Authorities in Australia have doubled the reward for anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the disappearance or death of Marion Barter.
In 2024, a coroner declared the Australian teacher, who has been missing since 1997, as dead. It was the culmination of a long-running investigation, pointing to a Luxembourg-linked conman knowing more than he testified about her disappearance.
The finding by Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan two years ago in the eastern Australian state of New South Wales strongly recommended that police now conduct a murder investigation due to “the concerning circumstances surrounding the disappearance”.
Anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of those responsible for Barter’s disappearance or her officially confirmed death in 2024 will receive one million Australian dollars (approximately €614,000). This is the second time the reward has been doubled; it was originally 250,000 dollars, then raised to half a million.
Marion Barter’s daughter, Sally Leydon, has been working to solve the case for almost 30 years. From 2019 to 2024, she was part of the podcast The Lady Vanishes, which brought the case to a wide audience.
The podcast is considered one of Australia’s most successful, and revealed Barter’s connection to Luxembourg and her contact with Belgian-born Ric Blum. Blum, who lived in Luxembourg in the 1980s, stole the identity of Luxembourg citizen Fernand Remakel and used it on forged documents in Australia. This was also the surname Marion was using at the time of her disappearance.
Ric Blum appearing at court in Australia in June 2023 © Photo credit: 7News
Last year, Leydon launched her own podcast called The Missing Matter, in which she discusses her mother’s case as well as other missing persons cases in Australia. Since 2019, she has visited Luxembourg twice to conduct research, but so far has not made a breakthrough. Her mother, Marion, has not been located and her fate is unknown.
On Monday morning local time, New South Wales Police in Australia announced the doubling of the reward at a press conference where Leydon also spoke.
This appears to have given new impetus to the investigation, as confirmed by the head of the New South Wales Homicide Unit, Joe Doueihi. “The Major Unsolved Crimes Unit remains active in this case and will investigate every lead and piece of information to find out what happened to Marion,” said Doueihi. “The increased reward demonstrates how seriously we are taking her disappearance.”
For Leydon, the increased sum also shows “that the authorities believe that crucial information exists somewhere”.
“Today marks 10,544 days since my mother disappeared,” 52-year-old Leydon said, adding: “Somewhere, someone knows something. And those who know something should understand that I will not give up until I find my mother and justice is served.”
(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Machine translated, with editing and adaptation by John Monaghan)
