August 28, 2023 • 30 mins
This episode covers the disappearance of Marion Barter, a 51-year-old woman who in 1997 embarked on an overseas adventure, only to seemingly drop off the face of the earth.
We explore the perplexing sequence of events leading up to Marion's disappearance and discover there is one man at the centre of a web of lies and deceit.
NSW Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan will hand down her findings from the inquest into Marion's disappearance on a date yet to be announced (possibly late 2023).
Stay tuned for updates as the case continues to unfold and Marion's family wait for answers.
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Music is Forest Lullaby by LESFM Oleksii Kaplunskyi
Missing Persons Organisations:
The Missed Foundation
Leave a Light On Inc
Australian Missing Persons Register
For Support Helplines in Australia go to:
https://www.whiteribbon.org.au/Find-Help/Help-Lines
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Marion Barter was an independent 51-year-old woman
who was ready to start a newchapter in her life.
She farewelled her adultchildren, sold her home and put
her belongings in storage beforesetting off on an overseas
adventure.
She told her daughter, sally,that she'd be back in a year or
(00:21):
so, but after a couple ofpostcards and a couple of phone
calls there was no furthercontact.
Marion had vanished.
26 years later we await thefindings from a coronial inquest
into Marion's disappearance.
What has been uncovered whiletrying to locate her involves an
(00:44):
intricate web of lies anddeception, with one man at the
centre.
What does he know?
Or perhaps the more pertinentquestion is what did he do To
Marion?
This episode contains contentrelated to fraud, coercive
(01:06):
control and homicide and is notsuitable for children.
Today I'm delving into themissing person's case of Marion
Barter, last seen by a friend ata Gold Coast bus station on
Sunday 22nd June 1997.
Marion took the bus to theairport where she boarded a
(01:33):
plane to the UK for an extendedvacation.
Sally suspected something waswrong when she didn't hear from
her after a few months.
But when her mother didn't getin contact with her brother Owen
for his birthday, sally knewsomething was very wrong.
When she started digging foranswers, she was told Marion was
(01:53):
voluntarily missing and shedidn't want any contact with
family.
She was told Marion was aliveand well, but, as we'll come to
find out, she very likely wasn't.
I'm Carla Morgan and this isBolo, a podcast covering cold
and active missing person'scases with the aim of helping
(02:15):
families bring their loved oneshome.
Marion Barter was a loved mother, friend, sister and daughter.
She had purchased a home inSouthport on the Gold Coast and
she was working at one of thelocal schools nearby.
She was teaching primary school, which she loved, and the
(02:36):
children absolutely adored her.
Just the year before she wentmissing, in 1996, marion had
received an award of excellencefor teaching.
Marion was a romantic.
She loved being inrelationships and she loved
being in love Around the time wepick up her story, she had been
(02:58):
married and divorced threetimes Previously.
In the 1960s she was married toJohnny Warren, a professional
Australian soccer player.
Then she married a man namedStuart Brown, who she had her
two children, sally and Owen,with.
And her last marriage was to aman called Ray Barter and they
(03:18):
divorced in 1990.
Marion was slim, with brown,wavy hair.
She loved florals and had avery distinctive style.
She had also acquired a numberof antiques and collected
expensive artworks.
In 1997, marion was planning anoverseas trip.
(03:39):
She was going first to the UKand then had plans to ride the
Orient Express through Europe.
She also thought she might geta teaching job in the UK if
things worked out.
She sold her home in April of1997.
It was a quick sale.
She sold it for $15,000 lessthan she paid for it originally,
(04:03):
and then in June she resignedfrom her teaching job In
Australia.
June is mid-year it's not theend of the school year so Sally
did think it was unlike Marionnot to see out the year with her
students.
This left her wondering whethersomething had happened at
school that made her leave soabruptly.
(04:25):
However, in Marion'sresignation letter she stated
her reasons for leaving as beingvacationing overseas and
teaching in the UK.
She did also request that herteaching certificate be renewed
for the following year, as itwas getting close to the time
she was due to leave.
(04:45):
There were two things thathappened that Sally thought were
a bit unusual or a bit out ofcharacter for her mum.
One night Sally's partner,chris, was over at Marion's
house helping her pack up thelast few boxes of her things.
Sally was at night classes soChris was planning to pick her
up afterwards, but as he waspacking boxes for Marion, she
(05:09):
abruptly asked him what the timewas.
He said 8.30.
And then she told him he had toleave like right away.
Chris thought this was odd andquite rude.
It wasn't like Marion at all.
But he got up and left and wentto pick up Sally from TAFE.
They were driving back homewhen they stopped in at
(05:32):
McDonald's.
This mackers was located insidea petrol station and as Sally
and Chris were eating, chrisnoticed Marion pull up at the
fuel pumps just outside.
Sally turned around to look andwaved at her mum to try to
catch her attention.
She also clocked a very tallman sitting in the passenger
(05:53):
seat in her mum's car.
Who was this guy?
She thought it wasn't someoneshe knew or recognised, but it
was also hard to see in the dark.
When Marion set eyes on Sally,she looked taken aback and she
quickly put the petrol pump downwithout getting any fuel,
jumped back in the car and spedoff.
