Vanished West

In April 1997, Josephine Jennings gave evidence against a man she had accused of rape. It was the last confirmed time she was ever seen. In this episode of Vanished West, we explore the life ofthe proud Wangkai and Wongi woman from Western Australia's Goldfields, the courage it took to speak, and the unanswered questions surrounding her disappearance nearly three decades later. ⚠️ Content warn...

In June 2003, 25-year-old Simon Gurrier-Jones left Perth alone. By the following morning, he was more than 1,000 kilometres from home, travelling east along the Eyre Highway. What happened on that journey — and what happened after he reached Cocklebiddy — has never been fully known. In this episode of Vanished West, we look at Simon’s disappearance, the private distress that may have preceded it,...

On 22 October 1959, 31-year-old Winifred Peace disappeared from her home in Bentley, Western Australia. She left behind two young children, an unhappy marriage, mounting financial pressures and a trail of unanswered questions that would persist for decades. In the days that followed, there were reported sightings across Perth. Some people were convinced they had seen her. Others believed she had n...

In December 1997, 24-year-old William Maddison French travelled north through Western Australia hoping for a fresh start. After a final call from Carnarvon, he vanished. What followed would become one of Western Australia's most unusual missing persons investigations. A case spanning multiple states, borrowed identities and decades of unanswered questions. Some stories feel stranger than ficti...

In 1994, Richard Milgin and Julie Buck left Looma together, hoping to build a future on their own terms. Months later, Julie's remains were found. Richard was never seen again. For more than three decades, rumours, allegations and unanswered questions have surrounded this Kimberley case. Was it a tragic accident? A deliberate act of violence? Or is the truth still known only to those who have...

In August 1987, 28-year-old Sally Greenham failed to arrive at a work meeting in Geraldton, Western Australia. At first, there appeared to be a simple explanation. But as days turned into weeks, and weeks into years, Sally vanished not only from public view, but from every part of her life. Nearly four decades later, she has never been found. In this episode of Vanished West, we explore Sally'...

On December 15, 2020, Ian Tolli went kayaking off Point Peron in Western Australia. He never returned. His kayak was found drifting offshore. His paddle was recovered the following day. Ian has not been seen since. Follow Vanished West for more stories from across Western Australia. Support the show via Buy Me a Coffee .

In January 2017, Hendrick Oosterbaan abandoned a hire car in the remote Western Australian town of Menzies and disappeared into the Goldfields. A respected communications consultant, father and trusted family friend, Hendrick appeared to be living an ordinary life. But as serious allegations emerged, a far darker picture began to unfold. In this episode of Vanished West, we examine trust, deceptio...

Parbhat came to Australia to study, work and build a better future. By August 2024, he was alone in Albany — living in his car, far from home, and carrying pressures few people around him fully understood. Last seen at The Gap, his story raises powerful questions about isolation, expectation, and the hidden struggles many international students face in Australia. If this episode has affected you,...

Sharon Fulton disappeared from Perth in March 1986 after dropping off her young son. She was a mother of four and before she vanished, she told people she feared for her life. What followed was decades of unanswered questions, shifting explanations, and a case that would eventually become one of Western Australia’s most significant no-body murder convictions. This episode of Vanished West explores...

In April 2019, a distress beacon activated off Cape Peron, south of Perth. A kayak was found drifting. A paddle washed ashore. But Stephen Angel was never seen again. What initially appeared to be an accident at sea would go on to raise far more complicated questions. 🎧 Vanished West explores what happened that morning and why this case is not as straightforward as it first seems. If you have any...

The disappearance of Frederick Winslow remains one of Western Australia’s enduring unsolved mysteries. In December 1974, Winslow vanished after his car was found crashed along Duncan Road near Golden Gate Cutting in the remote Kimberley region of WA . Despite search efforts, no trace of him was ever found. This episode of Vanished West explores the timeline, investigation, and unanswered questions...

