Last seen on Barrenjoey Road: Trudie Adams

Imagine the shock of receiving an anonymous phone call declaring your daughter is dead, and chalking it up to an accident. That's the chilling mystery that revolves around the disappearance of Trudie Adams, a young business college student who mysteriously vanished in 1978 after an innocuous night out at the Newport Surf Life-Saving Club.

I'm Carla Morgan, your host, and together, we will delve deep into the unfathomable theories surrounding her case. From her alleged involvement in an international drug smuggling ring to potential police corruption we will pick apart every detail of this haunting narrative.

Throughout this journey, we will question the unsettling injustice for Trudie and the countless other victims of heinous abductions and rapes in the same area around the same time. Join me as we seek the truth behind these unsolved mysteries, in hope of gaining closure for the victims and their families.

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Chapters

• 0:00 The Missing Person
• 16:46 Unanswered Questions Surrounding Trudie's Disappearance
• 22:12 Seeking Support for Unsolved Assault Cases

Transcript

Carla Morgan: 0:00

It was a dark Saturday night in 1978 when Trudie left her friends at the Newport Surf Life-Saving Club and hitched a ride home to Avalon. Everyone hitched back then in the Northern Beaches. It wasn't anything unusual except that on this night in June, trudy never made at home. What followed was four police investigations and one coronal inquest, all of which pointed to one very good suspect in Trudie's disappearance and suspected murder. But to this day Trudie's family are still waiting for answers. What happened to Trudie? Where is she now? Who is responsible and how can we find her? This episode contains content related to abduction and sexual assault and is not suitable for children. Today, I'm delving into the missing persons case of Trudie Adams. Last seen getting into a fawn- coloured panel van on Barrenjoey Road, North of Sydney, New South Wales, almost 40 years ago. I'm Carla Morgan and this is BOLO, a podcast covering cold and active missing persons cases with the aim of helping families bring their loved ones home. Trudie Adams was an 18 year old business college student when she went missing. She had blonde hair, green eyes and was 162 centimetres tall. In 1977, the year before Trudy went missing, she featured in an Australian documentary film called Highway One. It shows her and her friends in several scenes at Avalon Beach, which is in the northern beaches area of Sydney, and filmmaker Steve Otton has said about Trudy that "she was always happy and smiling, that nothing was ever a problem.

Carla Morgan: 2:03

The northern beaches is known by locals as the insular peninsula. It's like a small town in a big city where everyone knows everyone. It's also where Australia's hit sitcom Home and Away is filmed, in the idyllic sands of Summer Bay. It's crunchy and elite now, but in the late 70s and early 80s the northern beaches had a dark, seedy side that held many secrets. The northern beaches was a hotspot for the drug trade at this time, and because Trudy had a trip planned to Bali just before she went missing, people speculated that the reason she went missing was because she was somehow involved in an international drug smuggling ring between Australia and Bali. In fact, trudy's mother believed that this is what happened to her, that she knew too much and had got involved with the wrong people. However, there's no evidence that links her to the drug trade, so this theory has been dismissed by police.

Carla Morgan: 3:07

If you've ever listened to the podcast The Teacher's Pet by renowned journalist Hedley Thomas, you'll be aware of the allegations of grooming and child sexual assault by several teachers of high school students in the northern beaches area in the late 70s and 80s. The behaviour of these teachers towards students went largely unreported until Hedley uncovered students who were now middle- aged and ready to talk. There's one case in front of the courts at the time that this podcast is being recorded, and if you head over to the Teacher's Accuser Podcast, you'll be able to follow the case in real time. The accused in this instance is the same person found guilty of murdering his wife, Lynette Dawson, in order to marry this particular student. But back to the late 70s and the night of the 25th of June, trudy was out with friends at a dance at the Newport Beach Hotel. She was wearing a green floral blouse and black jumper that night. Also at the hotel was her ex-boyfriend Steve Norris. He was a very recent ex as they'd only broken up a few days earlier.

