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50-Year Cold Case: Barrels May Reveal Girl's Fate
21 Mar
Summary
- Metal barrels and maps may solve the 50-year mystery of two abducted girls.
- New evidence points to a deceased suspect, Stanley Hart, as the perpetrator.
- Police are now investigating forensic evidence from the discovered barrels.
A 50-year-old mystery surrounding the abduction and suspected murders of Joanne Ratcliffe, 11, and Kirste Gordon, 4, may finally be solved. New evidence, including two metal barrels and maps, has surfaced, potentially implicating deceased suspect Stanley Hart. The girls vanished from Adelaide Oval in South Australia on August 25, 1973.
Citizen journalist Bryan Littley claims the barrels, found in an abandoned irrigation tunnel near Pekina Reservoir, and maps drawn by Hart's grandson, Mark Trevor Marshall, contain details of the girls' fate. These maps, allegedly originating from a 2008 state inquiry, suggest Hart killed and dismembered the girls, concealing their bodies in the barrels.
While police initially showed little interest, they have now requested access to the barrels for forensic testing. Littley, who expressed distrust in their handling of the evidence, is pushing for the reopening of the coronial inquiry. He obtained a hat from Hart's shack that a witness identified as matching the kidnapper's description.
Independent tests on the barrels by Littley allegedly revealed blood traces without haemoglobin and the presence of acid, suggesting dismemberment. Police findings were previously inconclusive. Further testing on the barrels and a rainwater tank found at the site is scheduled for April, as South Australian Police state the investigation remains open.
