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Circumstances

Paddy Moriarty was last sighted at dusk on 16 December 2017 when he left the Larrimah Hotel NT, with his dog Kellie, on his red quad bike. Paddy is approximately 178cm tall with black and grey hair. He was last seen wearing a singlet, dark shorts, silver watch and black thongs.A comprehensive search of Paddy’s property, including Larrimah and surrounding areas failed to locate any sign of him or his dog.Paddy walked his dog each morning and attended the Larrimah Hotel each afternoon. He had a regular routine and his disappearance is out of character. Paddy’s dog is a female red and brown kelpie named ‘Kellie.’NT Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. If you have information that may assist police to locate Paddy please call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

TITLE OF COURT: Coroners Court

JURISDICTION: Katherine

FILE NO(s): D0074/2018

DELIVERED ON: 7 April 2022

DELIVERED AT: Katherine

HEARING DATE(s): 7, 8 June 2018 6 April 2022

FINDING OF: Judge Greg Cavanagh

IN THE CORONERS COURT AT KATHERINE IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA

No. D0074/2018 Judge Greg Cavanagh

Introduction 1.

In the matter of an Inquest into the death of PATRICK JOSEPH MORIARTY ON: 16 DECEMBER 2017 AT: LARRIMAH

FINDINGS

Patrick Moriarty (known as Paddy), was born in Limerick, Ireland on 30 March 1947 to Mary Moriarty. The name of his father was not recorded on the birth certificate. Paddy travelled from Ireland to Australia when he was 18 years of age. No relatives have been found in Australia. After arrival he worked on Cattle Stations as a ringer, grader driver and station hand. He was a keen participant on the Rodeo circuit, winning a belt buckle in Darwin in 1996.

2. 3. 4. He had a partner by the name of Dorothy Rankine who worked on stations for many years. They had separated after she retired. She died about 17 years before his death. He was known to have another relationship for a few years between the years 2000 and 2003 but none since that time. He was 165 cm tall (nearly 5 foot 5 inches) and weighed 66 kilograms (10 stone 5 pounds). He had a history of ischaemic heart disease and had stents inserted in 2006. In about 2008 he moved from Daly Waters to Larrimah and in 2010 purchased a disused service station, for $30,000. He lived there with his black and white Border Collie named Rover. 1

5. Larrimah is 158 kilometres south of Katherine on the Stuart Highway, the road running from Alice Springs to Darwin. It has a population of about 12 people. There is no mobile telephone reception. The nearest services are at Mataranka a town 76 kilometres to the North.

6. 7. 8. The services at Larrimah include the Larrimah Hotel, it has a pink panther theme. It has accommodation and a zoo with over 700 birds and animals including a three and a half metre crocodile. Paddy was a regular at the Hotel. He cleaned the camp toilets, did the laundry, made up rooms and tended to the gardens in the mornings, and after lunch could be found sipping beer and welcoming visitors. He sat in a particular chair on the left hand side of the main entrance, out the front of the Hotel with his dog beside him, its lead tied to the leg of his chair. Also in Larrimah is ‘Fran’s Tea House’ at the Northern end of Larrimah, next to the only public phone box. Directly across the highway from the tea house is the ‘Top of the Town’, the disused service station where Paddy lived. Paddy’s dog, Rover died in December 2016. Eventually, Paddy started thinking about getting another dog and in early November 2017 he was given an eleven month old red kelpie by the name of “Kellie” by a friend who worked a cattle station. Despite being raised on the cattle station Kellie would not run with the pack 2 of working dogs. She was becoming a pet rather than a working dog. That was one of the reasons the owners were willing to part with her.

9. Paddy liked order and routines. He always wore thongs and a hat or cap. He kept his residence spotless. Everything was in its place. He paid the same attention to detail in his work on the upkeep and cleaning at the Hotel. He had a routine well known to the residents of Larrimah. He walked his dog in the morning down the Rubbish Dump Road and around the circle back to his residence. He then rode his quadbike to the Hotel, with his dog on the back. He worked until about midday and then sat and had some beers. He would leave the Hotel with his dog in the late afternoon at about 4.30pm or, if there were people to talk to, sometime later.

10. On Saturday, 16 December 2017 Paddy followed his normal routine. At about 9.00am he rode to the Hotel on his red Honda quadbike with Kellie on the back. He cleaned the toilets and showers. In the afternoon he went to the bar area of the Hotel. At 2.29pm he made an EFTPOS transaction and withdrew $40 at the bar. That also was a part of his routine. Having withdrawn the money he provided $20 to the barman and in return was provided with four XXXX Gold beers. He took the cans and put three of them in a small staff refrigerator out the front of the Hotel on the other side of the entrance from which he sat. After he finished those, he gave the barman the other $20 and received four more cans which he again put in the refrigerator.

11. That afternoon a couple and their young daughter travelled from Katherine. Before leaving Katherine they went to the supermarket and purchased food including a barbeque chicken. They left Katherine at about midday and travelled to Larrimah where they had lunch. They ate much of the chicken and what was left, they retained in the bag in which it was packaged. They then went to the Larrimah Hotel to have a drink and look at the animals. During the course of the afternoon their daughter patted Kellie. Her mother took a number of photographs of her daughter at the front of the Hotel. Those photographs show Paddy sitting to the left of the entrance in his usual chair.

12. Prior to leaving the Hotel that afternoon Paddy told the owner he wouldn’t come to work the following day (Sunday) but would drop in at lunchtime to get the mower to use at his residence. As the light was dimming, Paddy got onto his red quadbike and told Kellie to get onto the back. The mother of the child that had patted Kellie asked Paddy whether he would like the leftover chicken for Kellie. He said he would and she gave it to him. Paddy left the Hotel and rode toward his residence a few hundred metres away.

13. That night at about 10.30pm there was a significant amount of rain. It had cleared by morning. Paddy was not seen on the Sunday or the Monday. At about ten or eleven in the morning on Monday, the owner of the Hotel, Mr Sharpe became concerned and went to Paddy’s residence. He knocked and called out for him but there was no answer. He found the back screen door unlocked and went inside. The residence was neat and tidy. Paddy wasn’t there and nor was his dog, Kellie. The back gate was open. Mr Sharpe thought Paddy was probably out walking with the dog and so drove along the dump road. But Paddy wasn’t there.

14. That evening (Monday) when Mr Rayner another Larrimah resident went to the Hotel to pick up his mail, he was told that Paddy was missing. The next morning 4 (Tuesday) Mr Rayner and his wife went to look for Paddy. They looked in his residence and around the property:

a. The rain gauge had not been emptied and it had not rained since Saturday night. Paddy always emptied the gauge in the morning;

b. His sunglasses were hanging on the left handle of the quadbike. The quadbike was in its place under the carport as was his four wheel drive vehicle. The quadbike keys were on the table. His four wheel drive vehicle keys were not in the residence;

c. The screen door was unlocked with a mat and besser block against it to keep it closed. That door can only be locked from the inside (and then one of the front doors used to exit the residence). Paddy always locked the back door if he left Larrimah;

d. The kitchen fan was on;

e. Both his usual cap and his cowboy hat were in the residence. Paddy was bald and was sensitive about the shape of his head and so wore his cap or cowboy hat when out. However he was not at his property and had neither with him;

h. There was food in containers on the table as if getting ready for a meal;

i. There was food in the dog bowl in the bedroom and a pedestal fan that was on pointing toward the bed;

15. Mr and Mrs Rayner presumed that Paddy was out walking and had a medical episode. They looked for him along the nearby roads and twenty metres either side. They searched for over three hours but did not find him or his dog. They went to the 7 Hotel and asked Mr Sharpe to call the police. Mr Sharpe called the Police Communications Centre at 4.00pm on Tuesday, 19 December 2017.

16. Police arrived on Wednesday afternoon and began a search. They found the barbequed chicken that had been given to Paddy by the visitors on 16 December 2017 still sitting in the microwave. They also found a baseball bat under his bed.

17. They searched on foot and with motorbikes looking for any sign of Paddy or Kellie without success. A search team was sent from Darwin (500 kilometres to the north) to commence formal search and rescue operations.

18. At that stage it was still believed the likely scenario was that Paddy had taken the dog for a walk and some medical event had befallen him and accordingly the search was aimed at places where he might have walked and 20 metres either side of the roadways. They used search teams, motorbikes and a helicopter and searched an area of two square kilometres. The medical advice was that he would probably not have been able survive in that environment for more than a few days and the search was suspended at midday on Saturday 23 December 2017.

19. The thinking then changed to the possibility of foul play and on 28 December 2017 the police conducted an evidence search. It concluded two days later on 30 December 2017. The search included motorbikes searching 30 kilometres to the north and south including the area 50 metres either side of the roadway, 35 kilometres along the Western Road and sites such as world war two bunkers and the 8 like. A helicopter conducted a search out to 10 kilometres. No relevant evidence of Paddy or his dog was located.

20. A further evidence search was conducted from 11 – 14 May 2018. Again nothing of assistance was detected. It was possible that he may have died of a medical event while out walking and his remains not found during the searches. What made that scenario less plausible was the disappearance also of his dog, Kellie.

