Lost Girls (38 page)

Next came the
story of the unknown J. Anne gave her account based on
reconstruction of the events within the diary. The police confirmed
that Mark owned a flat in Katherine which fitted the description of
the time spent there. They also confirmed the visit of Mark and a
girl at around this time to Rosewood Station though the girl’s name
was not remembered. They had also located a track and billabong
matching the diary description of the final site where they were
together. However they had been unable to locate any evidence of
their occupation of the former camp site. In relation to the
identity of J they had been unable to find any leads, and the area
where it was claimed she was buried was so vast as to be impossible
to even begin a search. They confirmed the account of the barman in
the Top Springs Hotel of an altercation taking place between Mr
Bassingham and another patron which led to this man being severely
beaten and having prolonged hospital treatment for a ruptured
liver. The man himself had been located but refused to provide
further evidence.

Now came the
story of Amanda and again Anne led them through the story of the
diary, corroborated by evidence from her parents. The professor,
who had voluntarily come to the inquest of his own accord, provided
details of his previous relationship. Parts of the Amanda story
were also corroborated by Susan’s tape transcript. Of the mine site
holding her body the police indicated the potential area was again
so vast they did not know where to search, in a similar way to the
burial sight of Elin. They speculated that both could be in the
same region.

At last they
came to Cathy. Her presence in Adelaide was confirmed by her
parents from her letter and by the backpacker hostel. Her presence
in Wilpaena Pound and Coober Pedy was confirmed by witnesses who
agreed with the diary account. But then there was nothing but an
enigmatic poem to explain her vanishing or her absence.

The coroner
sought Anne’s opinion about her likely fate. Anne asked to speak to
the coroner and counsel in private, with only Alan present. Anne
took them through the abuse allegations her uncle from the diary,
as described by Mark.

Anne asked that
these not be disclosed as she thought it remained most likely that
Cathy had vanished to escape from her uncle and, if she was alive,
she clearly did not want these allegations publicly aired causing
her parents further distress. Alan advised that the police had
passed these allegations on to Scotland Yard for their own
investigation. He considered public disclosure at this stage would
be prejudicial to this investigation.

So the coroner
agree to withhold this evidence from public release and Anne was
glad, it was a small service she could do to this girl, she as much
a victim as the others, even if still alive.

So that was
that, the story of the diary and their best information about the
fate of five girls.

The coroner
then turned to the disappearance of Susan, establishing the
sequence of events from her release from jail to the days spent
with Vic at Alan’s flat to the sighting of her taking a lift south
at Berrimah. They explained the role which the media articles
appeared to have played in her disappearance that night, then of
the final discovery of the sandals she had been wearing near the
billabong. They told of the fruitless search since, the public
appeal for information and the various unlikely sightings which had
been made since. This was a story in which Anne had little role,
mainly told by Vic and Alan who were both visibly distressed in the
telling.

After two weeks
of evidence and innumerable witnesses the coroner retired to
consider the facts and write his findings. A month later the court
resumed for the coroner’s verdict. He read out his findings and
Anne scribbled them down on a legal notepad, not trusting her mind
to keep track without this written record.

I find that
Elin Nordquist met her death by misadventure resulting from the
collapse of an abandoned mine shaft in an unknown location in South
Western Queensland. I find Vincent Bassingham had no direct role in
her death but may have had an indirect role though encouraging Ms
Nordquist to assist him in the excavation of a dangerous mine
shaft.

I find that
Isabelle Rollande met her death by being shot in the head by Mr
Vincent Basssingham. While there are extenuating circumstances such
death constitutes murder under the Northern Territory and Western
Australian Criminal Codes. However as Mr Bassingham is also
deceased no further action for this event can be taken

I find that
Amanda Parker met her death by a blow from Mr Bassingham. However
as there is testimony indicating that Ms Parker was attacking him
with a knife there is no basis for any finding beyond self defense
for Mr Bassingham’s role in her death.

I find that
there is insufficient evidence to rule on the likely fate of either
Fiona Rodgers or Susan McDonald though I express serious concerns
about the fate of both girls. I encourage the police to continue to
investigate both disappearances.

In addition I
find a likely case of murder exists by Mr Bassingham against the
unknown person J. However in the absence of evidence of her
identity I am unable to make any further finding. Further, as Mr
Bassingham is now deceased, a murder charge is unable to be
sustained. However I encourage the police to continue to search for
the identity of this person as, should this be established, it is
likely closure could be brought to the case of this missing, even
“lost” girl.

I commend the
NT Police and Ms Anne Smithfield for the extraordinary work they
have done in investigating and bringing closure to many parts of
this tragic investigation.

I convey my
profound sympathy to the parents and friends of these missing
girls, whose fate may never be fully known.

Two weeks after
the coroner made his findings Anne was contacted by a leading
commercial TV channel. It wished to do a Lost Girls Mini Series
over three nights, telling the story of her investigation.

It was to be a
story in three parts, the first the tale of Mark, beginning with
his troubled childhood up until the events of the first two girls,
for whom he clearly had great affection. It was a story of a man
seeking to rise above adversity yet endlessly caught up in
tragedy.

The second part
was a story with a dark heart, the man who had become a wilful
murderer, killing with no apparent remorse, as if in the possession
of a dark spirit.

The third part
was Susan and Cathy’s stories, where still some hope remained but
the hope was slim. But these told a story where elements of
friendship, hope and love re-emerged, despite the destructive
forces still at work.

