Gaye Christine BAKER
Gaye Christine BAKER
Police searching a large dam at a Ferny Grove quarry for the body of Gaye Christine Baker.
Gaye's sisters Robyn Johnson and Annette Williscroft urge anyone with information about Gaye Baker to come forward.
Gaye Christine Baker was a Corporal in the W.R.A.A.F., c/- Kangaroo Point, RAAF Base. She was seen at her residence, 151 Kerry Road, Archerfield, Brisbane, at about 7.30pm on 01 July 1972.Baker was to meet a male companion on the morning of 02 July 1972. This was organised through an escort agency named 'ABCO AGENCIES' of Fortitude Valley. It is believed Baker was last seen at about 9.30am on 02 July 1972, when parking her yellow Datsun 1200 sedan in Bayview Terrace, Clayfield. She has not been seen since.
Gaye Baker, 23, was last seen alive at Clayfield on July, 2, 1972. She had left her Archerfield home the day before to keep an appointment as a pool party hostess after being booked by telephone through an agency by a man who called himself "John Taylor".
A MERE 100 metres from a bend on a busy arterial road there is a series of deep dams where police searched in vain for a woman’s body. Many believe she is still down there.
THE two calls came through to police on Saturday 11 August, 1973.
On both occasions, the person on the other end of the line simply said Gaye Baker could be found in 20ft of water in a hole behind a Ferny Grove quarry.
Ms Baker, a 23-year-old RAAF police officer, had been missing for more than a year before the calls were made.
The anonymous tip-offs left police with no choice but to send divers into the murky water holes that surrounded the quarry on Upper Kedron Road.
Frogmen waded through and attempted to reach the dark depths of a number of waterholes.
Visibility was zero, the volume of water endless and there seemed to be no trace of the young woman.
The waterholes littered a landscape of about two square miles of the quarry, which is now operated by building and construction materials supplier Hanson Heidelberg Cement Group.
In fact some of them were nearly 80ft (24 metres) deep. It was practically impossible for the police divers to search all the water.
The divers concentrated on the edges of the pool, where someone could have driven up and dumped a body easily.
They found an old bed and other dumped rubbish, and recovered a red public phone that had been stolen and broken open for money. But they found no human remains.
Part of one hole had been filled-in just prior to the search and police feared that the body could have been buried under about 20ft (6m) of fill.
A week after the calls was made, the Acting Assistant Commissioner for Crime Mr Buchanan, urged the anonymous caller to reveal more specific details of where Ms Baker could be found.
“I ask this man to telephone me personally and confidentially,” Mr Buchanan told reporters then.
“We need urgently more details on where he believes the body is.
“At present we face a mammoth task …”
The call was never returned.
Police were faced with a massive decision to drain the waterhole where they thought Ms Baker would most likely be found.
They desperately wanted more detailed information in order to minimise the drainage cost.
Initial estimates put the cost at $220, but this figure ballooned to nearly $1000.
Police needed to make a mammoth and costly decision.
If a body could be found, their suspicions would finally be confirmed.
GAYE Christian Baker was an air force police officer who worked at the RAAF Amberley Base.
She was deemed attractive, financially well-off and accomplished.
Her character was considered impeccable, she was a strict church goer and it seems she had never been burdened by any domestic worries.
By the time she was 23, Ms Baker had accumulated a considerable amount of wealth.
She had a four-figure bank account, valuable shareholdings and a car which her friends said was her pride and joy.
In fact, Ms Baker had saved $4000 in one bank account and $2600 in another – that’s the equivalent of $64,605 by today’s standard.
What baffled police in this case was her decision on July 2, 1972 to take up a $15 escort job as a hostess at a pool party.
Her financial position suggested she was in no need of such a meagre fee – yet it was later revealed she may have taken on the job to make extra money in anticipation of marriage.
Nevertheless, she took up the job.
Little did she know what would happen next.
GAYE Baker mysteriously vanished on July 2, 1972. Her disappearance sparked a massive search as police tried to retrace her steps.
From what they could tell, Ms Baker had accepted a $15 escorting role as a hostess to a pool party.
The date had been arranged by a Fortitude Valley escort agency called ABCO AGENCIES.
According to a newspaper article printed three days after her disappearance, a well-built man aged in his 20s had approached the agency offering the job.
