After 22 years of trying to find her missing mum, Sydney woman Sally Leydon finally has something to celebrate.
The 46-year-old has not seen her mother Marion Barter since 1997, when the much-loved school teacher, 51, left for a trip to the UK and never returned.
Sally’s desperate search for Marion was the focus of the Channel Seven podcast The Lady Vanishes, which she hoped would force police to reopen the baffling case.
And now, NSW Police have formally identified Marion as a missing person on the national register and are reinvestigating her disappearance.
“It’s definitely a milestone for me and something I’ve been hoping for a long time. It’s bitter sweet but it’s good,” Sally tells New Idea.
“She’s never been on that database – ever. They listed her as ‘no further investigation required’ in 1997 and it sat dormant for 10 years until I called the AFP myself on the 10th anniversary asking for some help because I was getting nowhere.”
Sally was only 24 when her mum abruptly quit her job as a school teacher and left the country for a whirlwind trip to the UK and Europe.
Marion rang home and sent postcards a few times shortly after her arrival – then no-one heard from her again.
The bizarre case has many twists and turns which make for a fascinating podcast.
After leaving Australia, Marion legally changed her name to Florabella Natalia Marion Remakel, money was siphoned out of her account in Byron Bay while she was supposedly in the UK, and a passport check revealed Marion actually returned to Australia on August 2, 1997.
Despite the extraordinary clues, the loving mother of two and dedicated teacher has never made contact with her family in over two decades.
So why would a woman with so much to live for simply vanish without a trace? Even Sally can’t answer that question.
“She’s not the type of person to leave us and not want to ever see us again,” she says sadly.
“She was still writing us postcards and she was ringing us to see if we were OK after the landslide in Thredbo [in July 1997]. That’s not the signs of somebody who doesn’t want to ever see you again. That’s not the path people take if they are trying to vanish.”
Sally has sifted through the evidence and hounded police for years in the hope her mother’s disappearance would be investigated thoroughly.
Detectives even told her they had located Marion and that she did not want to be found. But like a dog with a bone, Sally wasn’t buying it.
“I would really appreciate the coroner having a really good look at this case and going over it with a fine-tooth comb, because there are a lot of inconsistencies. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to believe.
“Nothing is black and white. I don’t get why it is that way, but it certainly is very frustrating and you want to hit your head against the wall.”
Now married with children of her own, Sally is heartbroken her mum has been absent from so many important milestones in her life.
If she is out there, Sally wants her mum to know she will be waiting for her to come home with open arms, no judgement, and a cup of tea.
“I’ve always said I’d just give her a hug. I don’t think I’d want to put too much pressure on her. I’d introduce her to my kids and have a cup of tea, which she used to love doing,” Sally says.
“I’ve always pledged she’d never get judgement from me. People leave their families and never come back because they’re fearful of recourse.
“I want to give her an opportunity to come home and know she’s loved and missed. I just want to have her back.”