21. Added to that were various items at his residence: the chicken in the microwave, the items on the table ready for dinner and the dog biscuits in the bowl. It appeared that in the midst of meal preparation something unexpected happened. But not such that he did not have time to close the door and put the mat and besser block in place.

22. Larrimah is a small community. Prior to Paddy’s disappearance there were 13 residents. Police were of the belief that someone in the community was likely to have some information that could assist.

23. Detective Sergeant Matt Allen headed the investigation. The brief of evidence of that investigation contains five full binder folders and consists of over 110 statements. I am grateful to Detective Sergeant Allen for a careful and thorough investigation.

The Residents of Larrimah

Barry Burke (Lot 47 Railway Terrace) known as “Cookie”, pensioner, born 1946

24. Barry moved to Larrimah about “twenty years ago” to work with William Hodgetts. They worked for an Alice Springs earthworks company on a rotating roster. He also had a Fish and Chip shop. He retired “five or six years ago”. He lived alone. His partner lived in Tasmania.

25. He first met Paddy at the Daly Waters Pub. He estimated that to be about “seven or eight years ago”. He remembered when Paddy purchased the Top of the Town from Karl Roth’s step-daughter. He said Paddy had sold a few of the dongers that were on the property (when he wasn’t supposed to) and that caused “a bit of trouble”. 9

26. Four to five years ago he had a “big blue” with Paddy at the Hotel when Paddy accused him of stealing a Mars bar. Since then he steers clear of the Hotel other than for collecting his mail.

27. Over the last few years he had been renovating his house to get it ready for sale. He had been painting in the weeks before the disappearance of Paddy. He last saw Paddy on Wednesday, 13 December 2017, when he went to the Hotel to collect his mail. Paddy was sitting outside with his dog (remembered by Mr Burke to be a black and white kelpie cross). Paddy said to him “hello Cooky”, he replied, “not bad Paddy”. He went home and did not leave his residence again until Sunday 17 December 2017.

28. He didn’t believe anyone would “touch” Paddy. He said “he is a bit of a shit stirrer but not enough for anyone to knock him off”. He thought he might have gone to visit friends or, “probably gone for a walk with his dog and fallen into a sinkhole”.

David Graham (Lot 25 Larrimah) cattle station worker, born 1947

29. David was a usual resident of Kununurra but had been in Larrimah for about six weeks because there was no work in Kununurra. He was staying at a house owned, but not occupied, by people who lived on a property outside Katherine. He had gone back to Kununurra for 13 days to re-register a vehicle and said he only got back to Larrimah on 22 December 2017.

30. Detectives were able to establish that he crossed the Western Australian border from the Northern Territory on 26 November 2017. He was at the Kununurra Motor Vehicle Registry on the morning of 15 December 2017. It appears he then stayed with friends at a farm just outside Kununurra. It was unable to be established when he recrossed the border. His phone records place him at Kununurra on the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 17th 18th and 19th of December 2017. There were no phone calls and no banking transactions made on 16th December 2017. The last call made from his phone was on 15 December 2017 at 4.31pm. The next was at 7.42pm on 17 December 2017. 10

31. Larrimah is over 700 kilometres from Kununurra. When spoken to on 27 September 2020 Mr Graham said that he had cancer and wouldn’t drive to Larrimah and back in one night. He said he found it hard to see at night so he couldn’t drive.

32. He said he had first met Paddy at the Larrimah Hotel when he (Mr Graham) first came to the Northern Territory, he estimated that was probably 15 years ago. He was not aware of any disputes and thought that Paddy seemed like a “pretty good bloke”. He said he was in Kununurra at the time Paddy went missing and got back to find the police searching for Paddy.

Frances Hodgetts (“Fran”) (Lot 50 Stuart Highway) business owner, “Fran’s Tea House”, born 1943

33. Fran had lived in the Northern Territory for fifty years, forty-five of those years in Larrimah. She had the teahouse for 35 years. She met Paddy thirty years previously at the Daly Waters Hotel. They were initially on good terms at the time Paddy purchased the Top of the Town across the road from her teahouse.

34. However, things deteriorated. She said she told Paddy not to come to her tea house any more. After her husband retired she ended their marriage and he went to live in a caravan parked at the Larrimah Hotel. Paddy sided with her husband and relations soured further. Part of the issue for her was that Paddy tried to discourage her customers by fencing off the forecourt of the old service station in which he lived to stop tourists parking there while visiting the teahouse. He also put up a sign in the forecourt saying the Hotel had the best pies, and was sometimes unwelcoming of visitors parking on the verge.

35. The other part of the issue was a belief by Fran that both Paddy and her ex-husband were interfering with her property, whether that be by poisoning plants, cutting CCTV cables or flooding her teahouse.

36. From 2010 until Paddy’s disappearance Fran made nine complaints to the Police about Paddy:

a. 16.06.2010 – Fran believed that Paddy stole her $200 red umbrella from the front yard. When Police questioned Paddy, he said that he heard that Fran was accusing him and so to “stir her up” he got one of the red umbrellas from the Hotel and put it on a table out the front of his house.

b. 21.07.2010 – Fran complained that a quantity of books and memorabilia had been stolen from her teahouse. She suspected Paddy had taken them. However she later rang and conceded it could have been tourists. c. 07.07.2011 – Fran wanted something done about Paddy ‘threatening tourists and scaring them away” from her business because they were parking on land Paddy believed was his. Police showed Paddy maps indicating the land to be Crown Land. Paddy said he only minded when they parked across his driveway. Fran said she had since installed CCTV cameras and had started defamation proceedings against Paddy.

d. 17.07.2011 – Fran told Police that Paddy was abusing her customers and placed a glass bottle under one vehicle’s tyres while parked out the front of Paddy’s residence. She said she believed it was Paddy because he had been telling customers the food at the teahouse was “crap” and that it was not safe to park where the vehicles were parking. She provided a list of customer’s names and details who were said to have been abused. Police contacted the people on the list. They all stated they had been parked opposite the teahouse and had been told something to the effect of, “move your fucking van”.

e. 23.09.2011 – Fran told Police that someone (she believed to be Paddy) had broken a plastic fitting on a hose connected to her water pump. Police attended and found what they believed to be a perished “O” ring in the fitting.

f. 09.03.2013 – Fran told Police that Paddy was in her yard with his dog at 9.45pm in the evening. Her husband confronted him and he claimed he was just retrieving his dog. She said he had been turning her “open” sign to “closed” to disrupt her business. Police served Paddy with a Trespass Notice prohibiting him from entering her property.

g. 13.04.2014 – Fran told Police that Paddy was “stalking” her. She said he was sitting in his front yard with binoculars and telling customers that her food was “not very good”. Police told her it was a civil matter.

h. 19.10.2016 – Fran made application to the court for a Personal Violence Restraining Order against Paddy. The Court dismissed the application and ordered Fran to pay $500 costs to Paddy.

i. 23.09.2017 – Fran told Police that her ex-husband and Paddy had tipped oil over her new plants. Police could not establish that either was involved.

37. There were also a few dead kangaroo bodies that were moved by Fran or Paddy to the other side of the road (or over a fence). 13

38. On 9 August 2017 and again on 16 August 2017 Fran put an advertisement in the Katherine Times newspaper requesting a caretaker and gardener for her property. The advertisement read, “XXXX”

39. Another advertisement was run in the Katherine Times on 23 August and 30 August 2017 seeking a “wet season casual”. The first advertisement was shown to Mr Owen Laurie who made contact and commenced as caretaker and gardener at her property on 4 September 2017.

40. When Police attended in December they found $7,000 in cash in Fran’s freezer. She said it was her “super”.1

William Hodgetts, “Billy” (caravan parked at the Larrimah Hotel) also known as “Lightcans”, pensioner, born 1944

41. Billy said he had been in Larrimah since 1983. He was married to Fran for about 50 years when they separated in 2014. He has since stayed in the caravan park at the Hotel.

42. He said he met Paddy more than 20 years ago at either Brunette Downs or Heartbreak Hotel. When Paddy moved to Larrimah they became friends. They saw each other most days.

43. He likely last saw Paddy on the morning of 16 December 2017 when he came to the Hotel to work. He said that Paddy had not mentioned any problems and his health had been good lately. He said Paddy going missing was completely out of character.

Leonard Hodson (46 Railway Terrace) pensioner, date of birth not known

44. Leonard had lived in Larrimah on-and-off for about 14 years. He travelled down to Victoria each year around Christmas time.

45. He said he had known Paddy for 14 years. He said they were “good mates”. They had arguments but would always have a beer together and make up. He said the 1Transcript page 82 14 Rayners were not talking to him (Leonard) because one day when they were broken down he and Barry Burke had driven past without seeing them.

46. The last time he saw Paddy was at the Hotel, possibly on the morning of 16 December 2017. He told Paddy he was heading off to Victoria in the coming days and Paddy told him he was thinking of going to visit a friend in Bowen, Queensland. He said if he went he would put his dog in a kennel and fly.

47. He heard that Paddy had gone missing and drove over to his property to make sure he wasn’t trapped under a vehicle. He didn’t go inside the residence. He left to travel to Victoria on 19 December 2017.