The agency expected a payment to be made in advance of the date.
He would later give that payment, stuffed in an envelope, to a taxi driver who delivered the money to the agency.
It’s understood that upon receiving the payment, the agency sent out an advert which Ms Baker accepted.
She was given instructions to meet a John Taylor, the supposed name of this mystery man, near the Clayfield Bowl.
This information led police to locating her very distinct yellow sedan near the old Clayfield tram terminal two days after her disappearance.
But when police searched the car, they found nothing of interest.
Even more alarming, when police checked the supposed address of the pool party, there was no pool at all.
Detectives were almost certain Ms Baker had run into foul play.
ALMOST everything about this arranged date seemed fake – the address seemed fake, the pool party seemed fake, the man’s name seemed fake.
The only thing detectives knew for sure was that Gaye Baker was most likely last seen in the Clayfield area.
Her deserted car in the up-market suburb suggested she must have been in the area.
Police began to canvass the neighbourhood in a desperate bid to find any clues.
They knocked and knocked on doors as they tried to find answers.
Their hard work appeared to pay off when a witness in Clayfield said they faintly remembered seeing a woman who matched Ms Baker’s description parking her car.
They had a hazy recollection of seeing Ms Baker drive off with a man in a brown or bronzed coloured car. The witness couldn’t quite remember.
Meanwhile, detectives caught up with the taxi driver who delivered the advanced payment to the escort agency.
They pressed him to provide a description of the man, but their efforts proved fruitless.
The taxi driver told them the man had stood at the side window of his car and he had been unable to get a good look of him.
Without any decent information to run with, police were left clueless.
Hand writing on the envelope given to the taxi driver was widely publicised during the investigation, but the writer was never identified.
And as the case began to drag on, hopes of finding the young woman alive faded.
Detectives assumed Ms Baker had been abducted and murdered.
AND THEN those two anonymous calls came through two years later, leaving police with the huge decision of whether to drain the waterhole.
Ultimately, police decided against the move.
The Acting Assistant Commissioner for Crime Mr Buchanan said the Queensland Police Service could not justify spending money on the operation.
“It was decided the expenditure of $1000 on such slim, anonymous information as not justified,” he said.
But according to an article printed in 1981, there were detectives then who still wanted the water drained.
A number of police officers have been responsible for the case over the past four decades.
In 1994, police investigated another tip-off that someone matching Ms Baker’s description may have attended a house party in the Redcliffe area close to the time of her disappearance.
An informant told police the young woman may have been raped by up to four men who attended the party.
To this day though, Ms Baker’s disappearance is still shrouded in mystery.
It has been more than 44 year since she went missing and police want to find her.
They also want to find her killer - a $250, 000 reward is on offer to any person who can help police track him down.
Family members have joined police to appeal for public assistance relating to the suspected murder of Gaye Christine Baker who was last seen alive at Clayfield on July 2, 1972.
At the time of her disappearance, 23-year-old Gaye Baker, a fulltime Corporal in the Women’s Royal Australian Air Force (WRAAF), was due to meet a man in Clayfield after taking a second job as a hostess.
On the morning of July 2 1972 Gaye Baker was due to meet her first ever client, a man who called himself John Taylor to the agency that made the booking, ABCO Services of Fortitude Valley. Gaye was booked to work as a hostess for a pool party at a Clayfield residence.
It is believed she was last seen alive around 9.30am on July 2 1972 when parking her 1971 yellow Datsun 1200 sedan in Bayview Terrace, Clayfield. She has not been seen since.
Gaye was reported missing shortly after she failed to report for work at the WRAAF on July 3 1972. Her Datsun was found the following day parked at Clayfield.
Detective Senior Sergeant Tara Kentwell of Homicide’s Cold Case Investigation Team said through the renewed public appeal it is hoped new information will be received to help solve the case and bring offenders to justice.
“It’s been 47 years since Gaye Baker was last seen alive and we are urging anyone with information, even if they spoke to police at the time, to come forward and give Gaye’s family some closure.
“We are particularly interested in hear from those who were in the area at the time who may have seen Gaye, or a vehicle seen near Gaye’s car on Bayview Terrace, described as a dark brown or maroon Holden Monaro or Valiant Charger,” Detective Senior Sergeant Tara Kentwell said.
