Motive & Method

What happens behind the scenes when someone disappears?

In this episode, Tim and Xanthe sit down with AFP Commander Joanne Cameron to discuss how Australia tackles some 49,000 missing persons reports every year. 

The conversation dives deep into high-risk demographics, the impact of ambiguous loss on families and why going missing is often the "canary in the coal mine" for deeper vulnerabilities.

This year marks 20 years of the National Missing Persons Coordination Centre and  Commander Cameron details how modern tools like forensic facial age progression are breathing new life into long-term cold cases. Plus, why every clue matters and how a unified community response is crucial to bringing the missing home.

Find out more about the NMPCC here.

If you have any information about a missing person, or crime, You can contact Crime Stoppers Australia anonymously by calling the national hotline at 1800 333 000 or by submitting a report online via Crime Stoppers Australia. 

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It’s been 46 years since 16-year-old Elaine Johnson vanished alongside her friend Kerry-Ann Joel.

But Elaine’s little sister, Helen Cooper, refuses to let her become a forgotten statistic.

Her relentless search for answers has taken her to local brothels, into confrontations with bikies and chasing down a mysterious 42-page letter claiming to contain a deathbed confession.

In this episode, Helen sits down with Tim and Xanthe after giving evidence at the final 2026 hearing of the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into unsolved murders and long-term missing persons. She told the committee of decades of baffling police failures - from initially treating the girls as runaways to allegedly failing to link their disappearances for 20 years.

Despite repeated requests for a reward denied, Helen refuses to give up, and has been pursuing answers and leads through the podcast: ‘Out From The Cold: Searching For Elaine’.

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In our first ever Q & A episode Tim and Xanthe are answering your questions about the inside world of true crime, forensics and criminal psychology.

From the top personality traits of psychopaths, to why most serial killers are men, to the psychology behind mothers who murder. In this very special episode learn more about your favourite true crime hosts and the cases that have stuck with them.

GOT A QUESTION FOR US? Drop your questions in the comments below or message us on Instagram for a chance to have them answered on our next Q&A episode! 

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They were on opposite sides of the law -  one robbing banks, the other hunting him. 

In this extraordinary interview, bank robber Steven Meyers and former FBI agent Shawn Johnson sit down with Tim & Xanthe to share their side of the case and the chase.

In 1990s Seattle, Meyers was part of a crew that pulled off 19 bank heists alongside the elusive mastermind known as “Hollywood”. Johnson spent four years tracking them, analysing their every move and eventually setting a trap that would bring the crime spree to a violent end. 

This episode, the two men reveal the inside story of the robberies, the FBI chase and the shocking final heist.

Their high-stakes game of cat and mouse has been retold in the Netflix documentary How to Rob a Bank.

Find Steven Meyers’ book ‘The Treehouse’ here

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Was an innocent man sent to the gallows in Australia’s most infamous - and final - execution?
On February 3, 1967, Ronald Ryan was hanged for the murder of a prison guard during a chaotic escape from Melbourne’s Pentridge Prison - an execution that shocked the nation and would ultimately help bring an end to capital punishment across Australia.

Just over a year earlier, Ryan had escaped Pentridge, triggering a 19-day manhunt. After his capture, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, despite conflicting evidence surrounding the fatal shooting.

When the countdown to the gallows began, Premier Henry Bolte refused to grant clemency, igniting a wave of outrage across the country - newspapers campaigned against the execution and protesters filled the streets.

But Ronald Ryan was hanged and his death helped fuel the movement that would ultimately see capital punishment abolished across Australia.

More than 50 years later, the question remains: was Ronald Ryan guilty of murder - or did Australia execute an innocent man?

Follow us on YouTube Crime Central Australia HERE.

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Her death was ruled a suicide. But was crucial evidence missed that could point to foul play?
When Nadine Haag was found dead in her Sydney apartment in 2009, police immediately treated her death as suicide. But her family refused to accept it and began their own investigation, uncovering evidence they say police had missed, including the words “He did it”.
Four years later, a Coroner overturned the police ruling - handing down an open finding.
Now, Nadine’s sister Tasia Haag is using her experience to support other families and push for change. She joins us after giving evidence to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into unsolved missing and murdered cases and explains why she believes too many families are still left fighting for answers.

If you or anyone you know needs help, support is available:
Lifeline -  13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14
DV Connect Womensline - 1800 811 811
Beyond Blue - 1300 224 636
1800 RESPECT -  1800 737 732  or text 0458 737 732
If you are concerned for your safety or the safety of others, seek immediate assistance by calling Triple Zero (000)

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Australia is seeing a disturbing trend of teenagers engaging in extremely dangerous, and potentially fatal, sexual acts.
After a 16-year-old girl reportedly died during a suspected sexual strangulation act, experts are warning how mainstream these practices have become.
Research shows more than 50% of young Australians under 35 have engaged in the dangerous sexual practice of strangulation.
In this episode Tim and Xanthe investigate how social media and pornography are shaping views of risky sex among teens, and ask who is ultimately responsible for addressing misogyny, consent and youth safety.

Follow us on YouTube Crime Central Australia HERE.

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After 25 years, could forensic experts uncover new leads from the final clue in this case?
In December 2001, Janine Vaughan was seen on CCTV getting into a red car outside a Bathurst nightclub - then she vanished. 
In this episode, her brother Adam and sister Kylie reveal how missed witnesses, unexamined evidence and the destruction of a blood-and-hair-covered knife may have cost investigators crucial answers. After speaking at the Parliamentary Inquiry into unsolved cases in NSW, they sat down with Tim & Xanthe to share what it’s been like to investigate their own sister’s disappearance for almost 25 years.
Plus, what it means to have the police finally agree to hand over crucial CCTV evidence for advanced analysis.
With a million-dollar reward still on the table, Janine’s family is asking the police to give anyone who comes forward with answers immunity from prosecution.

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Did Ivan Milat really act alone? And could lost documents link him to unsolved murders?
The Crown prosecutor who put Ivan Milat behind bars believes the notorious serial killer may have had help with some of the murders.
This episode, Tim and Xanthe take you inside the latest NSW parliamentary hearing into unsolved murders and missing persons where crucial questions were asked, and answered. The hearing revisited two unsolved cases - Peter Letcher and Dianne Pennacchio -  with questions raised over whether a missing brief of evidence could contain a link to Milat.
And the head of the state’s Homicide Squad concedes, with 400 boxes of archived evidence, there could be more answers buried in the files.

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She killed her three children. But was she in control of what she was doing?
The Lindsay Clancy case has gripped the world - a mother accused of killing her three young children, and a trial that ended in a dramatic hung jury after weeks of conflicting evidence about postpartum psychosis, medication and criminal responsibility.
In this episode, emergency physician and trauma expert Dr Josh McConkey takes us inside the medical evidence, examining what we know about Clancy’s mental state, the medications she was prescribed, the injuries to the children and the question of whether psychosis can coexist with planning and intent.
We explore the warning signs families and clinicians may miss, how quickly postpartum psychosis can develop and where the line lies between documented medical evidence and speculation. With the charges still standing and a crucial court hearing ahead, what happens next could reignite one of the most closely watched criminal cases in the world.

Watch the full video episode on YouTube at Crime Central Australia HERE.

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