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In a Town of 11 People, Mysterious Disappearance Turns Neighbor Against Neighbor

nytimes.com

31–40 of 120 posts

Re: In a Town of 11 People, Mysterious Disappearance Turns Neighbor Against Neighbor

#31
post #9

I’m more amazed that a town of 11 people has a bar and a hotel. But also that so much drama exists in such small community.

That's because the town is on the Stuart Highway [1], the main road connecting Darwin with the rest of Australia. There's also very little other habitation in these parts, meaning any pitstop will get some passing traffic.

Also, it's worth noting that in Australia, a "hotel" is a bar/pub that may or may not have accommodation.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Highway

Re: In a Town of 11 People, Mysterious Disappearance Turns Neighbor Against Neighbor

#32
post #6
post #2

Google Maps of Larrimah, fwiw: https://goo.gl/maps/h4xiyGcRAeA2 (the Street View car apparently decided to skip going into town)

Looks like local openstreetmappers also decided to skip it: https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/-15.57428/133.21534

That's because Katherine is just around the corner, and has a better pub

Re: In a Town of 11 People, Mysterious Disappearance Turns Neighbor Against Neighbor

#33
Reminds me a bit of the Bobby Dunbar story:

> In 1912 a four-year-old boy named Bobby Dunbar went missing in a swamp in Louisiana. Eight months later, he was found in the hands of a wandering handyman in Mississippi. In 2004, Bobby Dunbar's granddaughter discovered a secret beneath the legend of her grandfather's kidnapping, a secret whose revelation would divide her own family, bring redemption to another, and become the answer to a third family's century-old prayer.

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/352/the-ghost-of-bobby-dunb...

> In March 2008, Public Radio International's This American Life featured The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar, a radio documentary about the investigation of the case by Margaret Dunbar Cutright. She expressed her own opinion that the real Bobby Dunbar most likely fell into Swayze Lake during the fishing trip and was eaten by an alligator.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Bobby_Dunbar

Re: In a Town of 11 People, Mysterious Disappearance Turns Neighbor Against Neighbor

#34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> sometimes there is a cone of silence which is really strong, and quite at odds with what we think of as "the law" Reminds me of the plot of the movie Hot Fuzz.

Yeah I decided idyllic English villages aren't for me, after watching Hot Fuzz and Midsomer Murders.

recommend any other such films? I'm all over that small town lawless stuff

Re: In a Town of 11 People, Mysterious Disappearance Turns Neighbor Against Neighbor

#35
post #4

Was he fed to a crocodile? Is he in a meat pie? Will the reviews for the meat pies improve if a man with failing livers is added to the mix? So many mysteries. I love this article.

You love this article about the possible murder of a 70 year old alcoholic labourer who lived by himself with no family in the whole country? I think it's sad.

I agree with your thoughts too. If the article speculated on the awful experience if any of those things happened, or if I had just taken that logical step on my own, I should be ashamed or at least contrite. It left those things up to me and I took the bait and just enjoyed the characters in the story that remained. It happens that I'm reading Sapiens right at this moment and it pulls you into a different perspective on the importance of a single human life as compared to the massive extinctions occurring and the incredible sad reality that we humans create for domesticated livestock. It is sad, this man who probably died, indeed.

Re: In a Town of 11 People, Mysterious Disappearance Turns Neighbor Against Neighbor

#36
Seems the only time my home state makes international news is because of some weird death or disappearance:

  - Murder of Peter Falconio [1]
  - Rod Ansell, inspiration for Crocodile Dundee dies in a police shoot out [2]
  - Croc river murders of Darwin sex workers [3]
  - Death of Azaria Chamberlain (Dingo ate my baby) [4]
  - German backpacker who escaped the Bali bomb blast killed by a crocodile in Kakadu [5]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Peter_Falconio

[2] https://www.tvovermind.com/entertainment-news/tragic-story-r...

[3] https://www.theage.com.au/national/teens-sentenced-to-life-f...

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Azaria_Chamberlain

[5] https://www.smh.com.au/national/crocodile-victim-survived-ba...

Re: In a Town of 11 People, Mysterious Disappearance Turns Neighbor Against Neighbor

#37
post #28

>A three-day search by foot, on four-wheel-drives and from the air ruled out death by misadventure. To date, the police have found no trace of Mr. Moriarty or his dog. I'm kinda surprised that this ruled out something. Particularly in a rural area. I grew up in rural areas and there are often stories of massive searches, and the body didn't turn up until it was stumbled upon surprisingly close to civilization.

I suppose it depends on the terrain, but I'd agree. Another possibility is that something in the behavior of the townsfolk during questioning does not suggest, to the police, actual ignorance of what happened. Which wouldn't mean the police are necessarily correct, of course.

Yeah looking at what photos there are the terrain there is pretty open and you'd think you'd find someone, but "rules out" just sorta doesn't sit well with me there.

Re: In a Town of 11 People, Mysterious Disappearance Turns Neighbor Against Neighbor

#38
I once knew a fellow who had grown up on a small island in Alaska. He told me there was one man in particular who lived there who was a real piece of work, just a miserable SOB. One day someone shot him and killed him in his home. The guy gave me to understand that everybody on the island knew it was his son but didn't feel that a prosecution would serve any useful purpose. The boy had enough problems.

Can you imagine? The whole fucking island swallowed a fratricide. Who's fit to judge such things?

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