(06:14):
Sally thought Aha, mum busted,you've got a guy that you're
keeping a secret.
And when she asked her mumabout it a few days later,
marion brushed it off, sayinghe's just a friend who wanted to
take her out for a drink beforeshe left.
Sally thought this was odd.
First she kicked Chris out ofthe house, then she's caught
(06:37):
secreting a man around in hercar, and also Marion didn't
drink.
So who was he and what werethey doing that night?
On the last day they saw eachother.
Sally and Marion hugged andSally said she'd see her for her
wedding, which was booked infor the next year.
Sally was happy for her mum tohave this adventure and Marion
(07:01):
was excited as well.
So on the 22nd of June Marionhad a friend drive her to the
bus station on the Gold Coast,where she then took a bus to the
airport and boarded a plane toEngland.
In July and August family andfriends received postcards and
letters from Marion, postmarkedfrom Kent, sussex and London.
(07:26):
On the 31st of July Marioncalled Sally to check in.
She called her again on the 1stof August saying she was at a
pay phone in Tumbridge Wells,which is in the UK.
She also said in this phonecall that she was going to stay
longer there in England andpostpone her ticket that she had
(07:49):
booked on the Orient Express.
That was the last time Sallyspoke to or heard from her mum
and, as I mentioned at the startof the episode, when Owen's
23rd birthday came around inOctober and Marion didn't call
or write to him, sally knewsomething was very wrong.
(08:13):
So Sally called Marion's bank tocheck if there had been any
activity on her account.
She told the bank teller thatshe was very worried as her mum
was alone overseas and theyhadn't heard from her for a few
months.
The bank teller informed Sallythat due to privacy reasons, she
couldn't reveal any information.
(08:34):
But as she was talking to Sally, she noticed some concerning
activity on Marion's account andshe ended up divulging the
following information over thephone.
She said Someone had withdrawn$5,000 a day every day for three
and a half weeks from Augustthrough to September.
(08:57):
The transactions had occurred inByron Bay, three hours south of
the Gold Coast where Sally wasliving.
Some of those withdrawals hadalso been made in Burley heads,
which is closer to Byron Bay,but in between Byron Bay and the
Gold Coast.
$5,000 was likely the maximumamount you could withdraw in a
(09:18):
day at the time, but not from anATM.
The daily limit from an ATMwould have been much less at the
time.
So in total, over $80,000 hadbeen drained from her bank
account, likely fromover-the-counter transactions,
in the space of three and a halfweeks.
Was it Marion?
If it was, why didn't shewithdraw the money in one
(09:41):
transaction?
Or was it someone pretending tobe Marion, trying to go under
the radar by withdrawing smallamounts?
The very next day, sally jumpedin her car and headed down to
Byron Bay.
She had a photograph of Marionand she canvassed the shops
asking if anyone had seen her.
She also went to the bank andwas told that they couldn't help
(10:03):
her.
So she ended up at the policestation where she made a missing
persons report.
Just one week later, sallyreceived a call from police.
They said her mother was notmissing, that she just did not
want to be contacted.
Sally was naturally confusedand shocked, but without any
(10:26):
further help from the police.
What was she going to do?
So for a few years she left it,but she couldn't let it go
completely.
She was uneasy.
This was her mother and she wasmissing.
So many milestones Sally'swedding, sally having her babies
, and also Marion missed thefunerals of her father and her
(10:49):
son, as, sadly, owen took hisown life when he was just 27.
In 2003, sally asked theSalvation Army Family Tracing
Service to start searching forher mother.
In 2007, she approached theAustralian Federal Police
(11:11):
Missing Persons Unit.
She wanted answers.
She told police.
I want proof that my mum isalive or I want her listed as a
missing person.
This was when Sally found outsome alarming information about
Marion.
It was also the very first timethat Marion was put on the NSW
(11:33):
Missing Persons Register, 10years after she had left
Australia for the trip of alifetime.
Here's what we now knowhappened.
This information was uncoveredin the 2007 investigation.
One month before Marion leftAustralia, she changed her name
by deed poll to Flora Bella,natalia Marion Remichel.
(11:58):
She then obtained a passport inthis name but didn't tell
anyone, not friends nor family,about this name change.
Her outgoing passenger cardstated that she was divorced and
intending to live in Luxembourg.
Remember she called Sally onthe 1st of August, saying she
(12:22):
was in the UK.
Well, her passport was recordedreturning to Australia on
Saturday 2nd of August 1997.
It was the Flora Bella passportthat was used again, but this
time her incoming passenger cardstated that she was living in
Luxembourg and was married.
(12:42):
If she was in the UK on the 1stwhen she called Sally, there's
no way, with the time differenceand flight times, that she
could have made it back toAustralia by the 2nd, which is
when her passport said shereturned.
So either it wasn't Marion whoreturned to Australia on that
(13:04):
plane or Marion was not in theUK on the 1st when she called
Sally.
Sally now believes that this isthe more likely scenario.
Marion was calling her from anairport in Hong Kong where her
flight would have stopped overon the way back to Australia.
We also find out that Marion'sMedicare card was used on the
(13:28):
13th of August at a doctor'soffice in Grafton, new South
Wales.