In 1999, 22-year-old Petronella Albert disappeared after a night out in Broome, Western Australia. She was known in the community and rarely out of contact for long. Then, sometime between late April and early May… she was gone. In this episode of Vanished West, we explore Petronella’s final movements and the questions that still remain. If you have any information, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800...

In December 2024, 73-year-old prospector Barry Podmore travelled into remote bushland near Karroun Hill Nature Reserve in Western Australia’s Goldfields . He never returned. In this episode of Vanished West , we explore Barry’s final known movements and the mystery that unfolded in one of Western Australia’s most vast and unforgiving landscapes. If you have information about Barry Podmore’s disapp...

A 12-year-old girl. A 10-minute walk home. No witnesses. No answers. In this episode of Vanished West, we examine the disappearance of Lisa Mott — and how someone can vanish in minutes… without anyone realising what they’re seeing.

In this special milestone episode of Vanished West , we step away from a single case to examine something that sits beneath many true crime stories — the gap between what we feel happened, and what the law can actually prove. Why do people often blame police when a case goes cold? What does “beyond reasonable doubt” really mean in the Australian justice system? Why can serious crimes sometimes res...

In January 2022, 54-year-old Fremantle electrician Guido Michel drove into State Forest near Christmas Tree Well in Western Australia — and never returned. What began as a personal retreat into the WA bush soon became a missing person investigation that raised difficult questions about isolation, survival in remote environments, and the quiet struggles many people carry beneath the surface. Phone...

In May 1986, 33-year-old Cheryl Renwick vanished from Como, Western Australia. Days later, her car was found parked at Perth Airport — but there was no record of her boarding a flight. Nearly four decades on, Cheryl remains missing. Was she the victim of foul play? Could her disappearance be linked to the Birnie murders, domestic proximity, or other unsolved crimes in Perth’s history? And why was...

A diamond deal. Hundreds of thousands of dollars. A man who vanished without a trace. In April 2003, Wayne Dennis George Drewett disappeared in Perth, Western Australia. What remains is a coronial finding — and a silence that has never been resolved.

In June 2017, Jorn Jesper Jensen vanished from his Ocean Reef home. He left behind blood on the floor. A broken internal door. And days later, his car was found more than an hour away in Lancelin — parked neatly, keys still in the ignition. No body has ever been found. An inquest determined Jesper is deceased, but how he died remains officially unascertained. Within his own family, two very differ...

Beneath Fairfield Street is a resolved missing person case. For years, Pauline was missing without alarm — her absence explained away, her silence mistaken for choice. This episode examines how she vanished quietly from a Mount Hawthorn home, why it took so long for questions to surface, and how the truth was ultimately uncovered years later. This is a story about a missing person whose case was s...

In August 1974, twelve-year-old James Patrick Taylor disappeared from the Kimberley town of Derby after being sent on a simple errand. He never came home. This episode examines how a known predator was able to operate freely, how police failures shaped the response to a missing child, and why it is very likely Jimmy was taken by someone who should have been stopped. Follow Vanished West to stay wi...

In January 1968, Kate Campbell Haythornthwaite began a familiar walk home in Boulder, Western Australia — and never arrived. Independent and routine-driven, Kate did not leave by choice. Decades later, a coroner would conclude she died that night, and that her body was concealed.

For years, this case was viewed through a single lens. A man disappears. Assumptions are made. But when you examine the timeline closely — the distance travelled, the missing vehicle, and evidence that surfaced years later — the story no longer fits as neatly as it once did. In this episode of Vanished West, we revisit the disappearance of Peter James Guidera and ask whether the original explanati...

In May 1992, fourteen-year-old Radina Marie Djukich disappeared from North Beach in Perth’s northern suburbs. At first, her absence didn’t feel alarming. It felt temporary. This episode explores Radina’s life before she went missing, the assumptions that shaped the early response, and how vulnerability can be quietly misread. It reflects on a cycle that continues today, as children and teenagers a...