A Current Affair spoke to a man who claims he was working in the valley when GL and CC arrived. He says on March 20 last year — the same day GL was last known to be alive — at about 4.30pm, GL flew his drone from his own campsite along the river. He said the drone hovered over the workers' campsite before continuing to fly over other campsites. He’s since spoken to police about what he saw because he recalls encountering someone who made him feel uneasy who camped near RH’s and CC’s campsite.
The worker said the man asked him for directions to the best camp at the northern end of the valley and that the man ended up camping over the bank from RH’s and CC’s spot, so they could have easily set up their camp without realising the man was there.
Whether that person is Mr Lynn is still unclear.
Fresh insights into man arrested over missing Victoria campers
This is a great find by JudgeJudi. It clears up a few things and provides a possibly reliable data point: flying the drone.
This is the verbatim transcript from the A Current Affair [ACA] report:
00:00
Today [24 November], we've spoken to a man who says he was working in the valley when Russell and Carol arrived. He claims on March 20, the same day, Russell was last known to be alive, Russell was flying his drone, over his campsite down the river, at about 4:30 in the afternoon.
His drone hovered over this worker's campsite before moving to other campsites in the area as well.
This worker has spoken to police a number of times because he also encountered a man who made him feel uneasy who he says, also camped near Russell and Carol's campsite.
The worker says, the man asked him for directions to the best camp at the northern end of the valley. And that the man ended up camping, over the bank from Russell and Carol's spot. So Russell and Carol could have easily set up their camp without realising this man was there. Whether that person is indeed, Greg Lynn is unclear.
A few points:
1. Russell was flying the drone - not GL (as JJ said).
2. This was at about 16.30 -
not in the evening as Lachlan Culican said on Under Investigation, reporting his conversation on or about 28 March, with a blackberry sprayer, who is likely identical with the man "working in the valley".
3. The worker was camped in the vicinity of Mr Hill and Ms Clay's campsite.
He would like have heard any gunshot.
4. In all the public statements made by police, they say they believe someone else was camped in the same camping spot, which is accessed by a short track that opens to a clearing. In the middle, of the clearing, more or less, is a large tree and the river at the back. Mr Hill appears to have made his camp near the entrance on the left hand side as you enter the clearing, with the "prime spot", so called by the police, towards the rear of the clearing. [
Motomike - is that correct?] It is the desirability of the camp spots and the location of Mr Hill's camp that seems to be a reason the police are saying someone else was camped in this clearing. Other witnesses say they saw the blue Nissan near the toilet or, as the police state, actually in the clearing.
5. The ACA report does not say whether the worker described the vehicle being driven by the man who asked directions and made him feel uneasy and the ACA report makes it clear that this information is not known to the reporter. HS, on the other hand, without citing how they came by the information, state: "The witness saw a man with a blue Nissan Patrol and trailer near the Wonnangatta campsite as early as Wednesday, March 18. He said the man was odd and that he stopped to ask for advice on the best campsites. It is not known if the man was Mr Lynn."
6. The worker says the unidentified man established camp "
over the bank from Russell and Carol's spot". Where is this spot?
7. A HS report stated a witness "saw a man with a blue Nissan Patrol and trailer near the Wonnangatta campsite as early as Wednesday, March 18". This appears to be a reference to a person mentioned earlier in that story, a "bushland worker" who saw Mr Hill flying his drown "before nightfall". [Theodora and I commented on the
vagueness of this report] I suspect the HS report is based on the ACA report, but that the HS reporter may not have paraphrased the ACA report accurately, which is unlike the high journalistic standards we have come to expect from the Murdoch-owned media platforms.
Or they could be worknig off a "tip off" from police, who are citing an interview. The use of the word, "witness" is interesting, as that is a formal description. The ACA report refers to "the worker".
8. It may be that the blackberry sprayer mentioned by Lachlan Culican, the "buchland worker" and "witness", mentioned by the HS and the "worker" interviewed by the ACA are differnet people; but enough of the story is similar to conclude that they are all the same person.
9. Police said they thought Mr Hill established camp, "late in the day". however, if he was flying his drone, I'd expect that to be after he established camp, which would appear to be no later than about 14.30, which is hardly "late in the day".
10. Finally, given Mr Culican spoke to the worker/blackberry sprayer on or about 28 March, because he was part of the police search effort, it seems likely that from early April police had identified vehicles of interest. This worker may also have heard the vehicle leave in the dead of night and, as the ACA report makes clear, police have spoken with him several times.