This is about a two-hour drivesouth of Byron Bay.
Not her passport nor herMedicare card have ever been
used again.
When Sally learned about thisinformation about her mother's
(13:51):
name change, her passportreturning her Medicare card
being used, she was shocked.
Marion had been here inAustralia since the beginning of
August 1997.
She really hadn't made contact.
It was also during this policeinvestigation that an area of
(14:13):
bushland near Armadale, nsw, wassearched in 2010 with a cadaver
dog.
They were acting off a tipgiven in 2002 to crime stoppers
saying Marion had been murderedand was buried there.
The investigation was thensuspended as police again
(14:36):
believed that Marion was indeedvoluntarily missing and they
removed her from the NSW missingpersons register in 2011.
That same year, sally receiveda Facebook message from an
unknown person callingthemselves Clark Hunter.
The message said Natalia isalive, but you never see her
(15:02):
again.
It was not her intention todisappear, she was forced.
This tip was passed on, butwe're not sure if it was ever
followed up on.
In July 2019, a formal review ofthe case was conducted by
police and the homicide squadestablished a strike force to
(15:23):
reinvestigate Marion'sdisappearance.
Marion was put on theAustralian Federal Police
missing persons register for thefirst time.
It was also revealed thatMarion had never been physically
sighted by police.
So, other than her passportreturning in August of 1997, her
(15:45):
money being drained from herbank accounts and her Medicare
card being used once, there wereno other signs that Marion was
here and was alive and well.
There was also $80,000 left inunclaimed funds that Marion had
put into an account to transferover to a UK branch for her trip
(16:07):
.
It was never transferred andit's never been touched, so no
one had actually seen her since1997 and neither one of her
passports has ever been used toleave the country again.
Sally went to the media in 2019and this is when Channel 7
(16:29):
started the investigativepodcast the Lady Vanishes with
Alison Sandy and Brian Seymour.
The podcast at the time of thisrecording is ongoing and is
following the case in real time.
It has propelled theinvestigation forward and the
first major breakthrough camewhen one of the listeners dug
(16:51):
deeper into the name Flora Bella, natalia Marion Ramacal.
This listener found that in1994 a personal ad had been
placed in a French-Englishnewspaper in Sydney.
The ad stated that a tallsingle man who was cultured and
(17:12):
intelligent, warm and welcoming,was seeking a single woman
looking for a permanentrelationship or marriage.
This advert was posted with aphone number and post office box
in Lenox Head, a 20 minutedrive from Byron Bay, and the
name on the bottom of the ad wasMr F Ramacal.
(17:37):
They called the number but theycould never get through to a
person.
It was just an answeringservice.
So they continued searching formen by the name F Ramacal who
would have been the correct ageto place such an ad.
Ramacal is a very rare name inAustralia.
(17:57):
They found no one here.
They did find a man who wouldbe the correct age, living in
Luxembourg.
Luxembourg was where Marion'sincoming passenger card said she
was living and the name Ramacalsurely wasn't just a
coincidence.
(18:18):
The investigative journalist andSally flew to Luxembourg, found
this Fernand Ramacal and askedhim what he knew about Marion
Barter or about Flora Bella.
He was quite taken aback and onthe defence immediately, but he
adamantly denied knowinganything at all and he really
(18:41):
just wanted them to go away.
His English was good but notgreat, so they did mostly use an
interpreter, which will becomeimportant soon.
When they could get no furtherinformation from Fernand Ramacal
in Luxembourg, they went backto the phone number on the
advert and tried to trace it toa person here in Australia, to
(19:03):
no avail.
Then an anonymous tipstercontacted the podcast to say
that she had had a relationshipwith a man called Fernand
Ramacal.
She said he came from a wealthyfamily, he spoke fluent English
, so not the same guy as theFernand Ramacal in Luxembourg.
(19:25):
She said they didn't know eachother for long before they got
into a relationship.
He used his charms tomanipulate people and that he
had used her in such a way.
This information was passed onto New South Wales Police, but
it wasn't until the inquestbegan in June of 2021 that it
(19:50):
was revealed who the person waswho placed the ad and how he was
connected to the FernandRamacal in Luxembourg and how he
was connected to Marion.
(20:15):
A man by the name of Rick Blumwas called as a key witness in
the inquest.
He had many aliases, one ofwhich was Fernand Ramacal.
Rick Blum is now in his 80s andis currently living in the area
around Byron Bay, new SouthWales.
(20:37):
He's originally from Belgiumand emigrated here in 1976.
He was imprisoned in France forfraud in the 1970s and was
convicted here in Australia inthe 1960s for traffic violations
and falsifying documents.
(20:57):
As I mentioned, he has a longlist of aliases.
He's changed his name here inAustralia at least 13 times.
One of these aliases wasFernand Ramekelle.
It's believed that he stolethis identity from the Fernand
(21:19):
Ramekelle in Luxembourg as hehad had a relationship with
Fernand's wife at some point.
Here are the key points revealedduring the inquest.
Rick Blum admitted to policethat he was the one who had
placed the ad in the FrenchEnglish newspaper Around the
(21:41):
same time as the ad was placed.
