On this true crime episode of the world Famous Sofa Kind Podcast, we go Down There (to the land down under) and discuss one of the largest missing person cases in Australia’s history. The case of the Beaumont Children. Jane, Arnna, and Grant Beaumont famously went missing on August 26, 1966 amongst Australia Day celebrations on Glenelg Beach near Adelaide. There was a national media fury after their disappearance, and Oz was never the same again. It seems Australian Prime Ministers aren’t the only ones to go missing on the beach!

On August 25th, Grant Beaumont, their father, dropped the three kids off at the beach on his way out of town, and they spent the morning frolicking and doing whatever Aussies do on a beach without any semblance of parental guidance. You know, eat pasties and not go in past your belly button. They came home, and all was good. The next morning, they took a bus back to the beach for the festivities and were supposed to return on the noon bus. By the by 2:00 PM bus, their mother Nancy was worried sick, and she started to search for her kids. By 3:00, their father came back home from his business trip, and a few hours later, the cops were called in. They scoured the beach and several other nearby. They drained canals, knocked over boats, and interviewed everyone they could find. But no trace of the kids or their possessions ever turned up. It hit the news the next day, and by day 3, the press was reporting it as a sex abduction for the Beaumont Children. Sadly, they were probably right.

Police found plenty of witnesses, from beach goers to the postman and the owner of the beach bakery. They compiled a sketch of a thin, blond, athletic man who was seen with the kids. This shocked their mother once she put together the fact that her oldest daughter was taunted for having a “boyfriend” at the beach for days before the disappearance.

Whoever this mystery man was, he was the one that everyone searched for. He was never found. Members of the Dutch community paid to fly in a famous psychic who said the kids were dead and then pointed to a building they were buried under. They tore out the floor and found nothing there. Then, where were the bogus letters written a few years after the disappearances saying the kids were fine and living with a nice man who protected them. Turns out, this was a teenage dickweed who was trying to get his kicks.

So, who really did take the Beaumont Children? Many theories suggest two pedophiles and murders named Bevan Spencer von Einem and Arthur Brown. Both were in jail as the investigation gained momentum years later, and both were in the region during the disappearance. However, the good money is on a millionaire sicko named Harry Phipps. He raped 12 year old girl and got so horny by the touch of satin that he had to rape his own son…repeatedly. He was also a close match to the police sketch, and he even paid some local kids to dig a grave that forensics found some weirdness surrounding a few decades later. So, if you want to hear about one of the biggest cases Down There, download this episode and give yourself a tickle.

 

Visit some of our sources:

https://www.crimetraveller.org/2019/07/disappearance-beaumont-children-murder-or-misadventure/

https://www.wikizero.com/en/Beaumont_children_disappearance

https://murderpedia.org/male.V/v/von-einem-bevan.htm

https://murderpedia.org/male.B/b/brown-arthur-stanley.htm