REWARD $200,000
Gail Leandra KING aka Gail UPTON
Gail Leandra KING aka Gail UPTON
Rewards up to the amounts shown will be paid by the Government of South Australia, at the discretion of the Commissioner of Police, to anyone who provides information leading to the apprehension and conviction of the person or people responsible for crimes posted.
REWARD $200,000
Gail King Disappeared on July 7, 1997, presumed murdered.
The Brahma Lodge mother, 28, was last seen leaving her holiday home at Minlaton, on Yorke Peninsula, SA. Police have searched a location on southern Yorke Peninsula for her remains after receiving information from the public, but no arrest has been made.
Gail King was residing with her defacto husband and two children aged 5 and 3 respectively, at Mortess Street, Brahma Lodge, SA.
Over the weekend of 5/6/7 July, 1997, the family attended their Minlaton holiday house on the Yorke Peninsula. Gail arrived on Sunday, 6 July, 1997.
At about 6.00pm on Monday, 7 July 1997, Gail King left the house in her Toyota Corolla Hatch vehicle to return to Adelaide due to other commitments. (This is the last positive sighting of King). King’s defacto returned to their Brahma Lodge home at around 6.00pm on Tuesday, 8 July, to find King’s vehicle parked in the driveway and lights to the house on. The house was in a secured state, with no signs of a disturbance. King was reported missing to police the following day, Wednesday, 9 July, 1997.
Concerns are held for the safety of King as she has not made contact with her family or children, failed to keep appointments and failed to return to work after annual leave. King has not accessed her bank accounts or contacted friends.
King is described as 28 years, 175 cm’s, 85 kg’s, heavy build, olive complexion, brown wavy hair which was pushed back and below the shoulder and she has brown eyes. King was last seen wearing loose fitting type clothing. Also missing is her black vinyl handbag 30cm by 20cm, gold clasp, 60cm shoulder strap, containing keys, personal papers, photographs and a black wallet type purse which may have contained $200.00.
The matter has been declared a major crime and if any person knows the whereabouts of King or can assist with the investigation could they please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Gail and her partner Marvyn Upton were renovating their second home at Minlaton on Yorke Peninsula when something happened that overturned her life.
PETER King says he knows who killed his big sister, Gail, who vanished almost 18 years ago.
“I know the police need evidence to take action, but you do feel helpless in this situation,’’ he said.
“I get very angry about the whole thing sometimes; it’s just frustrating knowing he hasn’t been held to account and has not looked after her.’’
Despite extensive investigations by Major Crime detectives, the disappearance of Brahma Lodge mother Gail King, 28, remains unresolved. While detectives have a suspect in the case, they lack evidence to progress the file.
Ms King has not been seen since she left her holiday home at Minlaton, on Yorke Peninsula, about 7pm on Sunday, July 7, 1997. He de facto husband, Marvyn Upton, told police she had said to him she was returning to Adelaide for a work meeting scheduled for the next day.
Ms King, who was three months pregnant, left her two children — Tyson, 6, and Bethany, 4 — with Mr Upton.
He said when he returned to their Brahma Lodge home a day later, the home was locked and Ms King’s Toyota Corolla was parked in the driveway. Her handbag and overnight bag containing her clothes were inside the house. Mr Upton said the only items missing were several photo albums.
Since Ms King vanished, no attempt has been made to access her bank account, which contained a significant amount of money.
In an interview with The Advertiser following his de facto’s disappearance, Mr Upton, who still lives on Yorke Peninsula, revealed police had told him he was a suspect in her presumed murder.
“I can understand their point of view but when you’re innocent and you get told this ... it’s not very nice,’’ he said.
“I still love her and I just want her back. I’ve been in shock for the last few weeks.’’
The case officer, Detective Sergeant Brian Swan, said the file was about to be reviewed. Exhibits in the case — including several shovels seized from a suspect’s home — were also being subjected to new DNA testing.
He said there was only one suspect in the case — whom he declined to identify — and that person remained the focus of the investigation.
“While we do not have her body, all evidence indicates there has been foul play,’’ he said.
“There is no evidence to suggest she ever reached her home at Brahma Lodge, even though her car was there.’’
Det Sgt Swan said the evidence indicated there was “no doubt’’ Ms King had not vanished of her own accord. She worked at Gilles Plains as a carer and intended to attend a meeting at her workplace on July 8.
“You just don’t disappear when you have made plans like that,’’ he said.
“And you just don’t leave two little kiddies behind like that. She adored them and they adored her.
“She was also very close to her parents and her mother was suffering from cancer at the time. It is totally, totally out of character.’’
Det Sgt Swan said there were puzzling aspects to the case, with one being the fact the green tracksuit Ms King was wearing when she was last seen by Mr Upton was found at her Brahma Lodge house.
Strangely, while the tracksuit had been washed, other clothing found in her overnight bag — including underwear — had not been.
Mr Upton has told detectives he washed the tracksuit, along with some of his dirty clothes the day he returned from Minlaton.
The tracksuit has been subjected to extensive forensic testing, but no evidence was found on it.
Extensive searches of the area and sandhills at nearby Port Rickaby have also been conducted in the hope of finding Ms King’s remains.
Detectives sought an opinion from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on the evidence against the suspect but have been advised they do not have enough to put the person before court.
While Ms King’s parents, Wilfred and Joyce, had died without seeing justice for her murder, Mr King, 41, said his family were still hopeful of not just a resolution in the case but one day finding Gail’s remains.
“My family spends time on the peninsula and you do wonder where she might be every time you go there,’’ he said.
“It is something you think about all the time but particularly when the family in the area. It sounds funny but you almost look behind every bush wondering if she is there.’’
Mr Upton could not be contacted for comment by the Sunday Mail.