He also had a driver's licensein Australia in the name Fernand
Ramekelle.
In a previous police interviewhe admitted to having an affair
with Marion that lasted fourmonths.
Despite initially telling themhe knew nothing about her, he
(22:02):
told police he had met Marion inEurope in the 1960s, when
Marion was with her husband,johnny Warren, playing soccer in
Switzerland, and that they hadhad a short affair there.
He also admitted to havinganother fleeting relationship
with her in the 1990s, justbefore she disappeared.
(22:23):
He said they spent a few nightstogether while she was living
in Southport.
Then, when she sold her houseand moved out, she asked him to
store boxes at his house nearLismore.
He said the boxes weredelivered by a removalist and
(22:44):
then one week later Marioncollected them.
According to Blum, she came toget the boxes with a man in his
50s who was dressed like a pilotand that Marion said she had
plans to travel to Europe withthis man.
Blum claims this was the lasttime he ever saw Marion.
(23:05):
So quick summary he tellspolice he doesn't know anything
about Marion.
Then he tells police he's had afour month long affair.
He tells them he's had twoaffairs over his lifetime with
Marion and then he says theyspent a few nights together
(23:26):
before she disappeared.
So lots of conflictinginformation.
I'll just add a note here tosay that Sally says that many of
Marion's belongings were storedat her ex-parents-in-law's
house, but that some boxes weremissing and have never been
accounted for.
Also important to note is thatRick Blum travelled from
(23:49):
Australia to Japan, or via Japan, five days after Marion left
Australia and he returned backhere two days before her
passport did or she did.
He admitted to travelling toEurope around this time, but
says he never went to the UK.
During the inquest, two womenwere called as witnesses because
(24:12):
of their previous involvementswith Blum.
From the testimonies of thesewomen, blum had a habit of
meeting women who weremiddle-aged, vulnerable and or
looking for love.
He would then love, bomb them,sweep them off their feet,
promising a holiday, a house, ajoint business venture, a new
(24:38):
start or a new life with him inan exotic location or overseas.
One recurring theme was that heasked them to keep their new
relationship and the move asecret from their families and
children, at least initially,and that the women's assets
(24:58):
homes, jewellery, coincollections or antiques would
need to be either sold or put instorage or kept somewhere safe
where he obviously knew about.
The final piece of the scam wasthat he would then disappear,
taking what profits he could, tonever be seen again.
(25:22):
One of the women who gaveevidence at the inquest was
Janet Oldenburg.
She had made a statement topolice in 1999 saying that Blum
had proposed they go intobusiness together and move to
the French Riviera.
They had travelled to Europetogether and Janet had given him
the deed to her house and otherpersonal documents for
(25:45):
safekeeping.
Janet then returned back toAustralia and was contacted by
Blum saying he'd been robbed andall her papers were lost.
She then found him at a laterdate in her home in Australia
attempting to steal documentsand jewellery.
Blum admits to having arelationship with Janet and
(26:07):
travelling together, but deniesany other claims.
The second woman to giveevidence was Jeanette Gaffney
Bowen.
Jeanette offered Blum a placeto stay at her Sydney home and
gave him $30,000 to start abusiness together buying and
selling coins.
The relationship soured andwhen Jeanette ended things, blum
(26:30):
threatened violence, which shereported to police and she was
granted an AVO ApprehendedViolence Order in 1999.
Blum says he doesn't rememberher or staying at her house or
receiving any money from her orthe AVO.
There were two more women withvery similar stories at the
(26:52):
inquest Ghilain Danois Duboisand Marie Landroux.
Marie had been married toBlum's cousin in Belgium and was
widowed just seven months whenBlum reached out to her in 2012.
She claims Blum seduced her andshe gave him 100,000 euro to
(27:13):
buy a house in Bali for them tolive together, but when they got
there he disappeared and flewback to Australia while she was
out getting a massage.
Ghilain also told the inquestthat she believed they were
heading to Australia to start anew life.
Before stopping over in Bali toget married, she gave him
(27:34):
70,000 euro.
Blum denied her claims, butGhilain was able to show the
court their engagementannouncement and a party
invitation, which he also deniedany knowledge of.
All of these women have eerilysimilar allegations of seduction
and the promise of a new life,only to have money, property or
(27:57):
possessions fraudulently takenby Blum.
When questioned during theinquest about Marion, blum
denied knowing her whereaboutsand any wrongdoing Of the women
who came forward with stories ofbeing swindled by him.
He claims all the stories arelies, but the fact remains that
(28:20):
he could quite possibly be oneof the last people to have seen
Marion alive and he wasromantically involved with her
just prior to her leavingAustralia, and she changed her
name to the same name as hissurname at the time.
The coroner, teresa O'Sullivan,will hand down her findings on
(28:44):
a date yet to be announced andI'll post updates as the case
progresses.
I've also included a link inthe show notes to the Lady
Vanishes podcast.
If you want a full, deep dive,there's a $500,000 reward for
information which leads to thearrest and conviction of any
(29:06):
person or persons responsiblefor Marion's suspicious
disappearance.
