
In a Town of 11 People, Mysterious Disappearance Turns Neighbor Against Neighbor - danso
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/11/world/australia/larrimah-mystery.html
======
js2
Reminds me a bit of the Bobby Dunbar story:

> In 1912 a four-year-old boy named Bobby Dunbar went missing in a swamp in
> Louisiana. Eight months later, he was found in the hands of a wandering
> handyman in Mississippi. In 2004, Bobby Dunbar's granddaughter discovered a
> secret beneath the legend of her grandfather's kidnapping, a secret whose
> revelation would divide her own family, bring redemption to another, and
> become the answer to a third family's century-old prayer.

[https://www.thisamericanlife.org/352/the-ghost-of-bobby-
dunb...](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/352/the-ghost-of-bobby-dunbar)

> In March 2008, Public Radio International's This American Life featured The
> Ghost of Bobby Dunbar, a radio documentary about the investigation of the
> case by Margaret Dunbar Cutright. She expressed her own opinion that the
> real Bobby Dunbar most likely fell into Swayze Lake during the fishing trip
> and was eaten by an alligator.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Bobby_Dunbar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Bobby_Dunbar)

~~~
Chris2048
> While one (almost certainly fictional) account indicated that the boy
> immediately shouted "Mother" upon seeing her and the two then embraced

Fake news..

~~~
Chris2048
seems like a lot of people down-vote certain keywords without first figuring
out context..

~~~
eric_h
I personally think that particular term has been subverted to the point of
being absolutely devoid of any meaning or humor and should really just not be
used anymore.

[Edit: I was not a down voter, but perhaps the down voters shared my
perspective]

~~~
Chris2048
Isn't it humorous to see actual fake/false news, in a historical context,
labelled with the modern nomenclature?

~~~
dasil003
Slightly humorous, probably passes the bar on reddit but not here.

~~~
Chris2048
That would explain a lack of upvotes, not an excess of downvotes

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moltar
I’m more amazed that a town of 11 people has a bar and a hotel.

But also that so much drama exists in such small community.

~~~
ggm
An Australian outback community needs three things to sustain and survive: a
doctor (GP) a bank and a pub. Well.. in the final analysis, a pub will do.

BTW, colloquially a "hotel" is a pub. Its not impossible town has two watering
holes... not one. This is not that dissimilar to a situation I've seen in
small Italian rural communities: one drinking hole which the left wing sit at,
and one the right wing sit at. (or greece, or half a dozen other rural
economies)

~~~
flukus
> An Australian outback community needs three things to sustain and survive: a
> doctor (GP) a bank and a pub. Well.. in the final analysis, a pub will do.

Last time I drove through it was more like a pub, a service/gas station and a
crystal/woo shop.

~~~
pandapower2
>Last time I drove through it was more like a pub, a service/gas station and a
crystal/woo shop.

I'm not sure why that combination is present in so many Australian towns.

~~~
bigiain
The crystal/woo shop keeps the publican's wife out of his hair...

~~~
psergeant
This is also why quite a few pubs do Thai food.

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duxup
>A three-day search by foot, on four-wheel-drives and from the air ruled out
death by misadventure. To date, the police have found no trace of Mr. Moriarty
or his dog.

I'm kinda surprised that this ruled out something. Particularly in a rural
area. I grew up in rural areas and there are often stories of massive
searches, and the body didn't turn up until it was stumbled upon surprisingly
close to civilization.

~~~
rossdavidh
I suppose it depends on the terrain, but I'd agree. Another possibility is
that something in the behavior of the townsfolk during questioning does not
suggest, to the police, actual ignorance of what happened. Which wouldn't mean
the police are necessarily correct, of course.

~~~
duxup
Yeah looking at what photos there are the terrain there is pretty open and
you'd think you'd find someone, but "rules out" just sorta doesn't sit well
with me there.

~~~
dmurray
It's "impenetrable head high thick scrub" according to the article, which
makes it sound like the kind of place a body could be hidden trivially. But
that might just be nonsense - I don't believe the Australian desert can
support impenetrable anything.

~~~
emmelaich
That stood out for me too.

There is no such thing as impenetrable in an area that dry. Confirmed by the
pictures.

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carapace
I once knew a fellow who had grown up on a small island in Alaska. He told me
there was one man in particular who lived there who was a real piece of work,
just a miserable SOB. One day someone shot him and killed him in his home. The
guy gave me to understand that everybody on the island knew it was his son but
didn't feel that a prosecution would serve any useful purpose. The boy had
enough problems.

Can you imagine? The whole fucking island swallowed a fratricide. Who's fit to
judge such things?

