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🇦🇺 Australia /Crime & Justice

Family of missing woman wants $1m reward to help solve 13-year-old mystery

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • The family of Monique Clubb, an Indigenous woman missing for 13 years, is calling for a $1 million reward for information.
  • Monique disappeared in June 2013 during a trip from Hervey Bay to Brisbane, with her last confirmed sighting at a shopping center.
  • The family and advocates cite issues with the initial police investigation, including mishandled evidence and a potentially narrow perspective on missing persons cases involving Aboriginal people.

The family of Monique Clubb, an Indigenous woman who vanished 13 years ago, is pleading for a $1 million reward to help solve the mystery surrounding her disappearance. Monique, described as a strong sister with a "heart of gold," was 24 when she went missing in June 2013 while traveling from Hervey Bay to Brisbane with acquaintances.

She always stuck up for us, always had our back.

— Timothy ClubbMonique Clubb's younger brother, describing her character.

Despite a coronial inquest examining the circumstances, Monique has never been found. Her family's grief is compounded by unanswered questions, and they are urging police to offer a reward for any new information that could lead to closure. "Our family has been serving a life sentence of unanswered grief. We just want to bring our sister home," said her younger sister, Minnie Clubb.

Our family has been serving a life sentence of unanswered grief. We just want to bring our sister home.

— Minnie ClubbMonique Clubb's younger sister, expressing the family's ongoing pain and desire for resolution.

The investigation has faced scrutiny, with a senior detective admitting during the 2021 inquest that security footage from the Beenleigh train station had been misplaced. Martin Hodgson, co-founder of The Disappeared Project, suggested this mishandling could have hindered the investigation, potentially missing crucial details about Monique's movements or companions.

It could have captured which rail station she might have departed [from], if she’d used a public phone or who else she might have been with.

— Martin HodgsonCo-founder of The Disappeared Project, commenting on the potential impact of misplaced security footage.

Concerns have also been raised about a potential bias in how missing persons cases involving Aboriginal people are handled. Researcher Amy McQuire noted that authorities sometimes view these individuals as perpetrators rather than victims. Police initially suspected Monique died of an overdose due to a past dependence on opiates, but search and rescue experts testified this was unlikely. The family and advocates believe a broader perspective is needed to uncover crucial insights that may have been overlooked.

They're always seen first as perpetrators rather than victims of violence.

— Amy McQuireDarumbal and South Sea Islander researcher, discussing her observations on police treatment of missing persons cases involving Aboriginal people.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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