If two teenage girls went missing today, would police just assume they’d run away from home? That assumption is why two Australian teenagers, Elaine Johnson and Kerry Anne Joel, have never been found.

Elaine was 16, Kerry was 17, living a carefree 80s life in The Shire, south of Sydney. The girls were seen hitchhiking on the Princes Highway, but by the weekend, they were gone. No calls. No sightings. Years later, the families uncovered police oversights, lost documents, and a cold case that never should’ve gone cold.

Journalist and podcast host Kate Kachor is retracing Elaine’s final days, hoping someone out there finally comes forward.

You can listen to Kate's podcast Out from the Cold: Searching for Elaine, here. 

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CREDITS 

Guest: Kate Kachor

Host: Claire Murphy

Senior Producer: Tahli Blackman

Group Executive Producer: Ilaria Brophy

Audio Engineer: Tina Matalov

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We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.