~~~
scarejunba
Reminds me of that famous story:

...the Eskimos have a word, kunlangeta, which means "his mind knows what to do
but he does not do it." This is an abstract term for the breaking of many
rules when awareness of the rules is not in question. It might be applied to a
man who, for example, repeatedly lies and cheats and steals things and does
not go hunting and, when the other men are out of the village, takes sexual
advantage of many women-someone who does not pay attention to reprimands and
who is always being brought to the elders for punishment. One Eskimo among the
499 was called kunlangeta. When asked what would have happened to such a
person traditionally, an Eskimo said that probably "somebody would have pushed
him off the ice when nobody else was looking." ... It is of considerable
interest that kunlan- geta and arankan are not behaviors that the shamans and
healers are believed to be able to cure or change.

~~~
dsfyu404ed
I'm pretty sure the concept of a hunting "accident" is pretty universal across
cultures.

------
ggm
This obviously made news here in Australia as well, and it has qualities which
I think anyone who has read 'hillbilly elegy' can relate to: in small
communities, sometimes there is a cone of silence which is really strong, and
quite at odds with what we think of as "the law"

Obviously, people know things. But, as a small community, there is a 'hang
together, or hang separately' quality here. They are very isolated, and they
have strong mutual dependencies even if they don't want to acknowledge it.

So.. sometimes the "best" outcome they work out for themselves is just not to
talk to outsiders.

~~~
koboll
>in small communities, sometimes there is a cone of silence which is really
strong, and quite at odds with what we think of as "the law"

Really? I got the opposite impression from the article. Everyone is happy to
talk about who they think did it, and everyone has their own theory.

~~~
coldtea
_I got the opposite impression from the article. Everyone is happy to talk
about who they think did it, and everyone has their own theory._

After something got public. Small communities have things non-public for
decades or forever as well.

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mythz
Seems the only time my home state makes international news is because of some
weird death or disappearance:

    
    
      - Murder of Peter Falconio [1]
      - Rod Ansell, inspiration for Crocodile Dundee dies in a police shoot out [2]
      - Croc river murders of Darwin sex workers [3]
      - Death of Azaria Chamberlain (Dingo ate my baby) [4]
      - German backpacker who escaped the Bali bomb blast killed by a crocodile in Kakadu [5]
    

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Peter_Falconio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Peter_Falconio)

[2] [https://www.tvovermind.com/entertainment-news/tragic-
story-r...](https://www.tvovermind.com/entertainment-news/tragic-story-rod-
ansell-real-crocodile-dundee)

[3] [https://www.theage.com.au/national/teens-sentenced-to-
life-f...](https://www.theage.com.au/national/teens-sentenced-to-life-for-
croc-river-murders-20050321-gdztii.html)

[4]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Azaria_Chamberlain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Azaria_Chamberlain)

[5] [https://www.smh.com.au/national/crocodile-victim-survived-
ba...](https://www.smh.com.au/national/crocodile-victim-survived-bali-
blast-20021026-gdfrhr.html)

~~~
cyberferret
Seems that way doesn't it? Just last week I was talking to an old friend of
mine who used to work in the TRG (Tactical Response Group) in the NT Police.
We were talking about the case of the German tourist sniper who was murdering
people randomly around the NT and northern WA area some decades ago [0]. My
friend was part of the special forces group sent out to hunt this guy down.

[0] -
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Schwab](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Schwab)

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jurassic
This phenomenon of trust shattered in a tightly knit community reminds me of
Truman Capote's description of Holcomb, Kansas, in his book "In Cold Blood".

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paradite
Slightly off topic but this reminds me of the movie Identity. Maybe this can
be a great material for a documentary style movie (after the case is
resolved).

~~~
Joakal
Adding to this offtopic chain, there's a game based on a group of people in
town and one or more evil doers.

[http://www.blankmediagames.com](http://www.blankmediagames.com)

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danso
Google Maps of Larrimah, fwiw:
[https://goo.gl/maps/h4xiyGcRAeA2](https://goo.gl/maps/h4xiyGcRAeA2) (the
Street View car apparently decided to skip going into town)

