Disappearance and death of Marion Barter
Australian missing person
Marion Barter (born 3 October 1945) was an Australian missing person, teacher, and mother of two, who disappeared on Sunday 22 June 1997 from Southport, Queensland. She was dropped off at a bus stop in Southport to go to the airport for a planned long-term vacation in England and has not been seen since.
For years, police maintained that Barter's disappearance was voluntary, although their attempts to locate her were unsuccessful. But in 2019, after extensive international media coverage and new legal proceedings lodged by her daughter, Sally Leydon, her case was taken over by the Unsolved Homicide Squad in Sydney and authorities are now handling it as an active homicide investigation.
Barter's case was featured in the Australian crime podcast The Lady Vanishes, a Seven News production and one of "Apple's Best Listens of 2019". Her case also garnered significant speculation on internet message boards and forums, with theories ranging from identity theft to mental illness, to witness protection, and murder.
On 29 February 2024 the New South Wales (NSW) State Coroner announced that Barter is deceased, however there is insufficient evidence to declare a place, cause or manner of her death. It declared her date of death as sometime after 15 October 1997.
Background
Marion Wilson was born in 1945 to Jack Wilson and Colleen Wilson. She had three sisters.
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