Owen Laurie (Lot 50 Stuart Highway) caretaker, gardener and pensioner, born 1946

48. Owen worked on railways until his mid–thirties, then the timber industry and after many more jobs, went to Pine Creek in the Northern Territory where he worked in mine maintenance. He retired at 65 years and parked his caravan at Manbulloo Station where he worked as a bore runner. There was some uncertainty as to whether the Station was going to be sold and a friend showed him an advertisement in a local Katherine paper by Fran seeking a gardener and caretaker. That was in about August 2017.

49. He rang Fran and she told him to come down for a chat. When he got there she told him about all of the problems with Paddy. He said if he had been told that prior to travelling to Larrimah he would not have gone. He said he could still smell glyphosate poisoning in the ferns from when plants were poisoned. He was provided a small bungalow and in return for the accommodation undertook the gardening on the property. He did not associate with anyone in the town other than Fran. He did not go to the Hotel and most in town had not sighted him.

50. Although he heard a lot about Paddy he said he only spoke to him on one occasion. That was on the morning of 13 December 2017.

Karen Rayner (Lot 51 Stuart Highway) owner and bookkeeper at the Larrimah Workshop, born 1969

51. Karen and her husband, Mark had come to Larrimah in November 2015. They were the youngest permanent residents. They had purchased the mechanic’s workshop and another residence. When they first arrived Mrs Rayner worked at the Larrimah Hotel feeding the animals. In March 2016 she was promoted and managed the Hotel for a couple years. While at the Hotel she became good friends with Paddy and admired him for greeting and talking to the customers.

52. She remained at least doing the books at the Hotel for the owner until a dispute arose with Richard, the barman, in mid-2017. They stopped going to the Hotel after that, however remained good friends with Paddy. He called in for about forty minutes on Friday afternoon, 15 December 2017.

53. Paddy also picked up his swag that had been left at the Rayner’s by someone else. That same swag was noted to be in the back of his utility after his disappearance. When the Rayners heard Paddy had gone missing they searched for him. They were unhappy that it took so long for them to be told that he was missing.

Mark Rayner (Lot 51 Stuart Highway) mechanic, born 1955

54. Mr and Mrs Rayner had settled in Larrimah in November 2015. They had previously stopped off in Larrimah during Easter in 2015. They were on their way to Western Australia. At that time they had met Paddy. They thought Larrimah to be an interesting place.

55. Later that year they returned and purchased the Larrimah Workshops. Mr Rayner was in the process of repairing Paddy’s ride-on lawnmower. He was waiting on the parts at the time of Paddy’s disappearance.

56. He said Paddy was probably the “only one in Larrimah we would have gone out of our way to help”.

Roberta Roth (“Bobby”) (lot 56 Mahoney Street) pensioner, born 1938

57. Bobby had lived in Larrimah with her husband since 1998. She had worked for Fran, washing dishes for an hour or two a day for about five years. She was paid $10 an hour. In the latter part of her employment Fran asked her to keep money for her in their safe. It totalled about $30,000. Her employment was terminated when Fran hired Maurice Darby.

58. Bobby didn’t mix with Paddy or speak to him other than a passing greeting. Paddy didn’t generally speak to her either and she thought when he did he was being rude. She said he was very rude and obnoxious when he was drunk. From her residence she could see him riding his quadbike to the Hotel each morning. She had noted that when he got to the Hotel the barman’s dogs would bark a lot. She thinks she last saw him riding to the Hotel on the 14th or 15th December 2017.

Karl Roth (lot 56 Mahoney Street) retired, born 1945

59. Karl had been in the army for about 20 years. After that he was “over in the west shooting feral animals”. He later worked for Northern Territory Museums in Alice Springs. Karl and Bobby moved to Larrimah with their two daughters in November 1998. Karl retains ownership of eight firearms. Until the recent past, Karl and his wife had conducted the local Fire and Emergency Rescue Service in Larrimah.

60. One of their daughters, Dianne, had the lease on the Hotel and owned the Green Park Caravan Park when they arrived. She sold the Top of the Town to Paddy.

61. The only persons that Karl seemed to like in town were Barry Burke and “Billy” Hodgetts. For the first ten years Karl got on well with Fran and Bill Hodgetts. But the relationship with Fran had waned. When his wife worked for Fran, Karl undertook “odd jobs”: “I was sort of the call out to go and fix things and yes, sometimes several times a day, ‘can you come and fix this’, ‘can you come and fix that’, ‘can you do this’. It got to the stage where I was very unenthusiastic about it … she’d come and I’d bolt out the back door.”

62. At Fran’s request Karl ordered and installed CCTV cameras. The last thing Karl fixed was a problem with Billy’s television. Karl spent a day and a half trying to find the problem. He traced it to a cut cable. He said Fran later admitted that she cut the cable. Karl said, “that was the last thing I ever fixed for her”. 17

63. He had known Paddy for many decades. They first met at Brunette Downs in the mid-eighties. He said that if Paddy had a few beers in him he had a bit of an “Irish temper”, although “never physical”. They had arguments over the years, usually about Paddy lighting fires at the wrong time of year. The last time he saw Paddy was on 14 December 2017. Paddy was on his quadbike with a trailer on the back going to the rubbish dump.

Barry Sharpe (Larrimah Hotel) Hotel owner and operator, born 1942

64. Barry had been in Larrimah for 27 years and had owned the Hotel for 14 years. He said that when he had arrived the town was bigger and busier. There had been two service stations, the Top of the Town at the northern end and the Green Park Tourist Resort at the southern end.

65. He first met Paddy in Daly Waters and after he came to Larrimah they became good friends. He described Paddy as “a good natured, happy-go-lucky man”. Barry had a particular chair he sat in near the front entrance to the Hotel opposite the seat in which Paddy sat. They sat and talked most days. He said Paddy had told him he was having “on-going arguments” with the new caretaker at Fran’s place.

66. His recollection was that the last time he saw Paddy was on the afternoon of Friday 15 December 2017 (although it is likely to have been 16 December 2017). He said Paddy usually left the Hotel by 4.30pm, but on that day he didn’t leave until about 5.30pm. He told Barry that he wouldn’t come to work the next day but would drop in around lunchtime to pick up the lawn mower to mow his lawn. He said Paddy was wearing thongs, work shorts, a blue flannelette shirt and a black cap with the pink panther hotel logo.

67. Paddy didn’t return the following day to get the mower and the day after that Barry went to his place to check on him. He said it just looked as if Paddy had gone for a walk. After driving around the Rubbish Dump Road and finding no sign of Paddy he went back to the Hotel. However when Paddy did not come to the Hotel the next day Barry went back and had another look. Everything was the same and after discussing the situation with others he rang the Police.

68. He said it was extremely out of character for Paddy to go away without telling him.

Richard Simpson (Larrimah Hotel), farming and barman, born 1968

69. Richard had visited the Northern Territory from time to time. He had been working at the Hotel on this last occasion for about nine months prior to Paddy going missing. The time before that had been about nine years earlier. He had met Paddy at the Daly Waters Hotel and then again at the Larrimah Hotel. Each day Richard, Barry and Paddy sat talking at the front of the Hotel. He said he never had a cross word with Paddy and admired his work at the Hotel. He said Paddy was “exceptionally good” in his work. Paddy told him he wanted to live to be a hundred.

70. Richard had three American Staffordshire Terriers (one male, two females). He used to walk them in mornings along a dirt road at the back of Fran’s property. However he said that the man there tried to sic his dog onto Richard’s dogs and so from then on he just walked them near the front of the Hotel. He generally kept his dogs away from the Hotel. His male dog had once met Paddy’s dog, Kellie and they got on well. However, he did not introduce his female dogs, he said, “they’re not the nicest little princesses”.

71. He last saw Paddy when he left “at about 6.30pm” in the evening on what initially he thought was Thursday evening. He later thought that was more likely Friday evening (and it was actually Saturday evening). As to his ability to remember the days he said, “Like I say, every day is the same, mate, so I can sit here and try and think about this forever and I still couldn’t actually confirm the exact dates”. In any event he remembered it was the day that Paddy said he would not be working the next day but would drop in at lunchtime the next day to pick up the mower.

Events just prior to Paddy and Kellie going missing

Council rates

72. On 20 November 2017 the Roper Gulf Regional Council issued an overdue rates notice in relation to the Top of the Town where Paddy lived. He had not paid rates since he purchased the property. The notice was for $5,140.48.

73. On 4 December 2017 Paddy went to his bank in Katherine and obtained a bank cheque for that amount. That left about $8,000 remaining in the account. He provided the bank cheque to the Council that same day. There was no previous demand or threat of legal action made. However the police investigation noted that Paddy had attended the meetings of the Larrimah Local Board on 2 June 2017 and 13 October 2017. At those meetings it had been stressed that continued nonpayment of rates could result in the Council selling properties.

Neighbourhood feud

74. There was a dispute in the days leading up to Paddy’s disappearance. It concerned Paddy, Fran and Owen. Fran said two visitors who had been staying with her left on the morning of Tuesday, 12 December 2017. On that same morning Owen went to Katherine. After they all left, Fran said she looked out of her bedroom window and saw Paddy drag a dead kangaroo across the highway then throw it on her property. She said he was standing in the middle of the highway with his dog (she described the dog as black with white around the neck2). She said he saw her looking and smiled at her. That was said to have happened at about 7.00am.

