15 November 1966
Disappeared11 July 1990 (aged 23)
Kananook railway station, Victoria, Australia
StatusMissing for 34 years, 3 months and 21 days
Kananook railway station where Sarah MacDiarmid disappeared on 11 July 1990.

Sarah MacDiarmid (born 15 November 1966) was a 23-year-old Scottish-Australian woman who disappeared from Kananook railway station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 11 July 1990.[1] She is presumed murdered, although no trace of her body has ever been found.[1]

Disappearance

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MacDiarmid, who emigrated with her family in 1987 from the Scottish Highlands to Australia,[2] had been playing tennis after work with two friends at what was then known as Flinders Park in Batman Avenue, East Melbourne, before walking to Richmond station, where they found that they had just missed a Frankston line train.[3] They caught a train to Caulfield, then changed to a Frankston service. MacDiarmid's friends disembarked this train at Bonbeach while she remained, continuing on to Kananook station where her vehicle was parked.[3] She was last seen getting off the train and heading for the poorly lit car park at approximately 10:20 p.m.[1]

Investigation

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Police suspected that MacDiarmid had been assaulted, based on bloodstains found beside her red 1978 Honda Civic abandoned in the station car park,[3] and drag marks leading into the bushes. A cigarette lighter belonging to MacDiarmid was discovered on the ground, but no trace of her was ever found. Later, witnesses said MacDiarmid got off the train and crossed the footbridge to the car park, where some people heard a woman shouting, "Give me back my keys!".[4] An extensive 21-day air, sea and land search, involving more than 250 police, produced no results.

In May 2006, an inquest held by coroner Ian West,[2] found MacDiarmid "had met her death as a result of foul play but the exact circumstances were unknown".[5]

An initial state government reward of $50,000 was increased after an additional $75,000 was offered by an anonymous benefactor.[2] That was increased to $1 million in 2004[5] and remains current.[6]

In 2011, convicted serial killer Paul Denyer was interviewed by police and denied any involvement in MacDiarmid's disappearance.[7] Denyer stated to the interviewer, Detective Ron Iddles that he was "sick of being accused of murder", and later wrote to Iddles, thanking him for informing the public of him not being involved in the matter.

In May 2014, News Corp Australia claimed police investigators considered convicted serial killer Bandali Debs to be a suspect in the case.[6] Fairfax Media quoted a "senior police source" who said "it was 'common practice' for homicide investigators to examine links between unsolved murders and known offenders".[6] A Victoria Police spokesperson declined to comment to Fairfax Media as MacDiarmid's disappearance was an "active" case.[6]

Aftermath

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The cold case was featured in the first episode of the Australian psychic TV series Sensing Murder, which aired on Network Ten in September 2004.[8] The psychics used by this programme opined that MacDiarmid had been murdered and her body thrown into a now-closed rubbish dump on the Mornington Peninsula.

In 2010, marking the 20th anniversary of MacDiarmid's disappearance, her family and friends visited Kananook railway station to leave wreaths at a memorial established there.[9] Her family also announced they had created a website Not Alone which was 'designed to help other families who find themselves in a position similar to them'.[9] Police used the anniversary to issue a new call for information on the case with Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Dannye Moloney stating:

You do not close the books on these sorts of crimes... History proves that if you continue to communicate with the people out there, in Victoria, in Australia, in the world in some cases, that piece of information, that key will come forward and we'll solve it.[9]

In 2021, a nine part Australian crime podcast named Searching for Sarah Macdiarmid was released.[10] Hosted and written by author Vikki Petraitis, the podcast focuses on the backstory of MacDiarmid, her disappearance, and the subsequent investigation.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Million dollars on offer in missing persons case". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 July 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Charlie Bezzina (1 October 2011). The Job: Fighting Crime from the Frontline. Slattery Media Group. pp. 203–2015. ISBN 978-1-921778-34-6.
  3. ^ a b c Gadd, Denise (11 July 2004). "The never-ending search for Sarah". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  4. ^ Case File 1730DFVIC:Sarah MacDiarmid, The Doe Network [dead link] Archive
  5. ^ a b Gadd, Denise (10 July 2004). "Sarah's flame still burns strong on the eve of a heartbreaking 20-year anniversary". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d Gough, Deborah (20 May 2014). "Convicted killer Bandali Debs a 'suspect' in cold case murder of Melbourne woman Sarah MacDiarmid". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  7. ^ Dowsley, Anthony (24 August 2011). "I did not kill Sarah MacDiarmid, says serial killer Paul Denyer". News.com.au. News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  8. ^ "Sensing Murder: The Last Train Home". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 6 August 2014. [unreliable source?]
  9. ^ a b c "Mystery causes heartbreak for family". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 10 July 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  10. ^ "Searching for Sarah MacDiarmid". Casefile Presents. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
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