Disappearance of Trudie Adams

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Trudie Adams
Born
Trudie Jeanette Adams

(1959-09-19)19 September 1959
Disappeared25 June 1978 (aged 18)
Newport, New South Wales, Australia
StatusMissing for 45 years, 10 months and 2 days[1][2]
NationalityAustralian

Trudie Jeanette Adams disappeared in the early hours of 25 June 1978 after attending a dance at the Newport Surf Life Saving Club, New South Wales, Australia. She left the event early before hitchhiking home, at which point she entered a vehicle on Barrenjoey Road and has not been seen since. Her disappearance sparked New South Wales' biggest missing person search at the time,[3] attracted extensive and ongoing national media attention, and eventually a $250,000 reward.[4][5]

Disappearance and investigation[edit]

Trudie Adams' parents and ex-boyfriend, Steven Norris, reported her missing on 25 June 1978 after she failed to arrive home from the dance.[6] Although police initially believed that the car she entered was a green Kombi van, Norris, as the main eyewitness, stated that he saw her enter a light-coloured 1977 Holden panel van.[7][8] Police who investigated the case originally cast suspicion on Norris. Eventually he was cleared, and suspicion widened to those involved in the drug scene.[9]

In the days after the attacks, a number of female rape victims, who had been assaulted by two disguised men, began to report a series of then-unknown crimes to police. Investigators then suspected that Adams' disappearance was linked to the 14 now-known violent rapes that had occurred in the Northern Beaches between 1971 and 1978,[10][11] and may also be related to an attempted attack on a hitchhiker earlier on the evening of Adams' disappearance.[12] On 16 August 1978, a reward of $20,000 was offered by the New South Wales government,[3] and over the years her suspected murder has been investigated by police four times.[3][11]

Developments[edit]

  • In 1992, the case was reopened based on a refocused interest in the possible involvement of the green Kombi van.[13]
  • In 2008, the reward was raised to $250,000 for information which would lead to the conviction of her murderer(s).[14]
  • In 2009, the case's prime suspect, a convicted drug dealer and sex offender known as Neville Brian Tween, who was identified by some of the rape victims, was finally interviewed by police regarding Adams' disappearance.[11] Tween, who had also been a police informant,[15] denied any involvement in the disappearance or the rape cases (despite circumstantial evidence) and died in 2013.[16]
  • In 2011, an inquest was held in order to further investigate the disappearance of Adams, which resulted in the Coroner declaring that Adams died of "homicide or misadventure."[17]
  • In 2018, interest in the case was reignited by the airing of the second series of the Australian crime podcast Unravel[18] and TV documentary Barrenjoey Road.[19][20] A number of non-reported crimes and previously unknown victims have also come forward due to the airing of the podcast.[21]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "TRUDIE JEANETTE ADAMS—MISSING: REWARD OF TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($20,000)". Government Gazette Of The State Of New South Wales. No. 109. New South Wales, Australia. 8 September 1978. p. 3806. Retrieved 29 May 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ Twist to 30-year mystery of missing Trudie Adams, By Malcolm Brown and Nick Ralston, January 29, 2011, Sydney Morning Herald
  3. ^ a b c Jones, Ruby (30 October 2018). "Trudie Adams acted in this long-lost 1970s surf film — then vanished a year later". ABC News. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  4. ^ Disappearance of Trudie Adams, NSW Police Online, ...Reward of $250,000 to solve disappearance of Trudie Adams...
  5. ^ Summers, Anne (29 July 1978), "The Trudie Adams case", National Times (29 July 1978): 17, retrieved 29 May 2018
  6. ^ "Disappearance of Trudie Adams - NSW Police Online". NSW Police. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  7. ^ "Cop suspicious about men in disappearance". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  8. ^ Minus, Jodie (5 February 2011). "After 30 years, the truth about what happened to Trudie Adams is hard to prove". The Australian. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  9. ^ Who killed Trudie Adams?, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 10 October 2018, retrieved 26 December 2018
  10. ^ "$250k reward to solve 30yr mystery". Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 29 July 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  11. ^ a b c "Trudie Adams missing: 'Unholy' clues of infamous Sydney cold case". www.news.com.au. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  12. ^ Davies, Lisa (31 January 2011). "Hitchhiker attacked just hours before Trudie Adams disappeared, inquest hears". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  13. ^ Brown, Malcolm (21 March 2011). "Green van link emerges in case of missing teen". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  14. ^ Morcombe, John (3 April 2011). "Trudie Adams: the mystery that has haunted us for 33 years - Crime - News - The Manly Daily". Manly Daily. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  15. ^ Jones, Ruby; Mercer, Neil (14 November 2018). "Corrupt cop provides more details of relationship with Trudie Adams' murder suspect". ABC News. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  16. ^ Jones, Neil Mercer and Ruby (5 November 2018). "Mark Standen had close ties with Trudie Adams murder suspect, jail letters show". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  17. ^ Dale, Amy (30 March 2011). "Father speaks of pain of losing teenager Trudie Adams". news.com.au. News Limited. Archived from the original on 6 April 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  18. ^ "Unravel Season 2 | Barrenjoey Road". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  19. ^ Jones, Ruby; Mercer, Neil. "Barrenjoey Road". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  20. ^ Dennehy, Luke (25 October 2018). "Documentary series Barrenjoey Road uncovers shocking new details about Trudie Adams' disappearance". Archived from the original on 25 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  21. ^ Jones, Ruby (29 October 2018). "Trudie Adams vanished here in 1978 — and police think 14 assaults nearby may be linked to her case". ABC News. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
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