Gaye Baker was described as 157cm tall with long dark curly hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing light coloured blue jeans, a navy-blue blouse, white heeled sandals and carrying a silver purse.
A Government reward of $250,000 has been issued for information which leads to the apprehension and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder.
The reward further offers an opportunity for indemnity against prosecution for any accomplice, not being the person who actually committed the murder, who first gives such information.
If you have information for police, contact Policelink by providing information using the online suspicious activity form 24hrs per day at www.police.qld.gov.au/reporting.
You can report information about crime anonymously to Crime Stoppers, a registered charity and community volunteer organisation, via crimestoppersqld.com.au 24hrs per day.
Quote this reference number: QP1700380419 within the online suspicious activity form.
The sisters of missing Brisbane woman Gaye Baker, who was last seen alive in 1972, have joined police in calling for information linked to one of Queensland's longest unsolved cases.
Miss Baker was last seen at Clayfield, on Sunday July 2, 1972, when she was meeting a man who called himself John Taylor.
In front of media on Friday, sisters Robyn Johnson and Annette Williscroft urged anyone who has been sitting on information over the last decades to come forward.
"Forty-seven years ago tragedy struck our family when our much-loved older sister Gaye went missing and has not been seen since," Ms Johnson said.
"This still has a ripple effect on our lives today."
Miss Baker, a full-time corporal in the Women's Royal Australian Air Force, was on her first "date" after taking up a job as a hostess.
She took up the role as a second income to raise money to help her ill mother.
She parked her 1971 yellow Datsun 1200 sedan in Bayview Terrace, Clayfield, to meet a man known as John Taylor. He had ordered her service through an agency to host a pool party.
Police determined the pool party was fake and the man's name was not John Taylor.
Detective Senior Sergeant Tara Kentwell said 1100 lines of inquiry were investigated at the time.
"We do believe with public assistance - irrespective of the passive of time - this crime can be solved, offenders can be brought to justice and we can provide some closure to the family and friends of Gaye," Det Snr Sgt Kentwell told media on Friday.
A $250,000 has been offered for anyone with information which leads to an arrest and conviction for Miss Baker's disappearance.
Australian Associated Press
Now, the case is back in the sights of the Homicide Investigation Unit’s cold case team.
Detectives are conducting a fresh inquiry into the 1972 disappearance of policewoman Gaye Baker - and will today make a public appeal for information.
The 47-year-old case is believed to be the second oldest to be actively investigated after detectives this year charged Vincent O’Dempsey with the 1964 murder of Vincent Raymond Allen.
The Courier-Mail will tell the story of Gaye’s disappearance in a two-part podcast series called Person of Interest, to be launched today.
Gaye was 23 when she vanished after driving to the Clayfield bowls club to meet a man who had given the fake name “John Taylor”.
She had taken a second job as a “hostess” with ABCO Services in Fortitude Valley – accompanying men to functions – to earn extra money that would pay for her sick mother’s medical care. She also had dreams of travelling overseas after growing up in a poor household.
But Gaye disappeared after arriving at her first “date”, with police soon discovering that not only had “John” lied about his identity and the event they’d be attending – he’d also cunningly circumvented all the agency’s usual security procedures.
Speaking for the first time, Gaye’s sister Robyn Johnson said she was grateful police were taking a fresh look at the case.
“I’m really, really appreciative because for many years I have wanted to look into it further,” she said.
“There was never any closure, there were never any answers. There was never a goodbye for Gaye or any kind of memorial.
“If someone was arrested and proven beyond a doubt that they were guilty, that person … if they have any sort of conscience … they would have lived a life of suffering within themselves. And perhaps that person may even need or want forgiveness. So that may be something that Gaye’s family would need to individually consider.”
Gaye vanished on the morning of July 2, 1972, after parking her car on Bayview Tce in Clayfield, about 150m from the meeting point with “John”.
She believed she would be accompanying the man to a party at a nearby residence.
The following day, she was reported missing by her squadron leader after failing to show up for duties with the Women’s Royal Australian Air Force.
Police inquiries at the time found there was no party at the address “John” provided.
He had also taken deliberate steps to avoid being seen by anyone at ABCO Services, including sending a taxi driver to pay his fee.