~~~
lucb1e
Looks like local openstreetmappers also decided to skip it:
[https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/-15.57428/133.21534](https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/-15.57428/133.21534)

~~~
King-Aaron
That's because Katherine is just around the corner, and has a better pub

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yazan94
Does this strike anyone else as a real-life version of Clue playing out?

> Mr. Laurie killed Mr. Moriarty with (gardening tools?) at the Tea House

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ftcHn
Lost in Larrimah Podcast [https://www.theaustralian.com.au/podcasts/lost-in-
larrimah/n...](https://www.theaustralian.com.au/podcasts/lost-in-
larrimah/news-story/b1903af0830eaca37ed6173a5e6763da)

------
hex20
This reminds me of the Alan Addis case, where a Royal Marine went missing in
the Falklands.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Royal_Marine_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Royal_Marine_Alan_Addis)

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TheKnack
Here's a link without a paywall:

[https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/in-australia-
town-...](https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/in-australia-town-
of-11-people-mysterious-disappearance-turns-neighbor-against-neighbor/)

------
WilliamEdward
This was a Twilight Zone episode.

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duxup
A public inquiry where people actually point fingers seems pretty wild /
dramatic.

------
close04
Slightly off topic: Does an 11 people settlement fit the definition of a
"town"?

~~~
qbrass
Not in Australia. But in the state of New York, (relevant since it's a New
York Times article) it could be.

~~~
mratzloff
The smallest town in New York is over 200 people.

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booleandilemma
What if they’re all in on it?

~~~
reaperducer
Then they'll have to get Hercule Poirot to investigate.

(For those of you who don't read classic mysteries:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_on_the_Orient_Express](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_on_the_Orient_Express))

~~~
rhblake
Makes me think of this case from the early 80s:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_McElroy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_McElroy)

("Over the course of his life, McElroy was accused of dozens of felonies,
including assault, child molestation, statutory rape, arson, hog and cattle
rustling, and burglary." ... "McElroy was shot to death in broad daylight as
he sat with his wife Trena in his pickup truck on Skidmore's main street. He
was struck by bullets from at least two different firearms, in front of a
crowd of people estimated as between 30 and 46. To date, no one has been
charged in connection with McElroy's death.")

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jbverschoor
Real life werewolfs

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xrd
Was he fed to a crocodile? Is he in a meat pie? Will the reviews for the meat
pies improve if a man with failing livers is added to the mix? So many
mysteries. I love this article.

~~~
HumanDrivenDev
You love this article about the possible murder of a 70 year old alcoholic
labourer who lived by himself with no family in the whole country?

I think it's sad.

~~~
garmaine
You can comment on the qualities of the writing without passing judgement on
the content.

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vfc1
these statements are suspicious:

“Imagine me carrying a dog and a body, I mean come on,” Ms. Hodgetts said.

An inocent person typically just says “i didnt do it”, but this attempt at
providing justification is suspicious.

She could have an accomplice that helped her carry the body and know a lot
about it.

“I’ve had me septic done, me incinerators searched, me house done four times”

Incineration would be a way to make the bodies dissapear in the middle of the
countryside, but its the woods they could be buried anywhere.

Again she is providing way too much detail and justifications, its like she
knows something.

“Nobody found anything” - suggesting that there was something to be found.

~~~
vortico
Those statements are picked for journalism effect. Alone they sound
suspicious. If surrounded by 20 minutes of conversation on the subject, they
wouldn't seem out of place at all.

~~~
vfc1
Innocent people typically dont talk like this.

It does not mean that she did it, but it could indicate deception, like she
knows more of what she is letting on.

I couldn’t find other similar suspicious declarations from others, that is why
i thought it was worth pointing out.

The fact that the journalist chose to include these statements might indicate
that the journalist thinks the same, that there is something wrong with this
lady story.

~~~
dsfyu404ed
>Innocent people typically dont talk like this.

Over the course of a conversation innocent people say all sorts of things that
can be used to implicate them when taken out of context. That's one of the
reasons anyone with more brain cells than you can count on one hand doesn't
talk to cops in an even remotely adversarial context.

~~~
vfc1
And over the course of a conversation, guilty people say all sorts of things
to persuade others that they are telling the truth.

That is how criminal investigators catch many guilty people, that and body
language combined with context.

And saying things like: they even searched my house 4 times, I couldn't have
carried the body, they even searched my incinerator, they couldn't find
anything, shows an excessive and unnecessary intention to persuade, typical of
guilty people.

It could just be her baseline, as an overly justificative person raised in a
certain way.

Each sentence in isolation by itself is not indicative of guilt, but these are
red flags that indicate a direction where to dig deeper, as there could be
some deception going on here.

of course the full interview text would be needed, we cant conclude anything
based on a couple of loose sentences here and there.

