Australia Australia - Paddy Moriarty, 70, & his dog Kellie, Larrimah, NT, 16 Dec 2017

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Crimencandy said:
Just found it :

“She says she also remembers telling Laurie: “Don’t do anything stupid, because I’m going to Darwin and I don’t want to come back and bail you out of jail.”


The lost man of Larrimah | Russell Marks
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I'm confused about that trip because surely I remember reading that Fran claimed to be at home with the television turned up loud at the time Paddy ought to have arrived back from the pub.
 
I read the article and it made it sound like Lightcan still lived with Fran at the business (the old jail), but in past articles it said they were broken up. Also, I keep thinking back to the dogs myself. And if Owen lived out back of Frans, and no one in the town ever saw him, how did he get food or drink to survive? Did he survive strictly on Fran's Pies and Scones and have permission to park his trailer in exchange for ahem ahem gardening. If he was gardening, don't you think with Fran's business being across from the Green Park / Pink Panther that he would be seen at least out working the garden by locals. What did he really do at her house. When questioned he said when he moved in within hours Fran had talked his ears off about the Pub and Patty, so I think possibly he was more then a gardener to Fran. They also made comment about her daughter making jokes as she would pass Fran's paying customers. Where did her daughter live? With Fran? In that article behind the pay wall it not only talks about existing sink holes but new ones happening often as it has many underground caverns. Patty and his poor dog could be anywhere. We (most of us) come from a society that cares for and sort of worships our pets. However in that same article it talks of the Pubs peacocks being annoying so they were fed to the Salt Water Croc. The Pub also had a Buffalo that roamed around town, but the towns people got mad and ate it. This sounds like a beyond eccentric world that we can only slightly get a glimpse into, as its beyond most of our realms of living standards. (and no I am not being mean or uppity) But I know I would be fighting for the Peacocks and get myself killed.....IMHO I bet you dollars to donuts it comes down to the dogs having a fight, just what my gut has felt all along and still feels. I feel bad for Paddy but I also feel very bad for his poor pooch. I hope they find the killer, but somehow I don't think they ever will, and I think trying to find his body is not like trying to find a needle in a haystack its like trying to find a needle in a haystack full of identicle needles. IMHO I still feel I wish I could visit this place for a weekend, just due to how how how eccentric it is. IMHO it could be amazingly interesting.
 
Portabella said:
I read the article and it made it sound like Lightcan still lived with Fran at the business (the old jail), but in past articles it said they were broken up. Also, I keep thinking back to the dogs myself. And if Owen lived out back of Frans, and no one in the town ever saw him, how did he get food or drink to survive? Did he survive strictly on Fran's Pies and Scones and have permission to park his trailer in exchange for ahem ahem gardening. If he was gardening, don't you think with Fran's business being across from the Green Park / Pink Panther that he would be seen at least out working the garden by locals. What did he really do at her house. When questioned he said when he moved in within hours Fran had talked his ears off about the Pub and Patty, so I think possibly he was more then a gardener to Fran. They also made comment about her daughter making jokes as she would pass Fran's paying customers. Where did her daughter live? With Fran? In that article behind the pay wall it not only talks about existing sink holes but new ones happening often as it has many underground caverns. Patty and his poor dog could be anywhere. We (most of us) come from a society that cares for and sort of worships our pets. However in that same article it talks of the Pubs peacocks being annoying so they were fed to the Salt Water Croc. The Pub also had a Buffalo that roamed around town, but the towns people got mad and ate it. This sounds like a beyond eccentric world that we can only slightly get a glimpse into, as its beyond most of our realms of living standards. (and no I am not being mean or uppity) But I know I would be fighting for the Peacocks and get myself killed.....IMHO I bet you dollars to donuts it comes down to the dogs having a fight, just what my gut has felt all along and still feels. I feel bad for Paddy but I also feel very bad for his poor pooch. I hope they find the killer, but somehow I don't think they ever will, and I think trying to find his body is not like trying to find a needle in a haystack its like trying to find a needle in a haystack full of identicle needles. IMHO I still feel I wish I could visit this place for a weekend, just due to how how how eccentric it is. IMHO it could be amazingly interesting.
Click to expand...


