Abduction of Two Girls

Kirste Gordon & Joanne Ratcliffe

Two little girls lost... 

For 47 years, two families although unfamiliar to each other before the 25th August 1973, now share a bond no family would ever desire for. A relation that for 47 years has stayed with them, day in and day out... 

On the 25th August 1973, 4-year-old Kirste Gordon and 11-year-old Joanne Ratcliffe were at the Adelaide Oval, South Australia watching a SANFL football match with their families when they went missing.

Both girls had moved to the female toilets in the 3rd quarter of the match and failed to come back to the stands where they had been sitting. Kirste and Joanne were glimpsed evacuating the oval with a tall, stooped man and various sightings were witnessed over 90 minutes following. Many witnesses reported seeing Joanne seeming wretched and tugging on the man’s arm. One witness even went so far as to slow down to check on the girls, but believing they were with a family member did not want to interfere and drove on.

Several pleas were broadcast after the girls went missing, with hundreds of calls to South Australian police being lodged. But despite substantial research and inquiries by SAPOL and private investigators over the ensuing years, both Joanne and Kirste stay missing. Joanne and Kirste’s disappearance, and supposed kidnapping and murder, stays one of Australia’s leading unsolved child kidnapping cases. The girl's abduction is one of 13 cases in South Australia comprised in the announcement of a 1 million dollar reward announced in February 2014.

At the time of their disappearance the girls were interpreted as:

Kirste - standing 101cm tall with blonde shoulder-length hair, blue eyes and a decent complexion with faint freckles. Kirste was last glimpsed wearing a white pleated skirt, purple jumper, white pantyhose and brown lace-up shoes. Kirste also features many distinguishing marks, including a small scar above the bridge of her nose, birthmark at the base of her spine and below the hairline. Kirste would now be aged 51 years old.

Joanne - standing 127cm tall with a medium build. Joanne had brown hair in pigtails, with brown eyes and a fair complexion. Joanne was wearing a white blouse with a mustard coloured tank top, black jeans, white shoes and white socks. Joanne would now be 58 years old.

The doubted abductor has been described as standing almost 177cm with a stooped impression, wearing a brown hat with a wide brim, a grey checked sports coat and brown trousers. 

Joanne's mum, dad and brother have now all passed away, not knowing what occurred to their girl, but wishing right up until the day they each passed away, for answers.