75. Owen came back at about 4.00pm that day. The next day Fran was travelling to Darwin for a couple of days. Before leaving, she went over to the shed and said to Owen, “That mongrel across the road bloody threw a kangaroo under me bloody window”.3 She said he responded, “I know, I could smell it” and “I have just had words with him about the dog coming across the road”. At the time she said she anticipated that Owen would remove the kangaroo, although she said he later told her he couldn’t find it. Initially she said that was the extent of the conversation and she couldn’t remember anything further being said.4

76. The way that Mr Laurie told the story, Paddy’s dog had crossed the highway. It was not on Fran’s property and not barking. Mr Laurie said to Paddy, “keep your fucking dog at home”, Paddy responded, “shut-up” and Owen said, “come over here”. He said Paddy was at the front of his house, largely obscured by the shade cloth. He said voices were not raised or aggressive. He said Paddy did not come over and they both then returned to what they were doing and nothing further was said.5

77. Richard, the barman at the Hotel, was having a coffee at the front of the Hotel that morning. With him were his dogs. He said he heard Kellie barking and initially didn’t pay much attention. However he then heard a raised and angry voice. One of his dogs began to bark and all three dogs started heading toward the angry voice. He called them back. He then observed Kellie barking across the Highway and he saw Paddy walk out behind her and across the road. He heard an exchange of words although could not work out what was said.

78. After lunch that day Richard asked Paddy what had happened. Paddy said Owen had said to him, “you need to shut that fucking dog up or I’ll shut it for you”. Paddy said he responded by saying “You mind your business old man, my dog can bark where it wants, it’s none of your business. Shut your mouth or I’ll take your knees out from under you”. Richard said to Paddy, “be careful mate” and Paddy replied, “It’s all good, I’ve got a baseball bat”.

79. Fran gave an account to Police on 30 December 2017. On that occasion she said that Owen responded to her mention of Paddy throwing the kangaroo in these terms: “Oh, I’ve already had words with him, I told him to keep his fuckin dog over there and he told me to shut up and I said come over here and I went to jump the fence and Paddy ran inside, fuckin weak as piss”.6

80. Fran said, she said to Owen: “Hang on, don’t do anything stupid. I’m going to Darwin, I don’t wanna have to come back and bail you out of jail”.

81. Fran then drove to Darwin where she purchased water features and plants for the garden. She returned on 15 December 2017 at 4.15pm. When she got back Owen said to her that he “didn’t do much”, he stayed inside because he didn’t want any “hassles”.7 The next day they set up the water features and put the plants in the ground. She closed the tea house at about 11.30am because there were no customers. 82. On the evening of 16 December 2017 Owen received a malware message on his computer. It indicated he should call a telephone number. He went to the public telephone box and made two calls to the number mentioned in the message.

Inquest dates 7 and 8 June 2018

83. I opened the inquest on 7 June 2018. The police investigation at that time was not complete however it was likely to take some time and given the ages of the residents of Larrimah, it seemed that their evidence should be taken sooner rather than later. Over 7 and 8 June 2018 I heard from the officer in charge of the investigation, the officer in charge of the search for Paddy, the former owner of Kellie, the dog and nine of the residents of Larrimah.

84. Of interest, the evidence from Fran Hodgetts about conversations with Mr Laurie was generally disputed by Mr Laurie. He said she talked a lot and tended to embellish things. His recollection of the conversation between Paddy and himself on the morning of 13 December 2017 was that Paddy’s dog had crossed the highway and was near the fence where he was working. He told it to get going. It went straight back across the highway. Paddy was calling the dog from his front veranda and was “partly obscured” behind shade cloth. Mr Laurie said he said to him, “Keep your dog at home Moriarty”. Paddy replied “shut up”. Mr Laurie said “come here” and gestured for him to come over. He did not and that was the end of it.

85. He said that was the only time he had spoken to Paddy and never saw him at any time apart from when Paddy was travelling on his quad a hundred or so metres away. He said if Paddy was standing in front of him he would not recognise him.

86. Mr Laurie said the conversation was not aggressive although he may have sworn. He said that Fran had at some stage told him that she didn’t want to bail him out of jail but he did not think she said those words on that occasion. He said that if Paddy had crossed the road there may have been a confrontation and he may have given Paddy “a bloody good hiding”. But that did not occur because Paddy didn’t come over the road and he didn’t expect that he would. He conceded that he had said, “If anyone touches my plants it will be the first murder in Larrimah”, but said it was said jokingly and he had “no intention to murder anybody over a garden”.8 He agreed that he had a quick temper.

87. He said he did not like answering the questions asked by police because he didn’t want his answers to be wrongly construed. He mentioned that it has happened that people have been wrongly accused by police and ended up in jail.

Further Police investigations

88. Police continued to investigate the disappearance of Paddy over the next few years. That included the listing of a reward of $250,000 and the receipt of further information and allegations. There were in particular two persons that indicated they had information as to how Paddy met his demise. Those allegations were thoroughly investigated.

Further allegations By Wayne Ledwidge

89. On 11 July 2019 Wayne Ledwidge provided a statement to the investigating police. He said that on a date late in 2017 he attended the Katherine Government Centre with his neighbour, Brian Roberts. At the MVR office, a woman (he later identified as Fran Hodgetts) said: “Hey Brian how are you?” Wayne alleged that Brian and the woman then had a conversation. His recollection of that conversation was: “She said that the old man was still giving her a hard time and has taken her to court, costing her a lot of money. She said she needed to get rid of him and she would pay $10,000. She said she had $9000 cash but could get more.”

90. She then wrote down her phone numbers on the back of papers Brian was carrying. Once back in the vehicle Brian told Wayne that his mate would do it for $10,000.

91. Wayne said it was only weeks later, when the news came over the radio that Paddy and his dog were missing. Brian is alleged to have said: “he didn’t need to do the dog”. Brian passed away in hospital on 14 April 2019 of natural causes.

92. The police investigation established that Wayne, Brian and Fran were in Katherine on a number of days including 30 August 2017 and 1 December 2017. However, Brian’s phone records did not indicate any calls to phone numbers identified as belonging to Fran. Phone data placed both Wayne Ledwidge and Brian Roberts at Katherine or north of Katherine on 16 and 17 December 2017.

93. The analysis of Brian’s phone did not assist in establishing who the ‘mate’ might have been and the calls made did not appear to be to such a person. Most of the calls were made to Wayne, a female friend, the Health Clinic and a neighbour. The neighbour’s phone was utilised on 16 and 17 December 2017 and was at all times in Katherine or north of Katherine on 16 and 17 December 2017.

By Michael Pangquee

94. On 30 September 2018 Mr Pangquee contacted police with information about who may have killed Paddy and his dog. He said he personally had nothing to do with Paddy’s disappearance. He made his first statement on 5 November 2018. Mr Pangquee is a truck driver and operates earth moving equipment and cement tankers, usually in north-western Australia.

95. In January 2018 he said that while in Broome a workmate had told him over a period of time that he and a friend had picked up Paddy and his dog and had driven to a location near a quarry in Mataranka. They had a drink and his friend snuck up behind Paddy, shot him and then the dog. Both were buried nearby in a grave dug previously. They were buried in the same hole with the dog on top of Paddy. The grave was, “straight over the back, you can see where the machines are working from where the spot is”.

96. Police investigated the story. They found that phone data and work timesheets indicated that both the workmate and his friend were in Western Australia at the time of Paddy’s disappearance. A search of the area near the quarry was of no assistance. Police spoke to the workmate and friend. Both denied having known Paddy, going to Larrimah or any involvement in his disappearance and death. Phone data indicated that Mr Pangquee was in the Darwin region during the relevant period.

97. During his evidence Mr Pangquee said he would rate the reliability of the information at a 5 out of 10.

Resumption of the inquest

98. The inquest resumed on 6 April 2022. Mr Pangquee and Mr Ledwidge gave evidence and Fran Hodgetts and Owen Laurie were recalled to provide further evidence. Fran denied that she knew Brian Roberts or had ever had a conversation with him. She denied that she had offered money for Paddy to be killed.

99. Detective Sergeant Matt Allen provided an overview of the evidence gathered into the allegations raised by the witnesses.

Listening devices

100. Listening devices were installed in Mr Laurie’s residence at Larrimah utilising a warrant obtained from the Supreme Court issued on 28 December 2017. Some of the recordings are of significant interest. Prior to the recordings being played. I told Mr Laurie that there was no obligation on him to respond if the answers might incriminate him. When the first two recordings were played he said it was not him and that he wished to remain silent. Thereafter for the remainder of the recordings he said that he was exercising his right to silence. The recordings were often of Mr Laurie singing to himself or his dog. The transcripts of the recordings are as follows:

9 January 2018 Fuck’n idiots, yeah, tell em what I’ve done hit with the fucking hammer, yeah tell em how I’ve hit ya with fucking hammer, hey how you inaudible

14 February 2018 Inaudible … well they didn’t fuck’n find the hammer, well they can’t get me for anything!?

23 February 2018 Killerate’n hammer, I say, it’s a killerate’n hammer, a killerate a killerator. (Singing songs with guitar) I got a slobbery bunch of coconuts, they’re rolling in the bay, rolling, rolling in the bay. I killerated old paddy with that fuck’n kilerated him. I struck on the fuck’n head and killerated him. Struck him on the fuck’n head and killerated the bastard. Struck him on the head and killerated him, struck’d him on the head and killerated him, basherated him. Doof. Yes he did, basherated him. Ooooohhh me cock.