I agree with pretty much everything you said. I wonder how the town dynamic is now? I’ve read that Frans nephew moved in with her to help out. It seems like over the years there had been a ton of conflicts. I only heard about the daughter in one article, does she still live in town? Where is Owen now? The article says he grew up in the bush and knows his way around that area very well. It’s very interesting how he made threats and then his computer was logged off the day Paddy goes missing.

Also, I would love to find the article that Fran says she was home with her TV up at the time of the disappearance, did her story change?
 
They might not have proof but folks in that town have a very good idea of what really happened. I lived in a town of less than a thousand people and my lord, after being raised in NYC and moving there it was culture shock. You know everyones business, its actually hysterical...IMHO
 
When Di applied for a tavern licence to sell takeaway grog at Green Park, both the publican, Barry, and Fran objected, arguing that one takeaway for 20 people was enough, and her application was rejected. Then Fran complained to the Health Department about Di sending "Larrimah Pies" to Borroloola nine hours away on the mail truck, figuring the use of the name, Larrimah Pies, would reflect badly on her produce. The Health Department investigated and that aspect of Di's enterprise was closed down. In retaliation, Di's sister Charmaine lodged a complaint with the RSPCA, citing ill-treatment of the two buffalo, two camels and Dingaling the donkey grazing near the pub. An RSPCA officer checked it out and dismissed the complaint.

In the midst of this venting, Fran's daughter Michelle pauses by the open window and yells out her ritual joke for the customers' benefit, "I picked up another couple o' road-kill for ya, Mum!"

This is what made me wonder if Fran's daughter still lives with her?????


and.... I swore they said Owens left his computer on for those two days, I am trying to find it now....I could very well be wrong. IMHO
 
Here is the article she alleges she was home the night he disappeared.
She said she and Owen were home the night their neighbour was last seen.

But she maintains she didn't hear anything unusual.

She said she told police she recalls watching a tuna fishing documentary in her bedroom, and she would have spied anything strange over the highway from her window.

That's significant, because in Larrimah, sound carries.


Could the disappearance of one man unravel an entire town?
 
Portabella said:
When Di applied for a tavern licence to sell takeaway grog at Green Park, both the publican, Barry, and Fran objected, arguing that one takeaway for 20 people was enough, and her application was rejected. Then Fran complained to the Health Department about Di sending "Larrimah Pies" to Borroloola nine hours away on the mail truck, figuring the use of the name, Larrimah Pies, would reflect badly on her produce. The Health Department investigated and that aspect of Di's enterprise was closed down. In retaliation, Di's sister Charmaine lodged a complaint with the RSPCA, citing ill-treatment of the two buffalo, two camels and Dingaling the donkey grazing near the pub. An RSPCA officer checked it out and dismissed the complaint.

In the midst of this venting, Fran's daughter Michelle pauses by the open window and yells out her ritual joke for the customers' benefit, "I picked up another couple o' road-kill for ya, Mum!"

This is what made me wonder if Fran's daughter still lives with her?????


and.... I swore they said Owens left his computer on for those two days, I am trying to find it now....I could very well be wrong. IMHO
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The Griffiths Review article is from 2006. I don't remember Fran's daughter being mentioned in the coverage of Paddy's disappearance.

You are right about OL's computer. That was reported from the inquest. See, for example: The lost man of Larrimah | Russell Marks

And thank you for finding the link about Fran and the documentary! I looked for that and couldn't find it.
 
Northern Territory detectives say they are "never going to give up" looking for missing cattle station worker Patrick 'Paddy' Moriarty as the search heads towards its 15 month without a trace.

Key points:
  • More than a year on from Mr Moriarty's disappearance, Larrimah police vow to continue their investigation
  • NT Police encourage anyone who may have information to contact them
  • Police say they have "persons of interest" but discussing specifics could jeopardise the investigation
Detectives vow to 'never give up' on Paddy Moriarty missing person case - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
 
The well-prepared bushwalker who vanished without trace

Alex Rosenberg arrived at the popular Edith Falls campground on the tail end of last year's dry season.
Then he vanished without trace.