If you or anyone you know knowanything at all, please contact
Police Link on 131-444 or callCrime Stoppers on 1800-333-000.
Thanks for listening to Bolo.
(29:29):
If this episode has brought upfeelings for you, please reach
out to Lifeline on 1311-14 orRESPECT on 1800-RESPECT.
You can connect with me onInsta or TikTok at Bolopod or
(29:49):
email me Bolopod at iCloudcom.
Until next week, stay safe andthanks for listening.
Marion Barter was an independent 51-year-old woman
who was ready to start a newchapter in her life.
She farewelled her adultchildren, sold her home and put
her belongings in storage beforesetting off on an overseas
adventure.
She told her daughter, sally,that she'd be back in a year or
(00:21):
so, but after a couple ofpostcards and a couple of phone
calls there was no furthercontact.
Marion had vanished.
26 years later we await thefindings from a coronial inquest
into Marion's disappearance.
What has been uncovered whiletrying to locate her involves an
(00:44):
intricate web of lies anddeception, with one man at the
centre.
What does he know?
Or perhaps the more pertinentquestion is what did he do To
Marion?
This episode contains contentrelated to fraud, coercive
(01:06):
control and homicide and is notsuitable for children.
Today I'm delving into themissing person's case of Marion
Barter, last seen by a friend ata Gold Coast bus station on
Sunday 22nd June 1997.
Marion took the bus to theairport where she boarded a
(01:33):
plane to the UK for an extendedvacation.
Sally suspected something waswrong when she didn't hear from
her after a few months.
But when her mother didn't getin contact with her brother Owen
for his birthday, sally knewsomething was very wrong.
When she started digging foranswers, she was told Marion was
(01:53):
voluntarily missing and shedidn't want any contact with
family.
She was told Marion was aliveand well, but, as we'll come to
find out, she very likely wasn't.
I'm Carla Morgan and this isBolo, a podcast covering cold
and active missing person'scases with the aim of helping
(02:15):
families bring their loved oneshome.
Marion Barter was a loved mother, friend, sister and daughter.
She had purchased a home inSouthport on the Gold Coast and
she was working at one of thelocal schools nearby.
She was teaching primary school, which she loved, and the
(02:36):
children absolutely adored her.
Just the year before she wentmissing, in 1996, marion had
received an award of excellencefor teaching.
Marion was a romantic.
She loved being inrelationships and she loved
being in love Around the time wepick up her story, she had been
(02:58):
married and divorced threetimes Previously.
In the 1960s she was married toJohnny Warren, a professional
Australian soccer player.
Then she married a man namedStuart Brown, who she had her
two children, sally and Owen,with.
And her last marriage was to aman called Ray Barter and they
(03:18):
divorced in 1990.
Marion was slim, with brown,wavy hair.
She loved florals and had avery distinctive style.
She had also acquired a numberof antiques and collected
expensive artworks.
In 1997, marion was planning anoverseas trip.
(03:39):
She was going first to the UKand then had plans to ride the
Orient Express through Europe.
She also thought she might geta teaching job in the UK if
things worked out.
She sold her home in April of1997.
It was a quick sale.
She sold it for $15,000 lessthan she paid for it originally,
(04:03):
and then in June she resignedfrom her teaching job In
Australia.
June is mid-year it's not theend of the school year so Sally
did think it was unlike Marionnot to see out the year with her
students.
This left her wondering whethersomething had happened at
school that made her leave soabruptly.
(04:25):
However, in Marion'sresignation letter she stated
her reasons for leaving as beingvacationing overseas and
teaching in the UK.
She did also request that herteaching certificate be renewed
for the following year, as itwas getting close to the time
she was due to leave.
(04:45):
There were two things thathappened that Sally thought were
a bit unusual or a bit out ofcharacter for her mum.
One night Sally's partner,chris, was over at Marion's
house helping her pack up thelast few boxes of her things.
Sally was at night classes soChris was planning to pick her
up afterwards, but as he waspacking boxes for Marion, she
(05:09):
abruptly asked him what the timewas.
He said 8.30.
And then she told him he had toleave like right away.
Chris thought this was odd andquite rude.
It wasn't like Marion at all.
But he got up and left and wentto pick up Sally from TAFE.
They were driving back homewhen they stopped in at
(05:32):
McDonald's.
This mackers was located insidea petrol station and as Sally
and Chris were eating, chrisnoticed Marion pull up at the
fuel pumps just outside.
Sally turned around to look andwaved at her mum to try to
catch her attention.
She also clocked a very tallman sitting in the passenger
(05:53):
seat in her mum's car.
Who was this guy?
She thought it wasn't someoneshe knew or recognised, but it
was also hard to see in the dark.
When Marion set eyes on Sally,she looked taken aback and she
quickly put the petrol pump downwithout getting any fuel,
jumped back in the car and spedoff.
(06:14):
Sally thought Aha, mum busted,you've got a guy that you're
keeping a secret.
And when she asked her mumabout it a few days later,
marion brushed it off, sayinghe's just a friend who wanted to
take her out for a drink beforeshe left.
Sally thought this was odd.
First she kicked Chris out ofthe house, then she's caught
(06:37):
secreting a man around in hercar, and also Marion didn't
drink.