And he booked a hostess for a Sunday – a day when the agency was closed – avoiding the normal procedure of meeting at the Fortitude Valley office.
Lola Brinton was living in an air force house with Gaye at the time of the policewoman’s disappearance.
She told The Courier-Mail she remembered Gaye talking about finding a part-time job to earn extra income.
She recalled Gaye finding an ad in the newspaper seeking hostesses for the Fortitude Valley agency.
“She said she would need a lot of money in case her mother had to have an operation. And that’s why she wanted the work. And she also wanted to save to go overseas,” Ms Brinton said.
“And sadly she was she was right about her mother because her mum passed away not too long after she disappeared because of her ill health.”
Ms Brinton said Gaye’s housemates were shocked to discover she had the equivalent of $65,000 in the bank at the time of her disappearance.
“She’d taken nothing with her. She hadn’t run away. The rumour mill went crazy. She just had new jeans, a new shirt and a little purse,” she said.
“There was absolutely nothing missing. She’d just gone off for the afternoon.”
She said Gaye’s housemates knew of her plans to meet a man at Clayfield for her first hostess job.
They said she wasn’t nervous and had bought a new outfit for the occasion.
“I knew straight away that something bad had happened because it was just not like her not to come home at night and definitely not to turn up at work,” she said.
Police will today make a public appeal for information on Gaye’s disappearance.
Do you know anything about the 1972 disappearance of Gaye Baker?
Cold case detectives are seeking:
● Anyone who saw Gaye’s yellow 1971 Datsun 1200 or a woman matching Gaye’s description in the Clayfield area on July 2, 1972;
● Anyone who saw a man in a late 1960s or early 1970s dark brown or maroon Monaro or Valiant Charger near the Clayfield Bowling Alley. Police believe this was the man who called himself “John Taylor”.
● A reward of $250,000 is in place for information leading to a conviction.
● Gaye was last seen wearing light blue slacks, a navy blouse, white heeled sandals and was carrying a silver purse.
A $250,000 REWARD IS BEING OFFERED. CALL CRIME STOPPERS ON 1800 333 000.
The mystery man was supposed to take Gaye Baker to an ‘end-of-stocktake’ pool party. But all the details he gave – including the existence of the party itself – were later discovered to be false. Can you help crack this horrifying cold case?
DETECTIVES are chasing new leads in one of Queensland’s oldest murder mysteries – the 1972 disappearance of air force policewoman Gaye Baker.
Investigators from the Homicide Investigation Unit cold case team announced recently they were reviewing the 23-year-old’s disappearance and made a public appeal for information.
Gaye vanished from Clayfield after driving to the bowls club to meet a man who’d given her the fake name “John Taylor”.
New podcast dives into mysterious cold case murder
Murky depths: What lies beneath?
The RAAF policewoman – who grew up in a poor household – had been saving money to help pay for her sick mother’s medical care and to realise her dream of travelling the world.
She’d taken on a second job as a “hostess” with an escort agency where she’d be accompanying men to functions and corporate events.
On July 2, 1972, Gaye drove her yellow Datsun to Bayview Tce where she planned to meet a man for her first booking with the agency. He’d told the agency’s secretary he wanted a date to an end-of-stocktake work pool party. He did not ask for a specific person or make any requests in relation to who his date should be. All the details he gave – including the existence of the party itself – were later discovered to be false.
Detective Senior Sergeant Tara Kentwell said her team was sifting through calls to Crime Stoppers as a result of the recent public appeal.
“We’ve received some valuable information that could help us determine what happened to Gaye,” she said. “But we believe there are still people out there with knowledge of this crime who could help provide answers for her family.”
Sen Sgt Kentwell said police still wanted to hear from anyone who saw Gaye’s yellow 1971 Datsun 1200 sedan with registration PUM 800 in Clayfield on the morning of Sunday, July 2, 1972.
Police also want to speak to anyone who saw a dark brown or maroon Holden Monaro or Valiant Charger in the Clayfield area on the same day.
“It’s never too late to come forward,” she said. “We ask that anyone with any information, no matter how small or irrelevant you think it might be, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
“Even if you originally spoke to police and haven’t yet been contacted again, please get in touch.”