Moriarty, aged 70, and his dog had sat down for their evening meal together in the tiny town just before Christmas in 2017, and have never been seen again.

Foul play is still the most likely explanation for Moriarty's disappearance, what had befallen Mr Rosenberg?

The NT is not over-imbued with rescue gear but police threw everything at the search, the failed Moriarty sweep gave them recent experience.

Helicopters flew ever widening circles for days, experienced park rangers walked the bush, even police divers were brought in to scour the depths of the tourist-famous clear rock pools.
 
TootsieFootsie said:
The well-prepared bushwalker who vanished without trace

Alex Rosenberg arrived at the popular Edith Falls campground on the tail end of last year's dry season.
Then he vanished without trace.

Moriarty, aged 70, and his dog had sat down for their evening meal together in the tiny town just before Christmas in 2017, and have never been seen again.

Foul play is still the most likely explanation for Moriarty's disappearance, what had befallen Mr Rosenberg?

The NT is not over-imbued with rescue gear but police threw everything at the search, the failed Moriarty sweep gave them recent experience.

Helicopters flew ever widening circles for days, experienced park rangers walked the bush, even police divers were brought in to scour the depths of the tourist-famous clear rock pools.
Click to expand...

Obviously unfortunate but at the same time fascinating. Deserves its own thread.
 
Not sure if this has been posted before. It's dated 4th January 2020

Lost in the Outback: what became of Paddy Moriarty?

He was born in Limerick County Hospital, Croom, on March 30, 1947, and while there's no record of a father, his mother was Mary Teresa Moriarty of Dromtrasna O'Brien, Abbeyfeale.

"She died in 1995," Caroline says. "A number of people in Ireland - and Irish-born people living elsewhere - have recognised her name and come forward as potential relatives…However, none of them have specific memories of Paddy, so it's possible he might have been adopted, fostered or spent time in a care facility.

"Police have even done some DNA testing but haven't found conclusive evidence of a familial link - which is not uncommon in these circumstances.

"Paddy doesn't have a next of kin in Australia and, although he told some people that he had children with an Afghan-Aboriginal woman he met while working on a cattle station, he is not listed on the birth certificate of any child.
 
Mystery from start to finish with Moriarty

"Tadhg Evans speaks to Abbeyfeale native Mae Screeney about her cousin, Paddy Moriarty. He disappeared from the Australian Outback in 2017, but the start of his life is also mystifying.

His story, from its very beginning in Limerick County Hospital in March 1947, is a patchwork of uncertainties.

He was the son of Abbeyfeale native Mary Theresa Moriarty, according to his birth certificate, which provides no record of his father. What became of him after the day he was born - which remains unclear - might never have come to public attention, however, but for his bizarre disappearance in December 2017, which alerted relatives of his to his existence"

Rest of the story is behind a paywall
 
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Frustration for relatives searching for information on missing Moriarty's Irish life

"Tusla has said that its information and tracing service on birth relatives does not extend beyond immediate family.

The Child and Family Agency outlined this in response to queries by The Kerryman after Abbeyfeale native Mae Screeney - a second cousin to Paddy Moriarty, who vanished from his adopted townland in the Australia Outback three years ago - said that she feels her family has a right to know about their cousin"
 
Reward offered - Missing person - Paddy Moriarty

Northern Territory Police have announced a $250,000 reward for information in relation to missing person Patrick ‘Paddy’ Moriarty.

“Police believe Paddy has been murdered. We are offering a reward of $250,000 for information leading to the location of his body and the conviction of the person or people responsible for his death. The case will only be closed when it is solved.”

“Even if you don’t think you have any useful information, the smallest clue might be just what we need to resolve this case.”

Anyone with any information, or who was in Larrimah at the time of Mr Moriarty’s disappearance who hasn’t already come forward, is asked to contact police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
 
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