Jetstar Pilot Questioned Over Missing Couple

[Black Orchid]

Man being questioned over the disappearance of missing Victorian campers Carol Clay and Russell Hill identified as Jetstar pilot Gregory Lynn.

The man being questioned over the disappearance of missing Victorian campers Carol Clay and Russell Hill has been identified as a senior airline pilot.

Gregory Lynn was arrested in a dramatic confrontation when heavily armed police were dropped into his high country campsite in Licola by helicopter on Monday.

The 55-year-old’s vehicle was also seized.

Mr Lynn, who is currently a Jetstar captain, was tracked leaving his Caroline Springs home on Monday, travelling more than 230km to Licola.

Police, who sought information about the vehicle just a week ago, allege it was painted from blue to beige to avoid detection.

The Nissan Patrol, which was seen leaving the burnt-out campsite at the time of the couple’s disappearance, led detectives to Lynn.

https://7news.com.au/news/vic/man-being ... -c-4668111

[Redneck]

Very interesting to watch what eventuates.

The vehicle repaint may have led to a tip off for the police I suspect.

Apparently the trailer is missing I think I read.

I think I also read the police had placed bugs in his car and house?

[Redneck]

A bit of fresh stuff on this case

Victoria’s top cop has given new insight into the state’s biggest camping mystery.

Chief commissioner Shane Patton said authorities are still linking clues together in “one of the most complex cases” in Victoria’s history.

“We’re not rushing into anything here. We’re taking it methodically,” he told 3AW.

Mr Patton also urged members of the public to come forward if they have any information about a missing trailer which could help police crack the case.

“Anyone who has information about or purchased a silver trailer last year between March and July and they don’t absolutely know who it was they purchased it from or how they came into possession of it and that there might be something sus about it, if they could contact Crime Stoppers that would be fantastic,” he said.

“We are still reliant on members of the public for information and we’re still trying to locate a trailer.”

Valentine Smith, who now heads up the Missing Persons Investigation Network, agreed the trailer could prove crucial in solving the mystery.

The former veteran police officer also said the thorough investigation would be closely tied to how remote the area of disappearance was.

“I understand there are some things it gets back to when looking at an incident scene or a crime scene and understanding what you’re looking for and what you’re looking at,” he told RN.

“With all of the evidence analysed, one of the things that the police are looking for, from what I can hear through the media is a trailer.

“Now if that trial is still outstanding, that may or may not be a crucial piece of information or evidence that may assist this case.”

Missing campers Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, were last known to be alive in Victoria’s remote Wonnangatta Valley, 350km northeast of Melbourne, on March 20, 2020.

The police interrogation of the man arrested over their disappearance is set to continue into a third day.

Greg Lynn, 55, has not yet been charged with any offence but can remain in custody for a “reasonable amount of time” before being released, held or bailed.

However, a 72-hour stretch without a charge is rare, with Mr Lynn’s arrest coming after a 20-month investigation into the disappearance of the campers.

Mr Lynn’s neighbours also said they have been left in shock, two days after police descended on remote bushland and stormed a campsite in the Gippsland region.

In the aftermath of the arrest, shocked neighbours said they were floored by arrest of the “family man” who on social media appeared to live an idyllic life.

One neighbour, John Vella, told reporters Lynn had changed the colour of his 4WD about 12 months ago, while others said Lynn kept to himself.

“It was in need of a spray paint because the paint was all faded, but I didn’t take much notice when he sprayed it,” Mr Vella said.

“I’m just shocked, he seemed to be very nice.”

Video has surfaced of the moment police stormed the campsite to arrest Mr Lynn.

Students camping at the Licola wilderness village captured the dramatic police operation on video.

The video shows heavily armed Special Operations Group officers swarm the remote location in east Gippsland, before capturing the suspect.

A student from the group told the Herald Sun they saw and heard two helicopters from the air wing arrive near their school camp.