Carla Morgan: 4:22

Trudy wasn't feeling great as she'd just had a vaccination that day for her upcoming trip to Bali. So around midnight she decided to call it quits and head home. Steve Norris was watching from the window of the club when he saw Trudy leave the club, walk across the car park and wait at a well-known hitchhiking spot on the corner of Neptune and Barrenjoey Road. He saw a fawn-coloured panel van pull up and when it pulled away Trudy was gone. He was worried about her hitchhiking, so he then left the hotel. Then he hitched a ride with a local the six minutes from Newport to Avalon where Trudy lived with her parents, and that ride has been confirmed by the local that took Steve.

Carla Morgan: 5:10

That night, when Steve Norris arrived at Trudy's house, he didn't find Trudy. He only found her mum, Connie, who was still up waiting for her. Connie was immediately worried when she learned that Trudy had hitched a ride home and hadn't got there yet. If wasn't planning on coming home, she would have called her. And she had told Steve and her friends that she was going home. So where was she? Steve borrowed a bike from Trudy's place and spent the early hours of the morning looking for her down at the beach and around the area. But when he couldn't find her after a few hours he went back home to his parents house where he stayed for the rest of the night. Later that next day, trudy's mum, Connie, reported her missing to police.

Carla Morgan: 6:03

Steve, Trudy's ex was a good first suspect and police honed in on him pretty quickly. He was someone who was in Trudy's inner circle of friends. He was a very recent ex. He was the last person to see her. Some reports not all say that they argued that night at the hotel before she left. Steve was questioned repeatedly by police and he was very open and very helpful to the investigation. He also helped in the search for Trudy and he was eventually ruled out by police.

Carla Morgan: 6:40

Four days after Trudy went missing, an anonymous male called the local police station and said quote the girl is dead. It was an accident. She's half way up Monavale Road, then hung up. Trudy's mother also received a very similar call that day. So these calls naturally sparked huge searches for Trudy in that area and into the neighbouring Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park. This national park is a massive area, so it's around 15,000 hectares, or 150 square kilometres of really dense bushland. There are pockets of creeks, waterways, rocks and lots of sandstone ledges. It's a really difficult area to search, but searched they did for six weeks solid in that bushland until they eventually called it off.

Carla Morgan: 7:52

Six months into the investigation police looked into the Roselands lads. This was a gang who were not from the northern beaches, who were not operating in that area at all, but one of the guys in this gang had a girlfriend who lived in the area a pretty tenuous link. It was rumoured that they had confessed or were bragging about Trudy's abduction and murder, and people were convinced enough to report this to police. They were investigated at that time. Then they were investigated again in 1995, which is 17 years later, and again in 2008. They then appeared in the 2011 inquest. There was nothing to substantiate the reports or the rumours, and the members who were at the inquest vehemently denied any involvement. Trudy's case was huge at the time and huge for the area.

Carla Morgan: 8:48

There was a lot of media coverage and what did happen as a result of Trudy's disappearance is that police started receiving a ton of calls from young women who were locals, all coming forward to report their own experience of abduction and rape. These attacks all occurred around the same area as Trudy was in on the night she went missing. They often occurred while they were attempting to hitchhike and they all took place between 1971 and 1978, all against young girls and women aged between 14 and 20 and curiously or not so curiously, as we find out later on these abductions and rapes stopped after Trudy went missing. The attacks were eerily similar. The young women were forced at gunpoint into a vehicle by two men. Both were wearing disguises like wigs and glasses. The victims were taken to a remote area of bushland where they were brutally attacked and raped. Sometimes, polaroid photos were taken of the victims and the perpetrators would look through the victims' belongings, find their addresses and drop them off close to where they lived. Afterwards, the women and girls were threatened with death or harmed their families if they told anyone or reported it to police. In all, 14 girls and young women came forward to report the attacks.