25 February 2018 Fuck’n killer bastard. You killed fuck’n Paddy up the bum. You fuck’n killed Paddy, doonged him on the head. Donged him on the head. Inaudible fucken donged. Inaudible … oooh inaudible lay laa you fuck’n killed Paddy, hit him on the head. Oooohhh bum bum. You killed Paddy, and hit him on the head. Smacked him on the fucken nostrils, smacked him on the fucken nostrils … with me claw hammer. Smacked him on the fucken nostrils with a claw hammer. Smacked him on the nostrils with me claw hammer, smack him on the nostrils with me claw hammer. Smack him on the nostrils with me claw hammer, smacked him on the nostrils with me claw hammer. Smacked him on the fucking nostrils with his claw hammo. She smacked him up the nostrils with his fucking claw hammer.

25 February 2018 Smacked him on the nostrils, buk buk buk, smacked him on the nostrils buk buk buk. Smacked him on the nostrils, buk buk buk inaudible smacked him up the nostrils book buk, buk. Ruby, Ruby snickey snickey snooo hmmmmm.

1 March 2018 You gotta find out who fucking done it mate, that’s if you don’t find the fucking body, to find out who done it. What you reckon there is a body somewhere and you want to find out who done it, and who did it. I can tell you, you are not finding out, I tell you fucking repeatedly, you are not finding out, you are not finding out.

24 May 2018 Dancing with my baby in the middle of the night, dancing with my baby in the middle of the night, I had a fight, in the middle of the night, I had a fight, diddle lee dum oh fuck me, diddle lee dum oh fuck me. What was I doing? Inaudible you brush my dog. I’m not your friend cunt aye … inaudible … did I win? Did I win? Inaudible you’re full of fucking shit mate, full of fucking shit inaudible. Fuck me dead mate, inaudible fuck me dead Sand digging aye … sand digging like that? Bashing up people …. Oh right, right, right mate … inaudible … tell that … inaudible I know that …. He’s a good bloke … he’s a good bloke inaudible … he’s a good bloke. He’s terrible …. No wonder I fucken belted him. No good … inaudible fucking he would have been yee heee to the coppers, no wonder I fuck’n belt him mate, he would have been going yee hee hee to the coppers. I tell ya that. Yee hee, hee to the coppers I tell ya. I inaudible belt the cunt he would have been yee, hee hee to the coppers.

5 June 2018 Ruby what did you do with my book? I kill you myself, I kill, I kill pup dog, I kill pup dogs. Ha ha ha ha ha bye see ya goodbye, hoo roo bye see ya bye, goodbye see ya hoo roo bye.

Comments

101. In my opinion Paddy was killed in the context of and likely due to the ongoing feud he had with his nearest neighbours. He likely died on the evening of 16 December 2017. He had ridden home from the Hotel, put the mostly eaten chicken in the microwave, put his wallet on the table and his hat in its usual place, put the dog food in the dog’s bowl and got his own meal out of the freezer. He then went outside with his dog. There is no evidence as to where he went, however it is likely that the new plants at Fran’s place were of some attraction.

102. The feud with Fran Hodgetts had been escalating. It was over a year since the 7 September 2016, when Fran and Paddy entered an agreement to be civil to each other.

103. But Paddy continued to have the sign outside of his premises stating that the pub had the best pies in town for $6.00. That was known to irritate Fran.

104. On 29 August 2017 Fran called Police alleging that her plants had been poisoned, she thought with Roundup. She blamed her ex-husband and Paddy but said she had no proof because her CCTV camera lines had been cut.

105. It was soon after that, likely 4 September 2017, that Mr Laurie commenced residing at Fran Hodgetts premises. He said he could still smell glyphosate on the plants. He was there to tend to the garden and be the caretaker, especially when Fran was away from the premises. She told him of her history of troubles and he said “Nobody’d want to touch the garden … I’ll look after it for you”. 9

106. It was said to be ‘a few weeks later’ when Mr Laurie was putting new plants along the fence that Fran warned him, saying, “Don’t put them there the boys will poison them …”. He replied “Any fuckin bastard comes in here and poisons my fuckin garden, I’ll be the first murder in Larrimah”.10 Mr Laurie agreed that is what he said but said he was only joking.11

107. But on 23 September 2017 Fran called the Police again. She said that her plants had an oily substance all over them and she suspected that her ex-husband and Paddy had poisoned them again. She said her gardener was collecting leaves so she could have the substance analysed. Mr Laurie said that the plants died but he did nothing.

108. It was at the beginning of November 2017 that Paddy acquired a one year old Kelpie, Kellie. He had her de-sexed on 9 November 2017. It is unlikely that she was restrained in the yard and there is ample evidence to indicate that on at least one occasion she crossed the highway and was at Fran’s fence line. There is also some evidence that she was barking across the road.12

109. Paddy told one of the customers at the Larrimah pub in early December 2017, “Them over the road, they don’t like her, if Kellie keeps on barking (she or they) are going to shoot her”.13 Fran told a customer at her tea house that Kellie, “was always wandering all over the place and was going to get hit by a car one day, as he keeps coming across the road sniffing around”.14 Mr Laurie said there was an occasion when he was fencing and Kellie came over the road and started barking at him. He said he “hunted it back”.15

110. Fran left to buy more plants and water features on the morning of 13 December 2017. Just prior to her leaving Mr Laurie told her he and Paddy had words. Fran returned on the afternoon of 15 December 2017. The following day (16 December 2017) she and Mr Laurie set up the water features and planted the plants. It was that same night that Paddy went missing.

111. Pursuant to section 34(3) Coroners Act I am not permitted to include a finding or comment that a person may be guilty of an offence. However I will refer this investigation to the Commissioner of Police and the DPP.

Formal Findings

112. Pursuant to section 34 of the Coroner’s Act, I find as follows:

(i) The identity of the deceased is Patrick Joseph Moriarty, born on 30 March 1947 in Limerick, Ireland.

(ii) The date of death was 16 December 2017. The place of death was Larrimah, Northern Territory.

(iii) The cause of death was not able to be determined.

(iv) The particulars required to register the death:

1. The deceased was Patrick Joseph Moriarty.

2. The deceased was of Caucasian descent.

3. The deceased was a retired ringer.

4. The death was reported to the Coroner by Police.

5. The cause of death has not been confirmed.

6. The deceased’s mother was Mary Teresa Moriarty and his father is unknown.

Referral

113. I believe that offences may have been committed in connection with the death of Patrick Joseph Moriarty and in accordance with section 35(3) Coroners Act I report my belief to the Commissioner of Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions. Dated this 7th day of April 2022.

GREG CAVANAGH

TERRITORY CORONER

'It's kind of like Wolf Creek': Where are Paddy Moriarty and his dog Kellie?

In Larrimah in the Northern Territory, feuds run deep and grudges hold fast. In the case of missing person Paddy Moriarty, police suspect foul play and that his missing dog Kellie holds the key to unravelling the mystery.

At dusk on a stinking hot afternoon late last year, Mr Moriarty and his red kelpie cross Kellie left their local, the Pink Panther Hotel, in the remote town of Larrimah and vanished into thin air.

Despite an extensive search of the area, police haven't shed any light on the disappearance and fear he may be dead.

Some of the dozen or so residents —who have a history of long-running feuds — are concerned the 70-year-old Irishman may have been killed.

Police have no suspects, but they have turned to a new focus. The loyal red dog Kellie.

The officer in charge of the case, Detective Sergeant Matt Allen, hopes the dog might have been dumped with a shelter or a vet and will lead them to find out what's happened to Mr Moriarty.

'It's kind of like Wolf Creek'

The isolated town of Larrimah has been beset by deep enmities for many years, where residents living hundreds of metres apart completely ignore each other.

Police are treating the disappearance of the pensioner — who came to Australia at 19 — as suspicious, although they stress there are no suspects identified at this time.

But the town's other dozen residents are left on edge: has Mr Moriarty met a grisly end? Have the simmering tensions of the town's long-running feud boiled over to violence?

Town publican Barry Sharpe doesn't think there's a "psychopath" on the loose; he thinks it's a targeted attack.

Mr Rayner told the ABC he felt safe, but "a lot people are talking that it's kind of like Wolf Creek at the moment".

Sifting fact from rumour

Mr Moriarty has been described by friends as a jolly larrikin with a sense of humour who would do anything for his mates.

But the 70-year-old pensioner also had enemies. Two residents in the community have openly admitted in interviews with the ABC that at times they had wished him harm — but they both add the caveat that they certainly haven't had anything to do with his disappearance.

This is a story with many layers in an isolated world whose inhabitants live differently to most Australians.

