The driver of a dark-blue four-wheel drive seen leaving a remote Wonnangatta Valley campsite on the day Carol Clay and Russell Hill vanished could hold the key to finding out what happened to the missing campers.

In a breakthrough revealed exclusively to The Age and 60 Minutes, leading police investigators on the case say the vehicle in question, captured on roadside cameras driving on The Great Alpine Road that weekend, matches the description of a car witnesses saw parked near Mr Hill and Ms Clay’s campsite on March 20 that was heard leaving the area about midnight.

An image of the “vehicle of interest” police hope could hold the key to solving the mystery of the disappearance of campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay.Credit:Victoria Police

Investigators said they had ruled out a theory that the campers might have staged their disappearance and instead suspected they were murdered — perhaps after an altercation with other campers — and their bodies concealed somewhere in the vast, rugged terrain.

“My belief here is that this was random,” said Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper, head of Victoria Police’s missing persons squad. “Everything seems to point towards this being some sort of confrontation, which has started as an argument maybe.

“But my belief is that the person that carried out this is probably just an ordinary member of the community, who’s operating in a normal job, but carrying this significant load on their mind. And potentially, they’re the only one that knows about it as well.”

On March 20 last year, Mr Hill and Ms Clay, aged in their 70s, vanished in Victoria’s stunning high country. The last contact they had with the outside world was through Mr Hill’s high-frequency radio as they set up camp in the Wonnangatta Valley, a secluded pocket of the Victorian Alpine National Park without mobile phone reception. It took days for their burnt-out campsite to be reported to police.

Several theories as to the cause of the disappearance had been offered, in a place with a history of missing persons, but police struggled to find firm leads early in the investigation.

Mr Hill’s daughters Colleen and Debbie visit the site of their father’s disappearance for the first time.Credit:Sarah Abo

Mr Hill’s daughters, during an emotional visit to the site of their father’s disappearance, told The Age and 60 Minutes that their father had told them he was travelling to the remote campsite but that they knew nothing about his relationship with Ms Clay. They asked that their surnames be withheld to protect their privacy.

“It was a shock when the police mentioned something about, ‘Do we know a Carol?’ But that was the first we knew about it,” Colleen said.

Detectives have also revealed a list of items recovered from the campers’ tent. Charred camping chairs, a burnt-out battery, and bucket used for Mr Hill’s gas canister were located inside. Investigators say no seasoned camper would put any of those items inside a tent.

“It certainly builds that picture for us that potentially someone was trying to cover their tracks,” Inspector Stamper said.

A photo of the car police are searching for, taken on the Great Alpine Road.Credit:Victoria Police

The vehicle that police are seeking is a mid to late ’90s model Nissan Patrol, dark blue, with roof racks, sidesteps and a bull bar. It was towing a trailer.

Witnesses saw the car matching that description parked near Mr Hill and Ms Clay’s campsite on March 20 and then heard it leave the area about midnight. One witness said a vehicle attempted to leave the valley by the most direct route, but was forced to turn around due to Parks Victoria having closed a road.

“We know that on midnight of the Friday night, there was a car that sounded like a petrol motor towing a trailer at that gate and had to perform a 20 or 30-point turn on a narrow track, so was there for some time just trying to turn around,” Inspector Stamper said.

Missing: Carol Clay. Credit:Victoria Police.

Police have eliminated all other cars of interest from their investigation, except for the blue Nissan.

“It’s been a long road and we’re confident we’re getting towards the end of the road now,” Inspector Stamper said. “This car is of particular interest and I firmly believe it’ll help us solve this mystery.”

Lead investigator on this case, Detective Acting Sergeant Brett Florence, says the car travelled on one of only three roads leading in and out of the valley, at a time the area was affected by bushfires.

“We’ve got a number of people who provided a statement (who) had been in the park. So when you start marrying all of those cars up, you then get a picture of who’s in the park, and you’re able to tick off the various people. We have one car that we just can’t tick off.”

Some of the contents of Russell Hill’s tent.Credit:Sarah Abo

Russell Hill had retired and indulged his passion for camping, buying a new tent, a car and a drone. Credit:Victoria Police

Inspector Stamper said the unusual location of Mr Hill’s tent had prompted the theory that there might have been an altercation with another camper.

“We know they got here quite late in the day … one thing that’s always confused us a little bit is this campsite, where we’re standing now, is the prime position,” he said. “Easy access to the water, there’s a little campfire already set up… so, we’re thinking, why would Russell park there and not come here?

“One thing that’s always occurred to us is there could have been somebody else here at the same time.”

The isolated, vast and beautiful part of the valley where Mr Hill and Ms Clay disappeared was visited for the first time by his daughters, Debbie and Colleen. They said it wasn’t hard to see why their father, an intensely private person, had loved it so much.

Mr Hill’s attachment to the place goes back decades. He was among the loggers who cleared the
4WD tracks leading in and out of the valley, including the particularly challenging Zeka Spur. An avid outdoors man, it was not unusual for him to go “off the grid” in the Wonnangatta for days at a time.

“I always thought I’d come here with Dad, so to come here now, it’s actually quite sad,” Debbie said.

“He spoke about it so much and I suppose you just see it through his eyes now.”

Police believe the bodies of the campers may have been hidden in the vast Wonnangatta Valley. Credit:Sarah Abo

Debbie said the situation had been hardest for her mother.

“Because not only losing her husband, but also all the talk about Carol,” she said. “And so she’s got both, she’s lost her husband and she’s grieving the loss of her relationship.”

Speaking from Perth, Carol’s younger sister, Jill, revealed that Mr Hill and Ms Clay had visited the campsite
often.

“I knew that she was going camping, not just on that occasion, but on other occasions. And I knew
that she was having the relationship and that they were doing these trips.

“They had to keep it secret. And in some ways, I feel that that’s why they went to such a remote
place.”

With Madeleine Apps and Naomi Shivaraman

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