So who was he and what werethey doing that night?
On the last day they saw eachother.
Sally and Marion hugged andSally said she'd see her for her
wedding, which was booked infor the next year.
Sally was happy for her mum tohave this adventure and Marion
(07:01):
was excited as well.
So on the 22nd of June Marionhad a friend drive her to the
bus station on the Gold Coast,where she then took a bus to the
airport and boarded a plane toEngland.
In July and August family andfriends received postcards and
letters from Marion, postmarkedfrom Kent, sussex and London.
(07:26):
On the 31st of July Marioncalled Sally to check in.
She called her again on the 1stof August saying she was at a
pay phone in Tumbridge Wells,which is in the UK.
She also said in this phonecall that she was going to stay
longer there in England andpostpone her ticket that she had
(07:49):
booked on the Orient Express.
That was the last time Sallyspoke to or heard from her mum
and, as I mentioned at the startof the episode, when Owen's
23rd birthday came around inOctober and Marion didn't call
or write to him, sally knewsomething was very wrong.
(08:13):
So Sally called Marion's bank tocheck if there had been any
activity on her account.
She told the bank teller thatshe was very worried as her mum
was alone overseas and theyhadn't heard from her for a few
months.
The bank teller informed Sallythat due to privacy reasons, she
couldn't reveal any information.
(08:34):
But as she was talking to Sally, she noticed some concerning
activity on Marion's account andshe ended up divulging the
following information over thephone.
She said Someone had withdrawn$5,000 a day every day for three
and a half weeks from Augustthrough to September.
(08:57):
The transactions had occurred inByron Bay, three hours south of
the Gold Coast where Sally wasliving.
Some of those withdrawals hadalso been made in Burley heads,
which is closer to Byron Bay,but in between Byron Bay and the
Gold Coast.
$5,000 was likely the maximumamount you could withdraw in a
(09:18):
day at the time, but not from anATM.
The daily limit from an ATMwould have been much less at the
time.
So in total, over $80,000 hadbeen drained from her bank
account, likely fromover-the-counter transactions,
in the space of three and a halfweeks.
Was it Marion?
If it was, why didn't shewithdraw the money in one
(09:41):
transaction?
Or was it someone pretending tobe Marion, trying to go under
the radar by withdrawing smallamounts?
The very next day, sally jumpedin her car and headed down to
Byron Bay.
She had a photograph of Marionand she canvassed the shops
asking if anyone had seen her.
She also went to the bank andwas told that they couldn't help
(10:03):
her.
So she ended up at the policestation where she made a missing
persons report.
Just one week later, sallyreceived a call from police.
They said her mother was notmissing, that she just did not
want to be contacted.
Sally was naturally confusedand shocked, but without any
(10:26):
further help from the police.
What was she going to do?
So for a few years she left it,but she couldn't let it go
completely.
She was uneasy.
This was her mother and she wasmissing.
So many milestones Sally'swedding, sally having her babies
, and also Marion missed thefunerals of her father and her
(10:49):
son, as, sadly, owen took hisown life when he was just 27.
In 2003, sally asked theSalvation Army Family Tracing
Service to start searching forher mother.
In 2007, she approached theAustralian Federal Police
(11:11):
Missing Persons Unit.
She wanted answers.
She told police.
I want proof that my mum isalive or I want her listed as a
missing person.
This was when Sally found outsome alarming information about
Marion.
It was also the very first timethat Marion was put on the NSW
(11:33):
Missing Persons Register, 10years after she had left
Australia for the trip of alifetime.
Here's what we now knowhappened.
This information was uncoveredin the 2007 investigation.
One month before Marion leftAustralia, she changed her name
by deed poll to Flora Bella,natalia Marion Remichel.
(11:58):
She then obtained a passport inthis name but didn't tell
anyone, not friends nor family,about this name change.
Her outgoing passenger cardstated that she was divorced and
intending to live in Luxembourg.
Remember she called Sally onthe 1st of August, saying she
(12:22):
was in the UK.
Well, her passport was recordedreturning to Australia on
Saturday 2nd of August 1997.
It was the Flora Bella passportthat was used again, but this
time her incoming passenger cardstated that she was living in
Luxembourg and was married.
(12:42):
If she was in the UK on the 1stwhen she called Sally, there's
no way, with the time differenceand flight times, that she
could have made it back toAustralia by the 2nd, which is
when her passport said shereturned.
So either it wasn't Marion whoreturned to Australia on that
(13:04):
plane or Marion was not in theUK on the 1st when she called
Sally.
Sally now believes that this isthe more likely scenario.
Marion was calling her from anairport in Hong Kong where her
flight would have stopped overon the way back to Australia.
We also find out that Marion'sMedicare card was used on the
(13:28):
13th of August at a doctor'soffice in Grafton, new South
Wales.
This is about a two-hour drivesouth of Byron Bay.
Not her passport nor herMedicare card have ever been
used again.
When Sally learned about thisinformation about her mother's
(13:51):
name change, her passportreturning her Medicare card
being used, she was shocked.
Marion had been here inAustralia since the beginning of
August 1997.
She really hadn't made contact.
