A BACKPACKER who went missing en route to Mount Isa in 1982 was the inspiration and catalyst for the establishment of Australia's National Missing Persons Week.
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Anthony John Jones of Perth had been travelling in Queensland since September 1982. He hitch-hiked around the state, meeting his brother from time to time at pre-arranged points. After visiting Brisbane, Mackay and Airlie Beach, he left Townsville on 28 October 1982 to travel to Cairns, having arranged to meet his brother in Mount Isa about a week later. He was known to have been in Townsville again on 3 November, 1982 when he telephoned his home in Perth and indicated his intention of travelling to Mount Isa.
He has not been seen or heard from since that time and it is suspected he has been murdered.
In January 2011, a retired grazier from Cloncurry informed the Jones family of old evidence that appeared to have been lost or forgotten by police for decades.
He said about 29 years earlier he had given Cloncurry police some potentially case-solving physical evidence which he and a friend (a retired police officer) found on the edge of the Cloncurry township.
The evidence included remnants of some camping gear and a letter addressed to Tony Jones from his mother.
The witness said he was frustrated by the lack of response from police when he made inquiries in 2010 about the old evidence; however, the family relayed his story to the coroner, and the coroner instructed police to undertake a thorough search of the campsite.
On 11 October, 2011, a search party of eight police officers and four SES volunteers spent six hours searching the campsite-identified as a 50 m area beside the Cloncurry River near the intersection of Quamby Road and Barkly Highway.
The search failed to find any sign of Tony's belongings or remains.
Doomadagee resident Ralf Martin Lorraine, 43, was last seen at 7pm on December 21, 2004 in Doomadgee.
Police share the concerns of his family for his welfare. At the time of his disappearance he was suffering from diabetes and needed regular medication.
Police are renewing appeals to the public to assist them in locating Bronwyn Howard, who was officially reported missing in Mount Isa on May 25.
Anyone with information which could assist police with their investigations should contact Crime Stoppers anonymously via 1800 333 000 or crimestoppers.com.au
