LATE NEWS

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 33, 3 November 1937, Page 5

LATE NEWS

MYSTERY OF MISSING TRANSPORT Truck Found Hidden In Dense Scrub DRIVER’S FATE STILL UNKNOWN (Received November 2, 10.20 p.m.) .Melbourne, November 2. The mystery of the missing transport truck was partly solved to-day by the accidental discovery of the missing vehicle secreted in dense scrub in the Kinglake Hills district about 36 miles north-east of Melbourne. The wool portion of its valuable load had gone. Both cabin doors were open. One side of the bonnet was lifted, the front seat was on the ground and nearby lay a tarpaulin, a man’s bat and sandshoes, but there was no sign of the driver, Dempsey, and nothing to indicate his whereabouts. It was impassible to see the truck twenty yards off the main road. Detectives were quickly on the scene and discoveicd another dismantled truck a short distance away. Apparently it had been there for some time, but there was no evidence of a struggle. A careful search near Dempsey's undamaged truck revealed, in addition to a battered felt hat, a pair of torn trousers, a black beret, and two leather gauntlets, possibly the property of the missing driver. The wool portion of Dempsey’s load was valued at £3OO. The remainder of the load, consisting of skins, barrels of tallow and two cases of soft drinks, was intact. The complete original load was valued at about £7OO. About October 16 the mysterious disappearance from one of the main Victorian country thoroughfares of a transport wagon aroused the fear that the driver had been kidnapped and might have met with foul play.