It was also during this policeinvestigation that an area of
(14:13):
bushland near Armadale, nsw, wassearched in 2010 with a cadaver
dog.
They were acting off a tipgiven in 2002 to crime stoppers
saying Marion had been murderedand was buried there.
The investigation was thensuspended as police again
(14:36):
believed that Marion was indeedvoluntarily missing and they
removed her from the NSW missingpersons register in 2011.
That same year, sally receiveda Facebook message from an
unknown person callingthemselves Clark Hunter.
The message said Natalia isalive, but you never see her
(15:02):
again.
It was not her intention todisappear, she was forced.
This tip was passed on, butwe're not sure if it was ever
followed up on.
In July 2019, a formal review ofthe case was conducted by
police and the homicide squadestablished a strike force to
(15:23):
reinvestigate Marion'sdisappearance.
Marion was put on theAustralian Federal Police
missing persons register for thefirst time.
It was also revealed thatMarion had never been physically
sighted by police.
So, other than her passportreturning in August of 1997, her
(15:45):
money being drained from herbank accounts and her Medicare
card being used once, there wereno other signs that Marion was
here and was alive and well.
There was also $80,000 left inunclaimed funds that Marion had
put into an account to transferover to a UK branch for her trip
(16:07):
.
It was never transferred andit's never been touched, so no
one had actually seen her since1997 and neither one of her
passports has ever been used toleave the country again.
Sally went to the media in 2019and this is when Channel 7
(16:29):
started the investigativepodcast the Lady Vanishes with
Alison Sandy and Brian Seymour.
The podcast at the time of thisrecording is ongoing and is
following the case in real time.
It has propelled theinvestigation forward and the
first major breakthrough camewhen one of the listeners dug
(16:51):
deeper into the name Flora Bella, natalia Marion Ramacal.
This listener found that in1994 a personal ad had been
placed in a French-Englishnewspaper in Sydney.
The ad stated that a tallsingle man who was cultured and
(17:12):
intelligent, warm and welcoming,was seeking a single woman
looking for a permanentrelationship or marriage.
This advert was posted with aphone number and post office box
in Lenox Head, a 20 minutedrive from Byron Bay, and the
name on the bottom of the ad wasMr F Ramacal.
(17:37):
They called the number but theycould never get through to a
person.
It was just an answeringservice.
So they continued searching formen by the name F Ramacal who
would have been the correct ageto place such an ad.
Ramacal is a very rare name inAustralia.
(17:57):
They found no one here.
They did find a man who wouldbe the correct age, living in
Luxembourg.
Luxembourg was where Marion'sincoming passenger card said she
was living and the name Ramacalsurely wasn't just a
coincidence.
(18:18):
The investigative journalist andSally flew to Luxembourg, found
this Fernand Ramacal and askedhim what he knew about Marion
Barter or about Flora Bella.
He was quite taken aback and onthe defence immediately, but he
adamantly denied knowinganything at all and he really
(18:41):
just wanted them to go away.
His English was good but notgreat, so they did mostly use an
interpreter, which will becomeimportant soon.
When they could get no furtherinformation from Fernand Ramacal
in Luxembourg, they went backto the phone number on the
advert and tried to trace it toa person here in Australia, to
(19:03):
no avail.
Then an anonymous tipstercontacted the podcast to say
that she had had a relationshipwith a man called Fernand
Ramacal.
She said he came from a wealthyfamily, he spoke fluent English
, so not the same guy as theFernand Ramacal in Luxembourg.
(19:25):
She said they didn't know eachother for long before they got
into a relationship.
He used his charms tomanipulate people and that he
had used her in such a way.
This information was passed onto New South Wales Police, but
it wasn't until the inquestbegan in June of 2021 that it
(19:50):
was revealed who the person waswho placed the ad and how he was
connected to the FernandRamacal in Luxembourg and how he
was connected to Marion.
(20:15):
A man by the name of Rick Blumwas called as a key witness in
the inquest.
He had many aliases, one ofwhich was Fernand Ramacal.
Rick Blum is now in his 80s andis currently living in the area
around Byron Bay, new SouthWales.
(20:37):
He's originally from Belgiumand emigrated here in 1976.
He was imprisoned in France forfraud in the 1970s and was
convicted here in Australia inthe 1960s for traffic violations
and falsifying documents.
(20:57):
As I mentioned, he has a longlist of aliases.
He's changed his name here inAustralia at least 13 times.
One of these aliases wasFernand Ramekelle.
It's believed that he stolethis identity from the Fernand
(21:19):
Ramekelle in Luxembourg as hehad had a relationship with
Fernand's wife at some point.
Here are the key points revealedduring the inquest.
Rick Blum admitted to policethat he was the one who had
placed the ad in the FrenchEnglish newspaper Around the
(21:41):
same time as the ad was placed.
He also had a driver's licensein Australia in the name Fernand
Ramekelle.
In a previous police interviewhe admitted to having an affair
with Marion that lasted fourmonths.
Despite initially telling themhe knew nothing about her, he
(22:02):
told police he had met Marion inEurope in the 1960s, when
Marion was with her husband,johnny Warren, playing soccer in
Switzerland, and that they hadhad a short affair there.