A $200,000 reward is available for anyone who provides information leading to a conviction in the case or the recovery of Ms King’s remains.
Fresh inquiries are being made by Major Crime investigators
in connection with a 20-year-old unsolved missing person case, it was
confirmed this week.
SA Police revealed the line of inquiry this week when speaking to Crime
Stopper’s TV partner, Channel 9, about the disappearance, and suspected
murder, of mother-of-two Gail King in 1997.
Major Crime Investigation Branch’s Operations Manager, Detective Inspector
Greg Hutchins, who has been involved with the investigation since it began,
said the cold case is undergoing a review as part of Operation Persist.
However in addition to that police have had recent contact with someone who
had provided “a different taint” to the inquiry, he said.
“While I can’t comment too much on what we have, I can confirm that we have
information that is credible and needs to be explored,” he said. “It is
another avenue we need to look at.”
Dtv Inspector Hutchins said one of the wider benefits of Operation Persist
and the ongoing SA Police relationship with Crime Stoppers was that people
were continuing to come forward with information in relation to a range of
unsolved matters.
“It must be unbelievably difficult for Gail’s family to have no resolution
to her disappearance,” he said. “But police continue to work on this
matter.”
He said that during late 1996 and into 1997 Ms King and her defacto partner
were doing weekend renovations on a property at Minlaton on Yorke Peninsula
while continuing to live at Brahma Lodge.
Her partner, who has been told by police that he is a suspect in this
matter, told police that on the evening of 7 July 1997 Ms King left the
Minlaton property alone to return to Adelaide for work the next day.
He then returned to Adelaide with her two young children on 8 July and found
her car in the driveway, with the home secured but no sign of Ms King.
She was reported missing on 9 July and her disappearance was declared a
Major Crime on 22 July.
“We are keeping an open mind in relation to this matter – there are a number
of unexplained aspects of this case which we will keep working on,” Dtv
Inspector Hutchins said.
“I would urge anyone with information that might be relevant to pick up the
phone and talk to us about what they know – her children and her family
deserve that much.”
A $200,000 reward is available for anyone for anyone providing information
leading to the apprehension and conviction or a person for Gail King’s
suspected murder, or for the recovery of her remains.
Anyone with information about this matter is asked to call Crime Stoppers on
1800 333 000 or report online at https://crimestopperssa.com.au/
The 1997 disappearance and suspected murder of a South Australian mother-of-two is undergoing a full case review.
Gail King was last seen at Minlaton, on Yorke Peninsula.
Her de facto husband told police that she left their two young children with him on July 7, 1997, and drove back to the family home in Adelaide to attend a meeting the next day.
However, when he got back to their home on the following evening her car was at the property, along with the bag she took to Minlaton, but Ms King was not.
A new case officer within the major crime investigation branch has been assigned to the investigation in a bid to identify new leads, information and forensic evidence.
Detective Brevet Sergeant Tanya Mason said one of the crucial questions was how Ms King's car came to be at her Brahma Lodge property.
"There are two likely possibilities in this case," she said.
"Firstly she was killed by a close associate in the Minlaton area, with someone involved in returning the vehicle to Adelaide to stage the scene, or secondly she was killed by another person, who is most likely known to her, after returning to Adelaide," Sgt Mason said.
"We are keeping an open mind to all possibilities."
Sgt Mason said while Ms King's de facto husband had been interviewed and was considered a person of interest, police were also aware that Ms King had been having an affair and investigators had spoken to that person too.
"Anyone with information in this case is asked not to assume what we know, or what someone else has said to us - please call and provide the information," she said.
"There was nothing to suggest she didn't get home, and there was nothing to suggest she did."
Ms King's black handbag, along with her purse and keys, have never been located.
Posted on 07/07/2020
Crimestoppers SA
It is now 23 years since Gail King disappeared without a trace.
The 28-year old mother was last seen alive at a home on the Yorke Peninsula that she was renovating with her defacto husband on 7 July 1997.
Police investigations have revealed Ms King arrived at the Minlaton house on the evening of Sunday, July 6, 1997.
Her defacto husband had arrived there with their two young children several days earlier.
On the Monday they had visited several locations including Troubridge Point and Pondalowie Bay, before arriving back at Minlaton about 5.30pm.
Ms King’s partner told investigators that she said she had to return to Adelaide that night because of an occupational health and safety meeting the next day. She reportedly left about 7pm, just 24 hours after arriving.
Enquiries with her employer, an aged care facility at Gilles Plains, confirmed there had been no scheduled meeting.
Her de facto said he drove his gold Ford Falcon station wagon with the children back, arriving at their Brahma Lodge home about 6pm on Tuesday, July 8.
He found his partner’s white Toyota Corolla in the driveway at the property.
The house was locked and in darkness, apart from a single light in the lounge room. There were no obvious signs of a disturbance.
The overnight bag she had taken to Minlaton containing some clothes was there, but her black vinyl handbag and purse were missing. Her house and car keys were also missing.
Besides her handbag, the only items her partner says were missing from the house were several photo albums containing family pictures.
While Ms King’s de facto husband remains a person of interest, police are also aware that Ms King had been having an affair and investigators have spoken to that person too.
Ms King was also believed to have been 3-months pregnant.
Ms King hasn’t contacted any members of her family or touched her bank account, leading police to believe that she has been murdered.
While investigators continue to keep an open mind in the investigation, they believe there are two likely possibilities. Firstly she was killed by a close associate in the Minlaton area, with someone then returning the vehicle to Adelaide to stage the scene, or secondly she was killed by another person, who is most likely known to her, after returning to Adelaide.
A $200,000 reward remains on offer for information that leads to a conviction in this case and/or the recovery of her remains.