There are stories of sabotage. Pet peacocks fed to a crocodile. Roadkill used for retribution. Rivalry over the sale of meat pies.

Police now have the difficult task of sifting fact from rumour and innuendo as they investigate the case.

A town plagued by a feud

Larrimah is perched six hours' drive south of Darwin on the edge of the almost 3,000km-long Stuart Highway.

The road is internationally notorious for missing persons cases, especially since the disappearance of British backpacker Peter Falconio 17 years ago.

Relics from its time as a transport hub during World War II are everywhere, and so are the hidden and forgotten caverns and crevices.

The town has become neglected and run down. It's a tiny blip to the travellers passing through and the competition for their attention is fierce.

The fight over pies

Passions run deep in the town and grudges hold fast. Take the meat pie war, for example.

Larrimah's two main tourist businesses — The Pink Panther Hotel and Fran's Tea House — are separated by a few hundred metres and a lot of bad blood.

Fran Hodgetts serves Devonshire tea and is proud of her reputation for selling meat pies.

Years ago, when publican Barry Sharpe decided the pub's pet crocodile wasn't enough of an attraction, he started to sell meat pies in direct competition. Mrs Hodgetts was not impressed.

"There's no claim to saying, 'I sell pies so you can't sell pies'. It's like saying to you, 'I sell soft drinks so you can't sell them'. It's ridiculous," he said.

Mrs Hodgetts' business is across the road from Mr Moriarty's house. The neighbours were once amicable but things turned sour.

Mrs Hodgetts accused Mr Moriarty of waging a vendetta against her in an interview with the ABC before Christmas.

"I stopped him coming here and that's where all the trouble started. He started pinching stuff, pinching umbrellas from here, damaging my property and give me big heaps of cheek and telling customers not to come in, putting broken glass under car wheels…" she said.

'The dog wouldn't eat Fran's pie'

In a never-before-seen ABC interview with former ABC senior journalist Murray McLaughlin from 2011, Mr Moriarty spoke about Mrs Hodgetts. He was disparaging about her pie shop.

More recently, Mrs Hodgetts accused Mr Moriarty of putting a dead kangaroo under her house.

Before Christmas, Mrs Hodgetts spoke to reporters about the missing persons search.

"I don't know where he is and I'm not sad that he's gone. But I hope they find him because I've had so much trouble with him," she said.

"I don't know nothing … the lawyers said not to say nothing, we don't say nothing."

It's just one of the major feuds the town has seen. In an earlier scrap with a now defunct petrol station, the pub's pet peacocks were fed to a crocodile in retaliation for the death of a pet buffalo that was turned into pies.

Life at the country pub

He has been trying to sell the pub for some time, and plans to put it up for auction in March so he can focus on his treatment.

Mr Moriarty's daily routine was to help Mr Sharpe clean the toilets and shower cubicles out the back before settling in at the bar for the afternoon.

He usually bought eight mid strength beers. On the day he went missing, Mr Sharpe says he had consumed about 10 XXXX cans.

That's backed up by bartender Richard Simpson, who has lived in Larrimah several times and recently returned to work in the pub when he heard Mr Sharpe was unwell.

He says Mr Moriarty had a bit of a "wobbly boot", but was not intoxicated when he left.

Mr Simpson is pretty sure he knows what happened, but he does offer an alternative theory.

"There ain't no f***ing aliens that have captured Paddy and if they had have done they would have dropped him back by now, cause he would have talked them into it."

'His own worst enemy'

Mrs Hodgetts wasn't the only resident to have frustrations with Mr Moriarty. Barry "Cookie" Burke said he "was his own worst enemy" and would "make trouble in an empty house".

"I'm flat out here doing what I'm doing. I got no time to muck around going down there and doing freaking stupid things like that," he said.

The ABC asked every resident who was interviewed whether they had anything to do with Mr Moriarty's disappearance — each one said no.

Billy Hodgetts met Mr Moriarty 30 years ago working on stations — he's also Fran's ex-husband.

"I think someone has killed him, for sure, if he was going somewhere he would have taken his car, wouldn't he, and he never went out without his hat," Mr Hodgetts said.

The only missing thing

Mr Sharpe at the pub raised the alarm with police when Mr Moriarty and his dog failed to turn up for their usual afternoon beers.

Detective Sergeant Allen has confirmed police are investigating the feuds as part of their missing persons inquiry.

"If the feud leads to working out what happens to Paddy, so be it. But it's not the only thing we are investigating," he said.

Kellie is the only thing missing from Mr Moriarty's house: his car is in the drive and his reading glasses, wallet and hat — which he always wore because he was bald — are all accounted for. He hasn't accessed his bank accounts.

Mr Moriarty got the dog about three months before he disappeared, not long after his last dog Rover had to be put down. The pair went everywhere together; kelpies are known for their loyalty.

The last known person to see Mr Moriarty is a backpacker, who gave him a chicken as a gift for Kellie. The wrapper and chicken were still in the microwave when police searched Mr Moriarty's house.

A thorough investigation

Police have interviewed every resident, tourists who passed through the town, people who live on the sprawling cattle stations around the town and some previous residents.

They've scoured the surrounding area. The local tip has been sifted, an area Mr Moriarty was known to visit on his regular morning walks with his dog.

Police investigated the possibility of sinkholes in the limestone rock around the region, but ruled them out.

A car linked to one resident was taken away and forensically searched. It has since been returned.

Police have failed to find any relatives of Mr Moriarty, despite reaching out to the Irish police and notifying Interpol that he is missing. They haven't located any next of kin in Australia either.

They can't rule out that their extensive searches of the surrounding bush have missed something and concede there are many places where Mr Moriarty's body could be hidden or lost.

Detective Sergeant Allen says the evidence is not pointing to misadventure or a suicide at this stage.

The search for Kellie

Detective Sergeant Allen hopes the dog is still alive and it may have been taken to a dog shelter interstate, or adopted by an unsuspecting new owner.

"I want to reach out to all dog shelters, animal shelters, vets or any person who's come across or is a new owner of a red kelpie cross, about 12 months old, anywhere in Australia," Mr Allen told the ABC.

Police describe Kellie as having big ears, a white chest and a small white patch on the nose.

Detective Sergeant Allen also called for anyone who travelled in the area on December 16 who hasn't spoken to police to get in touch.

Credits

Paddy Moriarty: A timeline of his disappearance

Northern Territory resident Paddy Moriarty goes to the Pink Panther pub in Larrimah for a beer and is not seen again. Here is a timeline of his disappearance.

December 16, 2017

Paddy Moriarty goes to the Pink Panther pub with his dog Kellie for his usual eight beers.

Barman Richard Simpson says he consumes a few more than normal but is not intoxicated.

He leaves the pub just before dusk and says he will be back in the morning to borrow the lawnmower.

December 17, 2017

Mr Moriarty does not show up to collect the lawnmower. His friends are not too worried, figuring he had changed his plans.

December 18, 2017

Mr Sharpe is concerned as he still has not heard from his friend, so goes to his house and looks around.

Mr Moriarty is not at home and his car, quad bike and hat are all still at the house.

December 19, 2017

Mr Sharpe is very worried now, he goes over to Mr Moriarty's house and still cannot find any sign of him. He calls police at 4:00pm and speaks to the Darwin call centre.

December 20, 2017

Worried, Mr Sharpe calls police again and urges them to contact the police at the Mataranka station, 80 kilometres away from Larrimah.

The message is passed on and the local police officer, Sergeant Tom Chalk, attends within a few hours.

Meanwhile, local residents who are friends with Mr Moriarty start searching around the close bushland and the track he walks every morning.

December 21, 2017

A search and rescue team, police officers and the Tactical Response Group arrive to search the bushland.

NT Police release a statement to media, asking for public assistance to locate Mr Moriarty.

His house is also searched and routine police checks of his accounts and other databases commence.

December 23, 2017

Police suspend the search and rescue operation for Mr Moriarty as they assess that the timeframe in which they expect to find a person alive has expired.

December 25, 2017

NT Police release a statement, saying they are still investigating the circumstances surrounding death.

A number of interviews are conducted with residents of Larrimah, everybody is spoken to.

Meanwhile, police are still trying to locate everybody who passed through Larrimah on the evening Mr Moriarty went missing.

December 28 to 30, 2017

Media are invited on December 29, 2017 to Larrimah. They film a search party of more than 20 police officers and volunteers.

This search involves a more refined phase which includes shoulder-to-shoulder searches surrounding Mr Moriarty's residence, dirt tracks and bushland.

As a result of both search phases, the total area covered reaches 85 kilometres from Mr Moriarty's house.

January 4, 2018

Police say the dump needs to be searched with an excavator as residents burn their rubbish in the town using incinerators before dumping it there.

This is also the place Mr Moriarty would walk his dog Kellie every morning. No evidence is found.

February 1, 2018

Police renew calls for anyone with information about a 12-month-old red kelpie recently acquired, including animal shelters, vets and anyone who may have found the dog.

Also, detectives still wish to speak with anyone who travelled through Larrimah at dusk on December 16, 2017 who may have sighted Mr Moriarty, his dog or anything unusual.