The group were told by police the situation was a training drill.

“They all felt a little overwhelmed and very confused as to what was going on,” one parent said.

“They were told it was a training session. Mind you, these are 14 and 15-year-olds, so they knew something was going down.”

Ms Clay’s sister broke her silence after the man being questioned over the mystery was identified as Mr Lynn.

Jill Clay said her beloved sister’s disappearance had been tough and hoped the man’s arrest would bring answers.

“Emotionally, it’s brought up everything during that time – a lot of grief and pain. We haven’t known how, we haven’t know why, they just vanished,” she told Nine News.

“Now all of a sudden there's a glimmer and we might get some answers.

“It would be such a relief to have those answers, to have a memorial for Carol and Russell.”

Mr Lynn was arrested in a dramatic confrontation at a remote campsite in Victorian high country on Monday.

The 55-year-old’s vehicle was also seized.

Mr Hill and Ms Clay were last known to be alive in the state’s remote Wonnangatta Valley, 350km northeast of Melbourne, on March 20, 2020.

The elderly friends, from Melbourne’s outer southeast, are believed to have been murdered but their bodies have never been found.

Mr Lynn was tracked leaving his Caroline Springs home on Monday.

Heavily armed police on helicopters later intercepted him at Licola, more than 230km away.

Jetstar said Mr Lynn had been removed from duty as a result of his arrest.

“Jetstar has been advised by Victoria Police that one of its employees is under investigation for a serious crime and will work to assist in this due process any way we can,” a spokesman said.

It is believed the case escalated unexpectedly in recent days and Victoria Police’s special operations group was called in at short notice, flying to the area in two helicopters to make the arrest.

Police revealed late on Tuesday they had seized a four-wheel-drive belonging to Mr Lynn, which could become a vital piece of evidence in the investigation.

The car closely resembles the dark blue Nissan Patrol police had been searching for in recent months following an appeal to the public for the owner of the car to come forward.

Police have revealed several possible narratives over the course of the investigation, including that a fight potentially erupted between the couple and another person at the campsite before their disappearance.

Investigators ramped up an intense campaign in recent weeks and officers drip-fed information to the public, including CCTV images of a vehicle suspected to be linked to the case.

It’s believed detectives had the suspect under heavy surveillance for some time, warning in October the person involved should feel “very uncomfortable”.

There is now speculation they had listening devices in both his vehicle and home over weeks and months.

Police revealed earlier this month they believed an argument may have broken out between the couple and a third party.

Mr Hill and Ms Clay were last heard from in March 2020 when they travelled via Licola, spending one night at Howitt High Plains before heading into Wonnangatta Valley on March 20.

Mr Hill – who did not tell his wife he was with Ms Clay – was last heard from the next day via HF radio, stating he was at Wonnangatta Valley in the Victorian Alps.

Campers later found Mr Hill’s vehicle with signs of minor fire damage at their campsite, which was completely burned out, near the Dry River Creek Track in the Wonnangatta Valley on March 21.

https://www.news.com.au/national/victor ... 9121e90d82

[Redneck]

So the police have found human remains after only one days searching.

I wonder if the guy charged has confessed?

as it seems strange the cops would start searching such a small area and find remains on the first day.

[Black Orchid]

I think the police have fairly solid info to go on.

[Redneck]

[Black Orchid]

It's a shame they can't find poor little William Tyrrell

[Redneck]

Reported today I see they have uncovered a ring at the search site.

[Redneck]

Bit of an update!

Very interesting!



Friends say Jetstar pilot accused of murdering secret lover campers was a 'weird fish' - as police reveal the frightening reason elite officers on choppers were sent into remote bushland to arrest him


-Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn is accused of double murder of secret lover campers
- Police swooped in by helicopter to arrest him at a remote campsite last month
- He was allegedly armed with two high-powered rifles when detectives moved in
- Detectives feared he may have tried to self-harm or destroy vital evidence
- Friends have revealed he was bitter over RAAF snub and 'a bit of a weird fish'

Specially-trained police swooped from helicopters in remote bushland to stop the prime suspect in the murder of Australia's secret lover campers from killing himself.

