In March 2008, young couple Julian Buchwald & Carolynne Watson went on a picnic in the Victorian bush and didn't come home. They spent the next week battling exhaustion and exposure to try and find their way out of the bush with only a sleeping bag and a jar of peanut butter to keep them going. When they stumbled out of the bush a week later with a wild story of hostage and kidnapping, it didn't take police to figure out who was behind it. 

Jacob shares the story with guest host Zara McDonald. Follow Zara on Instagram @zamcdonald and @shamelesspodcast

Listen to her podcast 'Shameless Presents: The Books That Changed My Life'. We recommend you start with their episode with comedian Wil Anderson: https://www.listnr.com/podcasts/shameless-presents-the-books-that-changed-my-life/how-wil-anderson-overcomes-regret 

Skip straight to the story: approx 8:11

We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there's this:

You can read all the details of the investigation process and the trial by reading the court report on Julian's unsuccessful appeal https://jade.io/article/259257

You can watch a video with lots of images from news reports here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLzD7IrZq70

Read a news report from the week the couple were missing, appealing for info from the public https://www.theage.com.au/national/missing-couple-planned-marriage-at-years-end-20080309-ge6tnh.html

A report about Julian’s escape attempt https://www.deccanherald.com/content/213097/man-kidnapped-girlfriend-sex-loses.html 

This episode gets pretty dark. If it brings anything up for you and you'd like to talk to someone about it, you can contact 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.

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