Chances of finding missing Irishman Paddy Moriarty alive in remote NT 'unlikely', detective says

Mr Moriarty was last seen on December 16 at a hotel in Larrimah, about 430 kilometres south-east of Darwin.

Detective Sergeant Matt Allen has compiled a profile of a confident character and fit man who worked most of his life as a stockman and even won a rodeo in Darwin. He has no substantive criminal record.

Detective Sergeant Allen acknowledged that despite the thorough search effort around the community in an attempt to locate Mr Moriarty, there are still places that could not be checked.

One of the main reasons his disappearance is suspicious is his strict daily routine; attending the pub, drinking eight beers, coming home before dusk.

Can you go into more detail about what is it about the scene and your enquiries that have led you to think a crime has been committed?

"The physical evidence at the scene is completely undisturbed. So, the assessment is he's voluntarily left his residence. The bed was made, he had food on the table, he had dog food for his dog Kellie," Detective Sergeant Allen said.

"He had a calendar that he crossed off each day. And the last date that was crossed off was the 15th. He had a water gauge that he checks in the morning that wasn't checked.

"So, we believe he's voluntarily left his residence and because he's set in his ways and he's a local and he always does the same thing — like attends the pub — when he walks his dog he walks the dog in the morning, and based on that we're treating it as a worst case scenario."

Who was the last person to see him before he went missing?

"Our investigation established there was a tourist passing through, staying that night at Larrimah, and they had contact with Paddy and actually gave Paddy's dog Kellie a chicken, a cooked chook, just to give it to the dog for dinner," he said.

Is there any further evidence you can speak about that links up to that version of events?

"We located that chicken wrapper actually in the premises of Paddy's," Detective Sergeant Allen said.

Do you think Paddy Moriarty is still alive?

"No, I don't. We conduct routine checks. We check banks, we check transport companies, we check Centrelink where he was on some sort of pension where he gets regular payments," he said.

Can you also give me a sense of thoroughness of the search, because I understand some closed areas of the community have been searched through (septic tanks). Are there a lot of places to hide a body and do you think you've looked in all of them?

"We've done a comprehensive search of the community, obviously we need information to act on to search private property, but the residents of Larrimah have assisted with our enquiries," Detective Sergeant Allen said.

"We've conducted consensual searches at a number of locations. The specific nature of those locations I want to keep close to the investigation team at this time, but yes, we've done not just the surrounding area but we've searched a number of locations in the area."

You put a call-out about a van. Why did you do that — what was the significance of that?

"The Delica van, or a van that looked like a Delica, was sighted in the area about a Thursday after his disappearance, and people who are station owners and residents hadn't seen that vehicle previously," he said.

"We don't know what the link is with that vehicle. It could be nothing, but during the course of our investigation we speak to everybody that's travelled through Larrimah before, during the time of the disappearance, and afterwards.

And that's still outstanding?

Have you thought about dredging Warloch Ponds, which is a significant body of water that's not too far away?

"No, we haven't. We don't have information to do that," Detective Sergeant Allen said.

Have you searched the animal enclosures out the back of the pub?

"No, we haven't. We've consensually searched a number of areas there with the assistance of staff members. But, no," he said.

There is a crocodile there, quite a big croc. It's been fed whole chickens. Is it possible this man has been fed to the crocodile?

Police are no longer in Larrimah. Has this investigation at this point gone cold? And I should say residents say they feel uneasy there. Do you recognise there could be a danger?

"I don't have any information that there any dangers there to any other resident. If anybody has information, feel free to contact me," Detective Sergeant Allen said.

"The investigation is ongoing, whatever it takes, as long as it takes. We are not going to give up looking for Paddy and his dog Kellie."

How hard is it to investigate a missing persons case in the NT outback?

"This particular case is challenging because Paddy lives on his own, there's nobody present to corroborate his movements," Detective Sergeant Allen said.

"Larrimah itself doesn't have significant infrastructure, so CCTV [and] a lot of other things like that where police are able to track peoples movements. It's a very challenging place.

"If you stand on Stuart Highway, cars might not come past for 10 minutes or half an hour.

"In this particular investigation we don't have any direct witnesses to the disappearance of Paddy, which makes everything very challenging."

Clairvoyants, water diviners and private detective keen to investigate Paddy Moriarty's disappearance

Police are following up reported sightings of a missing Northern Territory man, and have been offered help from clairvoyants and water diviners, but remain convinced it is unlikely he is still alive.

A private detective has apparently packed his bags and is driving from his home state of Tasmania to the Northern Territory offering to help with the search.

Mr Moriarty was last seen leaving his local pub, the Pink Panther Hotel, on December 16.

His house is deserted, his car and quad bike are parked on his property, and his bank accounts have not been accessed.

Police are treating his disappearance as suspicious and it is under investigation by the NT Police Major Crime unit.

Larrimah is a tiny town of about a dozen residents and some of Mr Moriarty's neighbours are concerned he may have been murdered.

Police are investigating whether a feud between Mr Moriarty and his neighbour Fran Hodgetts had anything to do with his disappearance.

Mrs Hodgetts has accused Mr Moriarty of trying to destroy her business by warning customers not to buy her produce, and trying to sabotage her garden.

Tonight Mrs Hodgetts told 7.30 that police searched her house, pumped her septic tank, and scraped through her incinerator during their investigation.

"They poked holes in all the gardens. They didn't find anything. They went through my car, they didn't find anything."

"And I speak the truth. I don't bullshit. I tell the truth and don't lie," Mrs Hodgetts said.

The 74-year-old said despite Mr Moriarty throwing a dead kangaroo under her house and years of other attempts to sabotage her business, she has "never retaliated".

"I can honestly swear on my mother's and father's grave … and I'll take an oath on my life going to Katherine and back, I know nothing about the disappearance of Paddy Moriarty."

'We are yet to identify any signs of life'

Last week Detective Sergeant Matt Allen, who is heading the missing person's investigation, appealed for more public information.

He says the police are now investigating reports of fresh sightings of Mr Moriarty after the date he went missing, but so far they haven't come to anything.

"It's now been 54 days since Paddy went missing," Detective Sergeant Allen said.

"He has not (to our knowledge) accessed his bank accounts, contacted any friends, made any telephone calls, returned to his residence or travelled in any capacity."

Police have been trying to locate Mr Moriarty's red kelpie Kellie, which is also missing.

Detective Sergeant Allen remains convinced that the dog may still be alive, and could help police find Mr Moriarty's body.

"I still encourage people to give NT Police a call, regardless how trivial they believe the information may be, as it might be one small piece of the puzzle detectives need to locate Paddy and his dog," he said.

"Detectives rely on fact and evidence, however, every piece of information received or possible theory is recorded for information by the investigation team."

Originally police had drawn a blank in trying to locate Mr Moriarty's family, but the story gained prominence over the past week and was reported in the English and Irish press.

Police have now received information confirming Mr Moriarty grew up in Limerick.

"We received information that Paddy was born and raised at Abbeyfeale in Ireland and his mother's name was Mary," Detective Sergeant Allen said.

Police question reclusive gardener in search for missing NT man Paddy Moriarty

A reclusive gardener is among those being questioned in relation to the disappearance of Paddy Moriarty in the remote Northern Territory outback.

The man known as Owen has been living and working in Larrimah, where Mr Moriarty was last seen.

He has been residing on the property owned by Devonshire Tea House proprietor Fran Hodgetts in exchange for work he completed looking after the tourist attraction's garden.

This week on 7:30, Ms Hodgetts said she had been questioned by police and had provided statements over a period of about 12 hours so far.

She confirmed police had thoroughly searched her Larrimah property, including the garden, septic tanks and other areas.

Gardener keeps to himself

Over a number of interviews with ABC News, she has also confirmed her gardener had been questioned.

"He don't like people, he don't like media," Ms Hodgetts said when contacted as the ABC tried to reach the gardener directly.

Ms Hodgetts defended Owen, saying there was "no way known" he had done anything wrong.

She told the ABC that she wanted to protect him from unfair police and media scrutiny, and said she had known him for about six months.

There is no mobile reception in Larrimah. The ABC called Ms Hodgetts to request an interview with Owen, but she declined on his behalf.

Police looking for leads

They have interviewed all the residents of the tiny isolated outpost and many former residents as they try to piece together what has happened to him.

At his house there was no sign of a struggle. But his hat, wallet and reading glasses were inside, leading police to surmise that sometime on the night of December 16 he voluntarily left his home, never to be seen again.

Gardener's car searched

The gardener's car was taken away by police and forensically searched after Mr Moriarty went missing.

Police found a small amount of blood in the car, but have confirmed since that they found no link between the vehicle, Mr Moriarty or his dog.

"If he wanted to, he could take off in his car, and sell his car and he'd be fine because he's a bushie.

She said the gardener had kept people off her property and was very loyal to her.

Bitter feud in small town

The pair were locked in a bitter feud going back many years over tourism in the town.

Mr Moriarty is accused of sabotaging her business, stealing items from her shop, putting a dead animal under her house and warning prospective customers they would get food poisoning from eating at her restaurant.

While police have no suspects at this time, Owen is one of a number "persons of interest".