This part would
end up as a testimony of hope for continued life of these final two
brave girls and with it a second appeal for more funds to keep
searching for these and other lost girls from across the
country.

It was to be
followed by a memorial ceremony where plaques were placed for these
missing girls and for others that the public at large were still
searching for.

Anne rang all
the girls parents. All agreed to the story being told despite
further distress to have to relive the pain in public, it was an
important story and, if it helped find others’, that was reason
enough.

The TV channel
promised that the stories would be sympathetic to all girls and
that the parents would have a right to veto of any private
information that they found distasteful before it went to air. The
TV station did not need permission in the same way about
information that was already in the public domain, but it agreed
that it was in everyone’ interest that the story be tasteful and
sympathetic.

So Anne found
herself as the principal narrator of this bizarre and awful series
of events. At times she found it so distressing that the cameras
had to stop as she recomposed herself. But she stuck at it over six
weeks of filming, two weeks per episode and, finally, it was done,
She had put her heart and soul into the search, now she put her
heart and soul into telling the story, hoping through it to reach
someone, anyone who knew something real and new which would bring
closure.

After the story
was made it went into two weeks of editing and she was consumed by
the pre-publicity. She became an instantly recognisable film star
with her flaming red hair and photogenic husband. Together they
captured the public heart of Anne’s new country.

Already the
story had been syndicated to the UK, France, Sweden and Canada.
Negotiations were advanced for the USA though Amanda’s story was
the hardest to tell in a way that evoked public sympathy. But here
the Professor was her firm ally, having agreed to give unlimited
access to his experience with this girl who, despite the bad things
she had done, also had redeeming features he described with clear
affection. So somehow it worked, giving Amanda a kinder side while
remaining faithful to the facts.

At last it was
done and Anne came home and collapsed into bed with David who
pampered her for the last three days until the first show went to
air. For three nights she sat at home watching and reliving, with
tears in her eyes. She was surprised that, even though she knew it
all, it moved her beyond words. She prayed that something good
would come of it.

The documentary
screened on prime time Monday night, at the end of May for an hour
with the two follow up episodes running on successive nights. It
was called ‘Nowhere Search.’ It was the highest rating show of the
year. At the same time they reran the “Lost Ones Appeal” and, until
after midnight on the third night, the phones rang off the hooks.
By the end of the last night over half a million dollars had been
pledged and over the next week with postal, internet and phone
donations they comfortably passed a full million dollars.

The day after
the TV documentary finished the book “Lost Girls – Nowhere Search”
was launched. It had five main parts, one for each of the girls,
then, at the end, a small part titled Josie. Each part told a story
of a girl’s life up until the time she disappeared. After that,
where they could, they had used Mark’s diary to fill in blanks. It
was story of four dead girls and two where nobody knew. It was
generally agreed that Elin, Amanda, Isabelle and Josie were now all
deceased.

In the week
after the program screened hundreds of calls came in which needed
to be investigated. The police and missing persons’ organisations
worked their way through them, successfully re-uniting three
families with their long lost children, so that was something
good.

But of the fate
of these four presumed dead girls and of the two still listed as
missing nothing new came.

Anne felt, at
her core that Susan and Cathy were probably both dead, yet she
refused to let her mind go there. There was something beyond
explanation at work here. It sustained an unending hope in her for
one of them to walk through the door. But she had utterly exhausted
herself with the looking.

In the end she
realised that she had done all she could, her own search was now
concluded and she must get on with her own life. She knew that if
Susan was here she would have told her to do exactly that too, she
would not want yet another life damaged through her.

So she and
David set a date and agreed that they would go ahead and get
married as soon as the final memorial day was passed. With that she
thought she could close the book on her “Nowhere Search”.

Anne found she
was unable to just let it go as the days and weeks passed, to
acknowledge the search was really over. It felt like a final
disloyalty to Susan to admit defeat. So it kept going round and
round in her mind always searching for what else she could do; what
new lead to pursue.

Her life had
been consumed by the search. Was it really only a year since she
had started? She remembered so clearly that fateful day when Susan
had begun her story, that futile attempt to cast off her past and
return to her childhood Emily identity. It had lasted less than a
week until the day when the evil spirit, which seemed to have taken
residence in her soul, overwhelmed her.

At least that
was the way it now felt after all this time as she looked back. She
was still no wiser as to whether Susan was alive or dead. No
glimmer of a new identity or an existence after that night had
emerged, but she refused to let her mind concede there was no
hope.

She had to
admit it did look bad, the sandals which she had lent her friend
and that crocodile totem found near the billabong must mean that
Susan had come to that place of the crocodiles before
vanishing.

While nothing
further had been found it was hard to believe that, after coming
there, she had gone elsewhere rather than into the water.

Since that day,
when Alan had rung her to tell her of the discovery, she could not
bear to allow herself to follow those thoughts to where they led, a
body torn apart and consumed. But dreaming of other possibilities
was futile. So her mind spun in an endless loop.

Both she and
David carried a burden of remorse for choosing to go out to dinner
that night, rather than calling to see Susan and ensure she had
their support.

It was at least
as bad for Vic who she could see had become totally captivated by
this vanished girl. Vic blamed himself even more for agreeing to
have his operation so soon, rather than staying with her and
delaying it until after the babies were born. But, if had happened
the way everyone thought, there were no babies anymore either, not
one but three lives lost. It was too awful to contemplate what it
meant.