In absolutely bizarre news, reports have come out claiming that the two missing campers who vanished in Victoria could have actually been killed by deer hunters with bows and arrows?
The Herald Sun reported that locals reckon the couple could’ve been killed by hunters with crossbows and rifles due to a fluorescent green crossbow arrow found by a witness.
The police aren’t actually confirming or denying anything, although they have said the investigation is on-going.
In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m referring to a missing persons case last year that totally baffled police, where two elderly campers, Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, mysteriously vanished (??) from Wonnangatta Valley in Victoria.
What We Know
The two campers disappeared on March 20, 2020 during a camping trip in the super remote area of Wonnangatta, Victoria.
A witness from another camping trip stumbled upon their campsite, which was completely scorched. Like, totally destroyed by fire. Campers also found Russell Hill’s car at the campsite which had signs of fire damage too.
The police also found two shovels in bushland near Mount Hotham which were sent off to be forensically examined, though we haven’t heard about those since.
Missing Persons Squad Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper told A Current Affair that there was probably a “third party” involved.
The press also went wild for this case after details came out that the pair were having a secret affair, despite Russell being married. His wife didn’t know Carol was going with him, and there’s reports that the two missing campers were actually high school sweethearts.
The Theories
Okay, so the original theories suggest Russel and Carol were either murdered or they got lost, but because of the weird details around their disappearance people think it was the former. Given their age and how long it’s been, it’s been presumed that they are no longer alive.
Inspector Stamper said the most likely theory was that “something bad has happened to them and they’ve either been removed from the valley or they’ve been concealed somewhere”.
Which brings us to back to the reports by Herald Sun that locals reckon there’s a possibility hunters and shooters accidentally killed Russell and Carol.
It’s pretty common for hunters in the area to use thermal imaging with their rifles to shoot deer from long distances (like 800m), and so it’s possible the couple were mistaken for prey and shot.
This theory would make sense given the arrow found nearby, but what it doesn’t really account for is the scorched campsite – unless it’s suggesting that the hunters in question covered their tracks and burnt the campsite to eliminate evidence… which just seems fucking crazy to me.
For the sake of their families, I really hope it was something less gruesome, but I guess we may never know.
