Trudie Adams was last seen hitching a ride home from a dance in Newport on Sydney’s northern beaches. The last known person to see her alive was her boyfriend, Steve Norris. Or more accurately, her soon to be ex-boyfriend.

Police label Steve as a person of interest in the days following Trudie’s disappearance. The couple were in the process of breaking up. There were rumours of an argument. Trudie already had a crush on someone else... could this be a motive?

Then there was Trudie’s upcoming trip to Bali and a strange link to a drug dealer known for bringing back marijuana from there. Could Trudie’s death have something to do with drugs?

Journalist Ruby Jones tracks down Steve Norris and the original detective on the case to re-examine what happened in the days immediately following Trudie’s disappearance.

A heart breaking search for the hitch-hike girl. For a free-spirited teenager, growing up on Sydney’s northern beaches in the '70s was as good as it gets. Endless perfect surf breaks, days spent lounging on the beach with mates, parties every weekend. 18-year-old Trudie Adams was typical, hanging out with her girlfriends and looking forward to a trip to Bali.

On a Saturday night out at the Newport Surf Club in June 1978, Trudie’s boyfriend watches her leave to hitch hike home. She never makes it.

The laidback community quickly realise something is wrong. The popular teenager had no reason to go missing. Suddenly, the northern beaches don’t feel so safe anymore.

Trudie’s disappearance exposes the dark underbelly of the "insular peninsula". There are drugs, crimes against women and, potentially, police corruption.

Join investigative journalist Ruby Jones as she begins to unravel what happened to Trudie Adams.

The story of Barrenjoey Road explores the disappearance of Trudie Adams in 1978 from Sydney’s northern beaches in 1978 leaving a family and community devastated.   

When 18-year-old Trudie Adams goes missing hitchhiking home on Sydney’s northern beaches in 1978, a family and community are devastated.   

The case exposes the dark underbelly of the “insular peninsula”… a world where surfers run drugs home from Bali, gangs of men prowl the beaches and predators have unchecked power.   

The story of Barrenjoey Road explores why the case was never solved and takes us all the way to the top... to a criminal monster with links to organised crime and police corruption at the highest level. 

Years of investigation have led to this moment ... a major breakthrough in the case, a potential answer to thirty years of mystery and pain for the Haines family.

An alleged confession has revealed who might have placed Mark’s body on the train tracks on that summer night in 1988.

Now it’s time to put the question to him — did he have anything to do with Mark’s death? Will Allan finally have some answers for Uncle Duck?

Allan and the team shift their focus to Tamworth and the truth starts to emerge from a fog of rumours. As Allan builds on the case, he discovers the police aren’t far behind.

An eyewitness comes forward. Key witnesses are confronted for the first time. An alleged confession emerges which takes the investigation in a completely new direction.

If it turns out to be true, this new lead could help finally solve the 30-year-old mystery.

More than two decades have passed since the coronial inquest into Mark Haines’ death. The family have been forgotten about — until news reporter Allan Clarke arrives in Tamworth on a routine story and becomes convinced this is a major injustice.

Allan’s reporting unearths fresh information. A mother comes forward with a story about her son’s involvement.

Police aren’t quick to follow up. But, after a flurry of protests and phone calls ... the case finally starts to gain traction.

The family's hopes for an answer at the inquest fade fast.

Nine months after Mark’s death, an inquest is held. The family are hopeful it will give them answers, but the police won’t budge from their theory that he put himself on the tracks.

As the hearing unfolds, the family find out just how mediocre the initial investigation was. Lost evidence, an unsecured crime scene ... and a forensic pathologist who ignores a key injury, medical evidence that could provide clues to how Mark died.

One person is in the family’s corner though. The railway worker who found Mark on the tracks is adamant the police and the forensic pathologist have it wrong. He’s remained silent for the last thirty years but finally comes forward to set the record straight.

Violence erupts as Uncle Duck and the family confront their number one suspect.

On the surface, Tamworth in 1988 is a typical Aussie town with rodeos, farmers and an active Country Women’s Association.  But beneath the friendly veneer, there’s a thriving criminal underbelly.  Large marijuana crops grow on the outskirts of town and there are reports of bikie gangs with links to corrupt cops on the take.

The police investigation into Mark’s death has stalled allowing gossip and innuendo to take hold.  The family know Mark occasionally smoked marijuana, but now they’re hearing whispers that he might’ve have got on the wrong side of some serious criminals.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s the first plausible explanation for Mark’s death they’ve heard.  The family decide to confront the man rumoured to have killed Mark... with ugly consequences.