Out from the Cold: Searching for Elaine

Everything is thrown into uncertainty over the June long weekend in 2024, when Elaine Johnson’s younger sister, Helen, receives a stream of unexpected text messages.An informant — someone we’re calling Roger — has come forward with information he says is so sensitive it could affect an active investigation.Roger tells Helen he reached out because a friend of his knew Elaine and Kerry.That friend can no longer speak for himself; he died many years ago.But before he passed, Roger says, the man told him the girls had been taken to a property in the NSW Southern Tablelands, where something happened to them.Roger says it was his friend’s dying wish that this information be passed on to Helen.Searching for Elaine is a series from Out From The Cold, part of Happy Tuesday Productions.If you have information about Elaine Johnson or Kerri Ann Joel, you can get in touch at Help Find Elaine Johnson or contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.Searching for Elaine was produced by Kate Kachor and Sally Spicer, editing by Dan McHugh and Matt Haywood, artwork by Nic Watts.'Wildflowers' by Jess Ribeiro.

Elaine and Kerry’s disappearances were not the first to unsettle The Shire. Sadly, other young girls have also gone missing from Cronulla and nearby areas — cases with striking similarities to Elaine and Kerry’s, and which, like theirs, remain unsolved to this day. In this episode, we look at some of those cases. They were chosen for the same reason Elaine’s sisters know them so well. At first, it was to see whether they could be linked. But even when it became clear that a single perpetrator was unlikely, there was still valuable insight to be gained. The way missing persons reports were handled, how families were treated, and how early investigations unfolded all have the potential to shed light on what went wrong when Elaine and Kerry disappeared — and why, 45 years later, the people who love them still don’t have answers. A culture of victim-blaming and a pattern of inaction may hold part of that answer.Searching for Elaine is a series from Out From The Cold, part of Happy Tuesday Productions.If you have information about Elaine Johnson or Kerri Ann Joel, you can get in touch at Help Find Elaine Johnson or contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.Searching for Elaine was produced by Kate Kachor and Sally Spicer, editing by Dan McHugh and Matt Haywood, artwork by Nic Watts.'Wildflowers' by Jess Ribeiro.

There’s a place in Sydney famed for being a hippy haven with a chequered past.During the 1970s, the inner-east suburb of Kings Cross — or The Cross, as locals call it — was a magnet for free spirits, artists, and US soldiers returning from the Vietnam War.It also has a dark history of sex, crime and drugs.In the early days after Elaine Johnson went missing, her younger sisters, Helen and Wendy, were too young to search for her beyond their neighbourhood in the Shire.Instead, they relied on their parents for any news about Elaine’s whereabouts.Years later, they would uncover new details — ones that would lead them to search north of the Shire and Kings Cross to a small town with a motocross track.Searching for Elaine is a series from Out From The Cold, part of Happy Tuesday Productions.If you have information about Elaine Johnson or Kerri Ann Joel, you can get in touch at Help Find Elaine Johnson or contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.Searching for Elaine was produced by Kate Kachor and Sally Spicer, editing by Dan McHugh and Matt Haywood, artwork by Nic Watts.'Wildflowers' by Jess Ribeiro.

Kerry Anne Joel spent much of her teenage years in the beachside suburbs of southern Sydney.When she wasn't at school she spent time at Flashes, an amusement arcade in Cronulla.She also rode her dirt bike on local ovals and was a regular at a motocross track on the NSW Central Coast.One day in early 1980, Kerry took her mother's car out for a joyride with two friends. One of those friends was Elaine Johnson.On her way home Kerry had a small accident.Fearing she would get in trouble, Kerry drove the damaged car home before leaving on foot with the same two friends. It is believed Kerry, Elaine and the friend headed to Flashes.It’s been 45 years since she was last seen in The Shire area of Cronulla.Searching for Elaine is a series from Out From The Cold, part of Happy Tuesday Productions.If you have information about Elaine Johnson or Kerri Ann Joel, you can get in touch at Help Find Elaine Johnson or contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.Searching for Elaine was produced by Kate Kachor and Sally Spicer, editing by Dan McHugh and Matt Haywood, artwork by Nic Watts.'Wildflowers' by Jess Ribeiro.

For more than 40 years, Elaine Johnson’s family has searched tirelessly for answers. They’ve followed every lead, chased down every reported sighting and refused to give up on her.Over the past two years, investigative journalist Kate Kachor has worked alongside Elaine’s family — pursuing new leads and sifting through rumours of kidnapping, sex trafficking and murder.And now, witnesses who’ve stayed silent for decades are finally coming forward.Out From The Cold: Searching for Elaine coming soon.Searching for Elaine is a series from Out From The Cold, part of Happy Tuesday Productions.If you have information about Elaine Johnson or Kerri Ann Joel, you can get in touch at Help Find Elaine Johnson or contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.Searching for Elaine was produced by Kate Kachor and Sally Spicer, editing by Dan McHugh and Matt Haywood, artwork by Nic Watts.'Wildflowers' by Jess Ribeiro.