Greg Lynn, 55, was said to be armed with high-powered rifles as police closed in when he was arrested in bushland near Arbuckle Junction in Victoria's High Country.

Detectives reportedly feared he could either self-harm or destroy vital evidence and authorised the helicopter mission by the Special Operations Group to swoop in and seize him.

Lynn was later charged with the murders of Carol Clay, 73, and Russell Hill, 74, after they vanished from a campsite while on an illicit extra-marital trip in March 2020.

Mr Hill and Ms Clay, who had been in a secret relationship for years, were last heard from on March 20 when Mr Hill, an experienced outdoorsman, made a call via high-frequency radio saying he was at Wonnangatta Valley.

Campers found Mr Hill's car destroyed by fire at their burnt out campsite near Dry River Creek Track the following day, but no trace had ever been found of the pair.

Soon after Mr Lynn's arrest, detectives found human remains, thought to be of the couple, on the route they believe the killer took as he fled from the murder scene

In the weeks leading up to the arrest, detectives had deliberately ramped up the pressure on the double-murderer, with media leaks to try to force him out of hiding.

Despite police revealing they were looking for a 4WD and trailer identical to ones owned by Mr Lynn, he allegedly never came forward in the renewed hunt for the couple's killer.

The wealthy Jetstar pilot - described by friends as a 'weird fish', according to The Age - had previously spoken to detectives when he had first been identified by mobile phone data as having been in the area at the time of their disappearance.

But in the wake of new CCTV pics showing a blue Nissan Patrol and trailer in Mount Hotham at the time of the couple's disappearance, Mr Lynn became prime suspect.

Mr Lynn is said to own a matching vehicle, but it has since apparently been resprayed beige.

He'd also allegedly owned a trailer like the one seen in the footage, but is said to have sold it online after the couple disappeared.

Mr Lynn has since lived an apparently normal life with second wife, flight attendant Melanie at their home in Melbourne's Caroline Springs.

In January he proudly posted a picture of him BBQing a leg of lamb on the $85 Bunnings spit he had been given as a Christmas present, with the caption: 'XMAS present. First time. Lamb leg. Delicious!'

His marriage to first wife, Lisa, had ended in 1999. She was found dead in the garden of her home later that year, after an overdose of anti-depressants and alcohol.

The father of two was a pilot for Ansett Airlines at the time, after having previously trained with the RAAF but left when he was denied the chance to fly fighter jets.

In the wake of Ansett's collapse in 2001, Mr Lynn moved to Qatar to become a lead pilot and returned to Australia to work at Jetstar six years later.

He is said to have been a check and training captain with the budget airline, on a salary of around $280,000.

The keen outdoorsman and frequent camper - who had a firearms licence - was said to have 'an obsessive eye for detail, highly intelligent and calm under pressure'.

But acquaintances told The Age he was also a self-absorbed, self-contained narcissist.

As police prepared to move in to arrest him, Mr Lynn returned to Victoria's wild bushland in his 4WD, armed with his rifles used for bush hunting.

Detectives took the decision to mount the helicopter mission to swoop in immediately to take him into custody and arrested him without incident.

He was questioned for three days at Sale police station before he was finally charged with the double murder.

On Thursday, detectives confirmed they had finally ended their hunt for the bodies of Ms Clay and Mr Hill after the search at a specific spot near Dargo, Victoria.

While the remains are yet to be formally identified, with results of DNA testing expected to take some time, Victoria Police confirmed the 19 month mission to discover the fate of the couple was now almost over.

Mr Lynn has been remanded in custody.

[Black Orchid]

I can't imagine what his motive would be. Maybe one of the couples' spouse put a hit out on them.