GONE GIRLS - THE CASE OF THE VANISHING COUSINS

One April day in 1974, cousins Yvonne Waters and Raelene Eaton went to a Perth pub to see a band. They never made it home. Now, after 48 years, detectives have revealed new leads in the chilling and tragic cold case.

- Melenie Ambrose

Sitting on her bed in her Bayswater home, 16-year-old Raelene Eaton buckled up a pair of brown platform shoes. Beside her were new vinyl records and makeup, along with her bank book listing savings for a trip to Canada to finally meet penpal Diane.

Three streets away, in Maylands, Yvonne Waters was slipping into blue flares and a green top. With steady boyfriend Bob Webb away in the country for the weekend, the 17-year-old was excited to hang with cousin “Ray” at Perth’s Sunday sessions, where bands played to packed pubs until sunset.

Closing the front doors of their family homes in Perth’s east on April 7, 1974, would be the last time the teens crossed the threshold. Within hours, they would disappear and become one of Australia’s most baffling mysteries.

“There are no bodies, no crime scene, no CCTV footage, no vehicle or forensic opportunities. It’s as if they vanished into thin air,” says Detective Senior Constable Peter Shanahan, a veteran investigator whose world is a meld of sinister crooks and killers. Tasked with conducting a three-year cold case review into the disappearances, for the first time he lifts the lid on dusty evidence boxes to reveal a flawed investigation and new leads.

Starting his deep dive, Shanahan knew the basics: that the girls had gone to the Sunday session at the White Sands Tavern in beachside Scarborough, and that they were last seen around 6.30pm in the carpark with three “scruffy” men walking towards a white panel van with Queensland number plates, prefix PXJ. It’s been the most publicised lead for 48 years.