Marion Barter | |
|---|---|
| Born | Marion Wilson 3 October 1945 |
| Disappeared | 22 June 1997 (aged 51) Southport, Queensland, Australia |
| Status | Missing for 27 years, 7 months and 11 days |
| Died | circa 15 October 1997 |
| Other names | Florabella Natalia Marion Remakel |
| Height | 168 cm (5 ft 6 in) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | Sally Leydon (née Brown) (b. 1973) Owen Brown (1974–2002) |
Marion Barter (born 3 October 1945)[1] was an Australian missing person, teacher and mother-of-two, who disappeared on Sunday 22 June 1997 from Southport, Queensland. She was dropped off at a bus stop in Southport, Queensland to go to the airport for a planned, long-term vacation in England. She has not been seen since.
For years, police maintained that Barter's disappearance was voluntary, although their attempts to locate her were unsuccessful. But in 2019, after extensive international media coverage and new legal proceedings lodged by her daughter, Sally Leydon, her case was taken over by the Unsolved Homicide Squad in Sydney and authorities are now handling it as an active homicide investigation.[2]
Barter's case is featured in the Australian crime podcast The Lady Vanishes, a Seven News production and one of "Apple's Best Listens of 2019". Her case also garnered significant speculation on internet message boards and forums, with theories ranging from identity theft to mental illness to witness protection and murder.[3]
On 29 February 2024 the NSW State Coroner announced that Barter is deceased, however there is insufficient evidence to declare a place, cause or manner of her death. It declared her date of death as sometime after 15 October 1997.[4]
- ^ "The Lady Vanishes: The timeline of Marion Barter's disappearance". 7news.com.au. 9 March 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- ^ "Marion BARTER (AKA Florabella Natalia Marion REMAKEL)". National Missing Persons Coordination Centre. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ Wells, Peter (2 July 2019). "Can 3 million podcast listeners solve a 22-year-old mystery?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ Rennie, Emma (28 February 2024). "Mother who changed name, travelled to UK with lover and disappeared in 1997 is dead, coroner says". ABC News. Retrieved 29 February 2024.