Reward of $1m to help crack teacher's disappearance
A man who went overseas with a teacher before she vanished nearly 30 years ago probably knows more about her suspicious disappearance, her family says.
Family members hope a million-dollar reward will unlock answers about their mother’s suspicious disappearance, as a key person of interest refuses to talk to police.
Marion Barter, 51, was last seen at a Queensland bus depot in June 1997, before embarking on an indefinite trip to England with a man she had recently begun a relationship with.
Her daughter Sally Leydon filed a report with police in October that year, concerned she had not heard from her mother, while also noting $80,000 had been drained from Ms Barter’s bank account.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.But the file was not marked as a missing-person report and lay dormant for a decade before the 7NEWS investigation team reignited interest in the case, via the hit podcast The Lady Vanishes.
NSW State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan in 2024 found the teacher was on the balance of probabilities dead, describing her disappearance as “troubling”.
The coroner outlined a series of extraordinary coincidences in the case, including the unusual name Ms Barter adopted via deed poll in the month before she disappeared.
She was last seen at the bus station in the hours before she took a flight under her new identity, Florabella Natalia Marion Remakel.
Her outgoing passenger card stated that she was divorced and intended to live in Luxembourg.
Weeks later she was listed as returning to Australia with an incoming passenger card stating she was married and living in the small European nation.
Ms Barter changed her name because she was in a relationship with Belgian national Ric Blum and sought to share a name with him, Ms O’Sullivan found.
Fernand Nocolas Remakel was one of multiple aliases the convicted fraudster used over the years, her report said.
Detectives believe in the weeks leading up to her disappearance, Ms Barter was observed by a family member leaving a service station with a tall male passenger.
Inquiries revealed someone accessed the missing woman’s bank account following her disappearance.
Ms Lleydon said her mother “did not simply walk away from her life and she did not abandon her family”.
She also maintained Mr Blum - officially a person of interest in the case - had further knowledge surrounding her mother’s disappearance he was withholding from police.
“The coroner found this man does indeed know more about what’s happened to my mum and he has been deliberately unwilling to share this information,” she told reporters on Monday.
“To those people that do know something, you should know I am not giving up until I find my mum and justice is served,” she said.
Detective Superintendent Joe Doueihi said police made no arrests because they did not yet have enough evidence to result in a successful prosecution.
“We can’t force a person of interest to talk to police,” he said.
“We hope there are people out there in the community that may have information they haven’t given to us.”
