Man Arrested Over Missing Aussie Campers Who Vanished Last Year

Police have arrested a man in connection with the disappearance of two Australians who went camping and were never seen again.

Carol Clay and Russell Hill visited the Wonnagatta Valley in north east Victoria on March 20 last year and vanished into thin air.

Despite extensive searches of the surrounding area, authorities haven't been able to find any trace of the 73 and 74-year-olds.

However, detectives have made a massive breakthrough in the case after arresting a 55-year-old man yesterday (November 22).

The man from Caroline Springs was taken into custody at the High Plains area, which is part of the Victorian Alps.

Victoria Police have release a statement saying: "Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad have arrested a man as part of the investigation into missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay.

"The 55-year-old Caroline Springs man was arrested about 5.30pm yesterday and will be interviewed by police this morning. The investigation into the matter remains ongoing."

No charges have been laid against the individual.

Police have been told that Russell left his home on March 19 last year to pick up Carol for their camping trip.

Mr Hill took his white Toyota Landcruiser to Wonnagatta Valley and they were expected to return home near the end of the month.

They spent a night at Howitt High Plains before reaching the valley on March 20.

What's even more chilling is that police discovered their campsite was destroyed by a fire near Dry River Creek Track on March 21.

Police say Mr Hill had bought a drone just before the camping trip however that device hasn't yet been found by authorities.

Russell Hill's daughters, Debbie and Colleen, have been devastated over not knowing what happened to their dad.

"It's really hard, it's not getting any better not knowing. It's just unknown, he just disappeared and you're just stuck in the middle," Debbie said.

"I really don't believe he could be alive, he wouldn't hide. You just hope someone will speak up if they know something to help the situation, we just hope that if someone is thinking twice about saying something but they know something to just mention it to CrimeStoppers.

"We just want to know what happened and where he is."

Featured Image Credit: Victoria Police

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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