Disappearance of the Beaumont Children

It was a gorgeous summer morning in 1966 when three young children in South Australia decided to spend the day at the beach. After failing to return home a few hours later, the children were labeled missing. They were never seen again. The disappearance of the Beaumont children became one of Australia’s most famous unsolved cases.

The Beaumont children (L-R) Jane, Grant, and Arnna. Source: Wiki

Disappearance

The Beaumont family lived in Somerton Park, Adelaide, a beautiful beachside suburb in South Australia. Jim, a taxi driver, was married to Nancy, and together they had three children. Jane, 9, Arnna, 7, and Grant, 4.

They lived close to Glenelg Beach, a popular location during the summer months. On the 26 January 1966, the children decided to head out there to spend the day. Their mother agreed as they had done so a few times before, with the rule that young Jane would be in charge of her siblings. They were given money for the bus fare and a small lunch. Their mother told them to return on the 12:00 PM bus.

But 12:00 PM came and went, and there was no sign of the Beaumont children.

The beachside suburb of Glenelg, where the Beaumont children were last seen. Image: By Adam.J.W.C. (Own work) [CC BY-SA 2.5 ]

When 2:00 PM passed, and the children still hadn’t returned, Jim and Nancy became concerned. Around 3 PM, Jim returned from work, and after finding out the youngsters were missing, he drove straight to the beach to search for them.

Unfortunately, his efforts yielded nothing, so he came back to pick up Nancy, and together they went around the suburb and friends’ houses. When their second attempt produced the same results as the first, they went to the local police station and reported the disappearance.

Investigation

Immediately after being informed of the missing children, the police quickly organized an extensive search party covering the entire beach and the surrounding area. Jim and Nancy prayed that the children simply wandered out too far and got lost; however, there was a very real possibility that something more sinister had taken place.

Police began to monitor the airport, railroads, and interstate roads in case of kidnapping or trafficking. The news of the disappearance quickly became known across the entire country.

After a woman reported that she had seen and spoken to the children close to a nearby marina, the police had it drained, but they found nothing. Out of the 17 items the siblings had with them on the day, the police failed to find any in their comprehensive search. The complete lack of any trace suggested the worst: that someone abducted the Beaumont children.