Carla Morgan: 10:22

Knowing that most victims of sexual assault do not report their crimes, we can safely assume that there were many, many more attacks than the 14 who were brave enough to come forward. At the time, women were victim blamed, not believed, told there was no evidence, and all of these things still happen today, which is why rape victims often choose to stay silent. In this case, these young women did come forward. 14 of them came forward and, spoiler alert none of them have seen justice, none of them have had anyone held to account, not one. I find this astounding that 14 rapes can occur in one area with one very good suspect that we're coming to, and that suspect is never spoken to by police, let alone investigated. Just another reason why rape victims stay silent because the trauma of reliving the assault is enough. And you do it. For what? Nothing, nothing happens.

Carla Morgan: 11:32

Remarkably, one of these women was able to take police to the area where she was taken. Police searched the area and they found a mattress, a blanket and some clothing. This area was in the Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park close to Monavale Road, and police were hopeful they would find something there to tie back to Trudy, but nothing of Trudy's was ever discovered there. There was no physical evidence found tying the rapes to Trudy. This doesn't mean police ruled out these rapists as possible suspects in Trudy's disappearance. She was the same age as these women. She was in the same area as these women. She was even seen getting into a vehicle of similar description that one of the perpetrators owned at the time.

Carla Morgan: 12:45

This perpetrator was identified by several of the rape victims as Neville Tween. Tween was a known criminal who owned a light colored panel van and lived in the area near where the rapes took place. Tween had been in and out of prison his entire life. He was a career criminal who spent time in the Northern Beaches in the 70s, when he wasn't in prison, he was arrested and charged over an abduction and sexual assault of a 19 year old man, which occurred in 1973, so three years before Trudy's disappearance. What had happened was Twain didn't like the pot he'd been sold, so he took this young man who sold him the pot out to the bush, made him dig his own grave, made him put on female underwear, then sexually assaulted him and took Polaroid photos. The young man reported it to police and when police searched Tween's home, they found the photos of the assault and he was arrested and charged. Tween had an accomplice for this assault, a man by the name of Gary Batt, and they both spent six months in jail for this attack. Gary Batt and Tween later had a falling out, and when Tween threatened Gary to disappear, he did, fleeing off to a different state to get away from Tween.

Carla Morgan: 14:09

At the 2011 inquest, batt said that Tween was a violent and evil man, so Tween has been identified by some of the rape victims as the perpetrator. He lived in the area. He owns the same type of car that Trudy was seen getting into. He has a history and served time for abduction and violent sexual assault. Why the heck wasn't he questioned by police at that time. Apparently, when police went to question him, his solicitor who in some reports is said to have underworld connections intervened and said that Tween was not to be questioned. The solicitor denies this ever happened, but if it did, it could easily have been perceived as a threat and for the cops to stand down or not look any further at Tween. And it worked. Because they didn't. I have many questions. Where did the mattress go, the clothing that was found? Was it kept as evidence? It would have been too early for DNA, but if they kept samples it could have been tested in the 80s or even 90s for DNA evidence. If Tween was the perpetrator and they had his DNA, he could at least be tried for these rapes and sexual assaults. So nothing happens with Trudy's case and it goes cold.

Carla Morgan: 15:35

Tween left the northern beaches after Trudy's disappearance which, if you'll remember from earlier, is when the rapes also stopped. So let's fast forward to the early 90s when we learn that Tween was working for the police as a paid informant. He was working for a man called Mark Standen, a federal police officer. Standen would work his way up the ranks to eventually hold the position of Australia's Crime Commission Investigator. Standen's job as Crime Commission Investigator was to investigate organized crime, while it's clear he did more than investigate, because this guy is currently serving a 22-year sentence for conspiring to import 300 kilograms of pseudoeffedrine in to Australia. So here's a little timeline. Mark Standen and Tween work as police officer and informant in the early 90s.

Carla Morgan: 16:46

In 2006, Tween was arrested on drug charges and went to prison. Standen distanced himself from Tween at this time. In 2008, Standen was arrested on drug importation charges and went to prison. In 2009, Tween was questioned for the very first time regarding the rapes on the Northern Beaches and Trudie's disappearance. Trudy disappeared in 1978. So someone was brave enough at that time to question Tween while he was in prison, while the Crime Commissioner of Australia was also in prison. But nothing came of it and we're really not sure why, but I have a theory. So clearly, Standen was working with Tween on drug-related informing, but there are allegations that it was more than that, allegations that they were actually close family friends with a family connection that went way back. Standen denies this. He says their friendship was just friendship and he distanced himself from Tween once he was arrested in 2006. In fact, he states that he was the one responsible for bringing Tween down. Standen also maintains that he is innocent, so Tween goes to prison in 2006.

