It’s been 46 years since 16-year-old Elaine Johnson vanished alongside her friend Kerry-Ann Joel.

But Elaine’s little sister, Helen Cooper, refuses to let her become a forgotten statistic.

Her relentless search for answers has taken her to local brothels, into confrontations with bikies and chasing down a mysterious 42-page letter claiming to contain a deathbed confession.

In this episode, Helen sits down with Tim and Xanthe after giving evidence at the final 2026 hearing of the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into unsolved murders and long-term missing persons. She told the committee of decades of baffling police failures - from initially treating the girls as runaways to allegedly failing to link their disappearances for 20 years.

Despite repeated requests for a reward denied, Helen refuses to give up, and has been pursuing answers and leads through the podcast: ‘Out From The Cold: Searching For Elaine’.

It&rsquo;s been 46 years since 16-year-old Elaine Johnson vanished alongside her friend Kerry-Ann Joel.
But Elaine&rsquo;s little sister, Helen Cooper, refuses to let her become a forgotten statistic.
Her relentless search for answers has taken her to local brothels, into confrontations with bikies and chasing down a mysterious 42-page letter claiming to contain a deathbed confession.
In this episode, Helen sits down with Tim and Xanthe after giving evidence at the final 2026 hearing of the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into unsolved murders and long-term missing persons. She told the committee of decades of baffling police failures - from initially treating the girls as runaways to allegedly failing to link their disappearances for 20 years.
Despite repeated requests for a reward denied, Helen refuses to give up, and has been pursuing answers and leads through the podcast: &lsquo;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/out-from-the-cold-searching-for-elaine/id1840856418">Out From The Cold: Searching For Elaine</a>&rsquo;.

Motive & Method is an expert-led Australian true crime podcast. Join Dr Xanthe Mallett and criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro as they unpack what really makes the offenders behind some of history’s most notorious cases tick, and also react and unpack crimes as they hit the headlines. You will also hear from victim survivors, investigators and advocates for change analysing motive, and method.

Motive &amp; Method is an expert-led Australian true crime podcast. Join Dr Xanthe Mallett and criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro as they unpack what really makes the offenders behind some of history’s most notorious cases tick, and also react and unpack crimes as they hit the headlines. You will also hear from victim survivors, investigators and advocates for change analysing motive, and method.

Motive & Method

Motive & Method is an expert-led Australian true crime podcast. Join Dr Xanthe Weston and criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro as they unpack what really makes the offenders behind some of history’s most notorious cases tick, and also react and unpack crimes as they hit the headlines. You will also hear from victim survivors, investigators and advocates for change analysing motive, and method.

Motive &amp; Method is an expert-led Australian true crime podcast. Join Dr Xanthe Weston and criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro as they unpack what really makes the offenders behind some of history&rsquo;s most notorious cases tick, and also react and unpack crimes as they hit the headlines. You will also hear from victim survivors, investigators and advocates for change analysing motive, and method.