He also admitted to havinganother fleeting relationship
with her in the 1990s, justbefore she disappeared.
(22:23):
He said they spent a few nightstogether while she was living
in Southport.
Then, when she sold her houseand moved out, she asked him to
store boxes at his house nearLismore.
He said the boxes weredelivered by a removalist and
(22:44):
then one week later Marioncollected them.
According to Blum, she came toget the boxes with a man in his
50s who was dressed like a pilotand that Marion said she had
plans to travel to Europe withthis man.
Blum claims this was the lasttime he ever saw Marion.
(23:05):
So quick summary he tellspolice he doesn't know anything
about Marion.
Then he tells police he's had afour month long affair.
He tells them he's had twoaffairs over his lifetime with
Marion and then he says theyspent a few nights together
(23:26):
before she disappeared.
So lots of conflictinginformation.
I'll just add a note here tosay that Sally says that many of
Marion's belongings were storedat her ex-parents-in-law's
house, but that some boxes weremissing and have never been
accounted for.
Also important to note is thatRick Blum travelled from
(23:49):
Australia to Japan, or via Japan, five days after Marion left
Australia and he returned backhere two days before her
passport did or she did.
He admitted to travelling toEurope around this time, but
says he never went to the UK.
During the inquest, two womenwere called as witnesses because
(24:12):
of their previous involvementswith Blum.
From the testimonies of thesewomen, blum had a habit of
meeting women who weremiddle-aged, vulnerable and or
looking for love.
He would then love, bomb them,sweep them off their feet,
promising a holiday, a house, ajoint business venture, a new
(24:38):
start or a new life with him inan exotic location or overseas.
One recurring theme was that heasked them to keep their new
relationship and the move asecret from their families and
children, at least initially,and that the women's assets
(24:58):
homes, jewellery, coincollections or antiques would
need to be either sold or put instorage or kept somewhere safe
where he obviously knew about.
The final piece of the scam wasthat he would then disappear,
taking what profits he could, tonever be seen again.
(25:22):
One of the women who gaveevidence at the inquest was
Janet Oldenburg.
She had made a statement topolice in 1999 saying that Blum
had proposed they go intobusiness together and move to
the French Riviera.
They had travelled to Europetogether and Janet had given him
the deed to her house and otherpersonal documents for
(25:45):
safekeeping.
Janet then returned back toAustralia and was contacted by
Blum saying he'd been robbed andall her papers were lost.
She then found him at a laterdate in her home in Australia
attempting to steal documentsand jewellery.
Blum admits to having arelationship with Janet and
(26:07):
travelling together, but deniesany other claims.
The second woman to giveevidence was Jeanette Gaffney
Bowen.
Jeanette offered Blum a placeto stay at her Sydney home and
gave him $30,000 to start abusiness together buying and
selling coins.
The relationship soured andwhen Jeanette ended things, blum
(26:30):
threatened violence, which shereported to police and she was
granted an AVO ApprehendedViolence Order in 1999.
Blum says he doesn't rememberher or staying at her house or
receiving any money from her orthe AVO.
There were two more women withvery similar stories at the
(26:52):
inquest Ghilain Danois Duboisand Marie Landroux.
Marie had been married toBlum's cousin in Belgium and was
widowed just seven months whenBlum reached out to her in 2012.
She claims Blum seduced her andshe gave him 100,000 euro to
(27:13):
buy a house in Bali for them tolive together, but when they got
there he disappeared and flewback to Australia while she was
out getting a massage.
Ghilain also told the inquestthat she believed they were
heading to Australia to start anew life.
Before stopping over in Bali toget married, she gave him
(27:34):
70,000 euro.
Blum denied her claims, butGhilain was able to show the
court their engagementannouncement and a party
invitation, which he also deniedany knowledge of.
All of these women have eerilysimilar allegations of seduction
and the promise of a new life,only to have money, property or
(27:57):
possessions fraudulently takenby Blum.
When questioned during theinquest about Marion, blum
denied knowing her whereaboutsand any wrongdoing Of the women
who came forward with stories ofbeing swindled by him.
He claims all the stories arelies, but the fact remains that
(28:20):
he could quite possibly be oneof the last people to have seen
Marion alive and he wasromantically involved with her
just prior to her leavingAustralia, and she changed her
name to the same name as hissurname at the time.
The coroner, teresa O'Sullivan,will hand down her findings on
(28:44):
a date yet to be announced andI'll post updates as the case
progresses.
I've also included a link inthe show notes to the Lady
Vanishes podcast.
If you want a full, deep dive,there's a $500,000 reward for
information which leads to thearrest and conviction of any
(29:06):
person or persons responsiblefor Marion's suspicious
disappearance.
If you or anyone you know knowanything at all, please contact
Police Link on 131-444 or callCrime Stoppers on 1800-333-000.
Thanks for listening to Bolo.
(29:29):
If this episode has brought upfeelings for you, please reach
out to Lifeline on 1311-14 orRESPECT on 1800-RESPECT.
You can connect with me onInsta or TikTok at Bolopod or
(29:49):
email me Bolopod at iCloudcom.
Until next week, stay safe andthanks for listening.
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