Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
WHEN the coroner found there was not enough evidence to charge anyone over the disappearance of Maureen Braddy and Allan Whyte, the families were devastated.
More than two years ago, after sitting through weeks of a coronial inquest in Bendigo, it looked like it was the end of the road for the investigation.
“All of our work was flushed down the toilet,” Maureen’s sister, Lyn Ireland, told the Bendigo Advertiser.
“It was like, what do you do? Where do you go now?”
On the surface, it appeared little was being done to find new leads in the cold case. As always, detectives were tight-lipped about whether new information had emerged.
Ms Ireland promised she would not stop there. And she was true to her word.
Monetary rewards for information had been released for other cold cases in Victoria, so why not the Braddy-Whyte case?
“We had to keep at them,” Ms Ireland said.
“We had to pretty much beg for the reward to be released. Just push, push, push.
“Since the inquest, they did their re-investigation and they must have thought: hang on, there’s more to this than we thought.
“It didn’t go cold. It just slowed down until we finally got the reward happening.”
Police last week released a $1 million reward for information that leads the conviction of a person responsible for the disappearance of Maureen and Allan on November 23, 1968.
They were last seen leaving a dance at the YMCA hall on Mundy Street.
Police would not confirm the direction of their investigation while addressing the media on Monday, or if there were any plans to explore an old well on a property on Vinton Street, California Gully – where Ms Ireland is convinced her big sister’s remains were dumped.
She sent a camera down the 30-metre deep well, and found it still in a stable condition. The walls remained squared.
Members of the family took hope from the continued search for Terry Floyd in a disused mine shaft in Bung Bong, near Avoca. The state government recently provided Terry’s brother Daryl Floyd with $50,000 to help with the excavation of the mine.
Mr Floyd promised to support the Braddy and Whyte investigation if called upon. His mine search was considerably more complex, and he had provided countless hours of work to get the project off the ground.
“If they put money towards doing a mine search, I’d go to Daryl. He’s got boys on board with him, and he said, anytime, the boys are ready,” Ms Ireland.
More evidence is needed before police will consider the option of searching the California Gully well, evidence that could come forward as a result of the $1 million reward.
The inquest heard from a range of witnesses, including the man police described as their only suspect – Stan Braddy, the father of Maureen. He claimed Maureen and Allan could have been taken as part of a protective custody arrangement.
Mr Braddy’s testimony included a moment when he winked at the questioning barristers when they suggested he was the prime suspect. He said: “prove it”.
While only a young child at the time of the disappearance, Ms Ireland could not believe that her big sister would run away without a word.
“Maureen wouldn’t run away, it wasn’t in her to do something like that,” she said.
“She was a family sort of girl. She was outgoing, she spoke her mind, that’s what got her in trouble.”
Maureen was visiting her grandmother before her disappearance. When she returned home, she was visibly upset.
She went to the dance with Allan, where they were last seen. Some believe they caught a tram back to California Gully afterwards.
There remained questions surrounding whether they arrived back home.
There were enough questions for deputy state coroner Iain West to not recommend anyone be charged. Mr Braddy was described as a “most unreliable witness”, Ms Ireland’s evidence was not “sufficiently reliable”, and much of the case was based on “suspicion and speculation”.
While bitterly disappointed with the outcome of the inquest, it did succeed in one respect – bringing members of the extended Braddy family back together.
The family had grown apart after the disappearance. Ms Ireland, the youngest of 10, said they would go years without taking to one another.
She was just eight when Maureen, 16 at the time, went missing.
But after going through the hope and ultimate despair of the inquest together as a family, she believed they were able to become closer.
“When I was growing up, the only people I had were my friends,” Ms Ireland said.
“Being close back with my brothers and sisters, that’s all I’ve ever wanted. Having their support gives you the strength to think: I can do this, I know I can do this.
“Having that support of your family, that you haven’t had for so many years, makes a big difference. That’s all you need.
“You can go through life without a lot of things, but having that support that’s been taken from you, it just means a lot.”
_______________
Anyone with information about the disappearance of Maureen Braddy and Allan Whyte can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Detective Inspection Stephen Dennis said any information, no matter how “trivial”, could help police solve the 48-year-old cold case.