Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon

A kidnapping happens in broad daylight in front of thousands of witnesses, but no one knows it’s a kidnapping. That’s what happened when a man abducted family friends, 11-year-old Joane Ratcliffe and 4-year-old Kirste Gordon from an Australian Rules football match on August 25, 1973. 

The stands were packed at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide Australia, with over 10,000 fans in attendance. Many of those there saw a middle-aged man in a wide-brimmed hat take the two girls, but said nothing, assuming that he was their father. 

Over 50 years have passed, and after decades of investigation and thousands of leads, recent breakthroughs have led to two extremely strong and chillingly similar suspects. Is one of Australia’s most infamous unsolved crimes close to a resolution?  

If you have any information which may assist both families and police to locate Kirste and Joanne, please make contact with Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000

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