UNSOLVED Homicide Squad detectives returned to the Nambucca Valley this week in a bid to finally solve the mystery behind the murders of three children from Bowraville more than three decades ago.
Based at Phillip Hughes Pavilion in Macksville, police spent five days speaking with members of local communities.
Community outreach remains an important component of investigators’ ongoing search for information, according to Homicide Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Joe Doueihi.
“This outreach is about creating opportunities for community members to speak directly with investigators,” Det Supt Doueihi said.
“Whether you saw something, heard something, or were told something – now is the time to come forward.”
Colleen Walker-Craig was aged 16 when she was last seen in Bowraville between Thursday 13 September and Saturday, 15 September 1990. Her weighted-down clothes were later found in the Nambucca River, and although her body has never been found, the NSW Coroner found she had most likely been murdered.
Her four-year-old cousin, Evelyn Greenup, disappeared after being put to bed at her grandmother’s Bowraville home on Thursday, 4 October 1990. Her remains were found in bushland near Congarinni Road on Saturday, 27 April 1991.
Clinton Speedy-Duroux was also aged 16 when he disappeared after a party at Bowraville on Thursday, 31 January 1991. His remains were located in bushland near Congarinni Road on Monday, 18 February 1991.
The murders were initially investigated separately before being linked by detectives from State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad Unsolved Homicide Team, under Strike Force Ancud.
A man was charged on separate occasions over two of the murders but was later acquitted.
The murders have had a profound and lasting impact on the families and the Bowraville community, Det Supt Doueihi said.
“Time does not diminish the seriousness of these crimes, nor our determination to identify those responsible,” he said.
“For more than three decades, these families have lived without answers.
“They deserve clarity, and they deserve justice. We are asking the community to help us deliver that.”
A $1 million reward remains in place for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
Police hope it’s enough of an incentive to convince anyone reluctant to speak with police to reconsider.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au, but not via NSW Police’s social media pages.
Information is managed on a confidential basis.
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