SYDNEY, March 30 (UPI) -- An Australian man whose daughter vanished three decades ago at age 18 said Wednesday the tragedy destroyed his family.
Charles Adams, 81, spoke as a coroner's inquest into the 1978 disappearance of Trudie Adams came to a close in Sydney, The Australian reported. Trudie, 18, was last seen leaving a club in the northern beaches area of Sydney.
"My wife never got over it," he said. "She died 10 years later of a broken heart."
During the weeks police searched bushland areas for Trudie or her body, Adams said he kept himself going by drinking.
Adams praised Trudie's boyfriend, Steve Norris, the Sydney Morning Herald said. Norris testified during the inquest that he followed her from the Newport Surf Club and saw her getting into a van.
Peter Hamill, a lawyer assisting the coroner, said the verdict should be that Trudie was deliberately killed shortly after her disappearance and that her death was followed by "some sort of cover-up."
While a number of suspects were questioned years ago, Hamill said there is not enough evidence to charge anyone.