Carla Morgan: 18:19

Standen follows in 2008, both for drug importation charges. Perhaps their friendship moved into a work relationship. Then they became partners in the drug trade. That would certainly explain Tween being protected by someone like Standen or even someone higher up than him. I can't think of a better reason for why he was never questioned for the rapes or in relation to Trudy's disappearance and that he was only ever questioned once after Standen was himself in prison. Even if Standen was protecting Tween back then, which I suspect would be because Tween was giving him some high-profile criminals, why, then, wasn't Tween investigated after both he and Standen were in prison? He was questioned, but that was it. Perhaps because, like I mentioned earlier, there was someone much higher up than Standon who was protecting them both.

Carla Morgan: 19:15

The coronial inquest took place in 2011. Trudy's family and friends really had their hopes set on obtaining an outcome of sorts. During the inquest, Tween was combative, arrogant and argumentative. When questioned about the rapes and Trudy's disappearance, he denied everything and he fired back with his own questions, asking well, why was I never interviewed then? Why was I never charged? If there was evidence that it was me, then you tell me why I was never interviewed.

Carla Morgan: 19:49

The determination from the coroner was that Trudy met with foul play. That was it. There was no physical evidence against Tween, but plenty of circumstantial evidence. People have been convicted in this country without a body, without any physical evidence, but it's a moot point because Tween died in prison in 2013. So, with Tween dead and Standen denying any knowledge, there's not much further we can get.

Carla Morgan: 20:18

However, what about Tween's accomplice? The young women who were attacked said there were two men. We know that Tween was identified by some of the women, and so was his associate, Raymond Johnson. It turns out that they were both arrested in Sydney four months after Trudy went missing. Sydney is less than one hour south of the Northern Beaches. They were arrested with guns, wigs and false beards in their possession.

Carla Morgan: 20:47

However, this information wasn't given to the detectives who were covering the rapes and Trudy's disappearance. Had that information been passed on, it might have been enough at the time to bring the untouchable Tween to justice. There's barely a skerrick of information that I could find on Ray Johnson, except that he died in prison before the 2011 inquest. There are so many rabbit holes to go down with this case International drug running, organised crime, potential police corruption. But it's pretty clear there's a truckload of circumstantial evidence against one man And now that man is dead we could be looking into those who are closest to him at the time. If you would like a deep dive into the case, there's a great ABC documentary called Barrenj oey Road on iView which I'd encourage you to check out, and I'll put a link in the show notes for you.

Carla Morgan: 21:43

Connie, Trudy's mum has passed, but Charles Trudy's dad and Trudy's brother still want and deserve answers. Trudy's family want to bring her home. Trudy would be 63 years old now. Where is the justice for her? Where is the justice for the 14 victims of those abductions and brutal rapes? This excerpt is from the New South Wales Police website.

Carla Morgan: 22:13

Homicide Squad detectives working Trudy's case suspect there are still more victims of the sexual assaults on the Northern Beaches at the time. They would like the women to know that support is available for them and they are encouraged to contact Strike Force Keldy detectives. Their information, despite the passage of time, might be crucial to helping us charge those responsible in this case. The NSW government has put up a $250,000 reward for anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for truly suspected death. If you or anyone you know know anything at all, please contact Police Link on 131-444 or call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333-000. Thanks for listening to Bolo. If this episode has brought up feelings for you and you need support, please reach out to Lifeline on 1311-14 or RESPECT on 1800. Respect. You can connect with me on Insta @bolo. pod, or email me bolo. pod@ icloud. com. Or if you have a case you'd like me to cover, I have a form you can fill in on my Insta profile.