Without a Trace- 43 Cases Probed
EVERYWHERE Susan Goodwin
went she look her toothbrush
and a small bottle of water.
But the Port Lincoln woman
took neither with her the day she
disappeared.
She had ignored her obsession with dental hygiene, a fact
that gave police reason to worry
about her safety.
Police said events from years
ago ruted out the likelihood of
suicide - Susan had survived an
horrific car crash in which her
three siblings were killed.
"She considered life precious,"
Major Crime investigator Detective Sergeant Mick Standing
said.
There had been no falling out
or altercation with her partner,
Michel Peterson, with whom she
lived, but something had distressed her on the day she vanished.
Susan had arranged to pick up
Ms Peterson from a Port Lincoln
fish processing plant at 4.30pm
on July 19.
She had shopped for food for
the evening meat and was seen
in town by people who later told
police she was "distressed" or
"distraught".
Why Susan was upset is not
clear. She drove her four-wheel
drive back home and apparently
unpacked her groceries.
At 4.30pm Ms Peterson arrived
home and became alarmed after finding the four-wheel drive
locked and parked in the drive-
way.
Inside the couple's home meat
had been unpacked and left on
the kitchen bench for the
evening meal.
Investigators built up a picture
of Susan and concluded foul
play was involved. One detective
said "the whole picture is not
right".
The following week police and
SES volunteers scoured 25sq
km of dense scrub near Port Lincoln for clues or a grave.
Susan carried $140 with her
but had not used her bank accounts.
Seventeen months on, her disappearance - listed as a major
crime - still mystifies all concerned.
Her father, Don Goodwin, who
lives in rural Victoria, told the
Sunday Mail his daughter had
"been to hell and back" after the
tragedy ot the car smash.
"She was very close to me and
this has set me back," he said.
"I've come to the conclusion
she's not alive."
Susan's mother, Margaret,
said: "If she was alive we would
have heard from her - somebody knows something."
Sunday Mail (28-12-2003)
Anna Merola/ Peter Haran
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