To commemorate the infamous Adelaide Oval kidnappings’ 50th anniversary, a community in South Australia gathered today in sadness.
On August 25, 1973, Joanne Ratcliffe, 11, and Kirste Gordon, 4, were kidnapped during an Australian rules football game. The case has never been fully resolved.
Friends and family members gathered for a vigil to remember two young girls fifty years after their deaths.
vital witness Tony Kilmartin, who witnessed the kidnapping when he was 11 years old, was also present during the vigil.
Other attendees were villagers, police officers, a retired detective, and Michael O’Connell, the former Victims of Crime Commissioner.
Suzie, Joanne’s sister, stated that although their family is going through a difficult time, they have been “blown away” by the outpouring of sympathy.
Suzie only recently spoke with detectives, alleging that the man who kidnapped the girl was the deceased Stanley Arthur Hart, who resided nearby at the time of the girl’s disappearance and was later identified as a child molester.
