SYDNEY, March 31 (UPI) -- A coroner has concluded a young Australian woman was probably killed soon after she vanished in 1978 not far from where she was last seen.
Deputy State Coroner Scott Mitchell said Friday he was referring the case of Trudie Adams to the Commissioner of Police, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Adams was 18 when she was last seen leaving a club in Sydney's northern beaches area June 25, 1978. Her boyfriend, now a middle-aged man, testified during the inquest that he followed her from the club and saw her getting into a van.
Mitchell said Adams was probably killed either in the area or in nearby bushland by one or more unknown people.
The coroner found no real evidence linking a convicted sex offender who lived in the area or a group of teens known as the "Roseland lads" to the disappearance and presumed homicide. The teenagers reportedly boasted of being involved but were said to be in the habit of making outlandish claims about notorious crimes.
Mitchell praised Charles Adams, now 81, the missing woman's father.
"He gave brave and generous evidence and those assisting me have spoken of the help and guidance which he gave them," Mitchell said. "His loss need not be described and his presence and participation in these coronial proceedings is a mark of huge love and respect for his missing daughter."