In an interview with 7:30 this week, Ms Hodgetts confirmed police searched her house, pumped her septic tank, and scraped through her incinerator during their investigation.

"They poked holes in all the garden. They didn't find anything. They went through my car, they didn't find anything.

The 74-year-old said despite Mr Moriarty throwing a dead kangaroo under her house and years of other attempts to sabotage her business, she has "never retaliated".

"I can honestly swear on my mother's and father's grave … and I'll take an oath on my life going to Katherine and back, I know nothing about the disappearance of Paddy Moriarty."

When the alarm was first raised about Mr Moriarty's disappearance, police conducted an extensive search around Larrimah, concerned he may have met with misadventure while walking his dog.

Detective Sergeant Matt Allen said he was still hopeful someone with new information about the disappearance would come forward.

Case goes international

Recent international media attention on the case has helped police identify that Mr Moriarty was born in Abbeyfeale, in Limerick, Ireland.

There have also been a number of reported sightings of Mr Moriarty after he went missing. None have been confirmed.

"We are yet to identify any signs of life for Paddy," Detective Sergeant Allen told the ABC this week.

"He has not [to our knowledge] accessed his bank accounts, contacted any friends, made any telephone calls, returned to his residence or travelled in any capacity.

"For these reasons combined with the nature and circumstances of his disappearance, I believe Paddy is unfortunately deceased."

Police have also renewed their calls for anyone who has come across a red kelpie — around a year old — to get in contact.

"Kellie is a female red kelpie cross with particular whitish/tanned markings and is only just over 12 months old," Detective Sergeant Allen said.

"I don't want members of the public to get confused with Paddy's previous dog Rover, which was a male black and white border collie kelpie cross well over 10 years ago."

Clairvoyants, private searchers involved

"Detectives rely on fact and evidence, however every piece of information received or possible theory is recorded for information by the investigation team," Detective Sergeant Allen said.

"Detectives remain focused on finding both of them, as long as it takes, whatever it takes.

Friends suspect foul play

Ms Hodgetts has questioned the police search of the area, conducted by helicopter, quad bike and on foot.

She said police should have been on horseback so they could have covered a wider search zone.

She also said Aboriginal trackers should have been engaged to look for Mr Moriarty.

She suggested he could have lost control of his young dog, and in trying to find the dog become lost and disorientated and perished.

Mr Moriarty was last seen on December 16 but his disappearance was not reported to police until he failed to show up at the pub for his regular afternoon beers for two days.

Ms Hodgetts maintains the window of time to find him alive, if he was lost in the bush, was already fast closing when police began to look for him.

When the ABC visited Larrimah two weeks ago, there was a general unease about the mystery.

Town mechanic Mark Rayner said there had been some discussion about whether Mr Moriarty, who he described as a "top bloke", had gone missing around the same time as others in Queensland.

Police say they have no evidence to suggest Mr Moriarty's disappearance is linked to any other missing persons cases.

Another resident, Bobbie Roth, said it was "odd" and unsettling that Mr Moriarty was gone but she also said she still felt safer in Larrimah than in the nation's big cities.

NT Police leave door open to reward over Paddy Moriarty's baffling outback disappearance

Mr Moriarty disappeared from the Pink Panther Hotel in the remote territory community of Larrimah, on the Stuart Highway, in December last year.

His disappearance is being treated as suspicious but police have no suspects. His red kelpie Kellie is also gone.

The isolated community — which is out of mobile range — is about six hours' drive south of Darwin.

The town has only about a dozen residents, who have all been interviewed by police.

Mr Moriarty had about 10 mid-strength beers on December 16 at his local pub. The publican said, after that he, "vanished into thin air".

Northern Territory Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said a potential reward to help them gather more information about the missing man was a matter for his Major Crime Unit.

"We've done that in the past, I think there'll probably be a point in time where there probably will be some sort of serious consideration about offering a reward," Commissioner Kershaw said.

He said the widespread media attention on the case meant information about the disappearance had been widely reported.

But police remain stumped, and have not been able to pin down any of their leads.

The police officer in charge of the investigation, Matt Allen, previously said despite a large-scale search and questioning of residents, friends and even contact with Irish police and Interpol, police were unable to establish what had happened.

Detective Sergeant Allen had conceded Mr Moriarty might have perished in the bush outside of Larrimah, but he was also investigating whether feuding in the town over meat pie sales and neighbourly disputes could be related to the disappearance.

Mr Moriarty had been engaged in court mediation with his neighbour and Devonshire Tea shop operator Fran Hodgetts.

Mr Moriarty was no fan of the pie shop, saying previously the pies were overpriced and unhealthy and his dog would not eat one.

Mrs Hodgetts told the ABC she knew nothing about his disappearance, but she was glad he was no longer in Larrimah.

The gardener, known only as Owen, had not spoken to the ABC, but Mrs Hodgetts described him as a kind man, and a "bushie".

His car was taken for forensic testing and later returned, police found no evidence to link the vehicle to the disappearance.

Warning of Stuart Highway dangers

Police are investigating a number of missing persons cases on the 3,000km stretch of the Stuart Highway, which runs from Darwin in the Northern Territory to Port Augusta in South Australia.

It is the same highway where British tourist Peter Falconio disappeared in 2001.

There are missing persons posters at the Darwin police headquarters for a number of other people.

Rebecca Hayward, 35, was last seen walking on the Stuart Highway about 10 kilometres north of Alice Springs in January 2017.

Another missing person is Richard Roe, a 40-year-old man who went missing on November 2, 2016.

His vehicle was later found abandoned on the Stuart Highway near Lake Bennett, about 80 kilometres south of Darwin.

Commissioner Kershaw was asked whether there was a pattern of concerning disappearances on the notorious inland stretch.

"I know here in the past, down here in Alice [Springs], we've had people walk off into dry lakes — and their footprints disappear into the sand.

He reminded tourists and residents travelling on the remote road to take necessary steps to ensure they were prepared for the tough conditions in the outback.

"Not having enough water and thinking about their trip is something we constantly remind people, 'Just don't jump in your car and sort of think that you can go 400 kilometres without having to worry about water and other supplies'," he said.

Paddy Moriarty's Irish family comes forward as NT police request DNA tests to confirm link

Northern Territory Police believe they have made a breakthrough in locating the family of missing Irish-born man Paddy Moriarty, as locals raise concerns his house is being damaged by scavengers.

Police are treating it as a suspicious missing persons case, and some people in the community believe he has been murdered.

Police have acknowledged that while they have comprehensively searched the bush in the area, it is still possible he went walking outside Larrimah and became lost or injured and has perished.

Some of Mr Moriarty's friends want to access his house to mow the lawn and remove rotting food from his fridges.

They are also concerned that petrol and other personal items belonging to Mr Moriarty have been taken by people scavenging from the abandoned house.

Irish family comes forward

After the ABC was interviewed by Sean O'Rourke for his morning current affairs program on Irish radio station Raidio Teilifis Eireann, a member of the Irish Moriarty family did some digging.

A group of people with links to the Moriarty family tree now believe Mr Moriarty is a relative.

Northern Territory police have requested DNA samples from some of them to establish whether they are blood relatives.

Mae Screeney has contacted the ABC, and believes she is the cousin of Mr Moriarty's mother, Mary Theresa.

Mary passed away in 1995. If this is established, Mr Moriarty was a member of a large extended family.

Mary was from Abbeyfeale in the Irish county of Limerick, but there is no father listed on Mr Moriarty's birth certificate.

That part of the story remains unknown, but has led Ms Screeney to believe the missing Irish-born man was born out of wedlock.

"She [Mary] obviously called him Patrick Joseph because that was the family name," Ms Screeney said.

"Nobody knows of this child, so what happened to Patrick Moriarty? He wasn't bought up around Abbeyfeale," Ms Screeney said.

Ms Screeney said Mary moved to the island of Jersey near the coast of Normandy, and it was not clear what happened to Mr Moriarty in his early years or where he grew up.

As a teenager in the 60s, Mr Moriarty left for Australia, where he worked on stations as a "ringer" and was effectively a stockman.

There are other likely extended family links in the United States where other members of the Moriarty family relocated.

She said the Moriarty family recently had a family reunion and established there were about 50 first cousins and over 100 more distant relatives in the US.

Friends want access to Moriarty house

Bartender and friend of Mr Moriarty, Richard Simpson, said he hoped the next of kin could be confirmed soon, so that police could grant permission for Mr Moriarty's house and yard to be cleaned up and cared for.

Fran Hodgetts, who had a long-running feud with Mr Moriarty, is also hoping he is found.

The disagreement centred on a rivalry over who was rightfully able to sell meat pies to tourists.

Mrs Hodgetts' Devonshire Tea House had long sold meat pies, but in the past decade the Pink Panther pub also purchased a pie warmer and was selling the popular roadside snack.

Mrs Hodgetts has previously said that while she did not get along with Mr Moriarty, she had nothing to do with his disappearance.

She said police had forensically examined his car and found no link between the vehicle and Mr Moriarty or his kelpie dog Kellie, who has not been seen since December 16 either.

Police have questioned all of the dozen residents in the town and searched a large radius around Larrimah on foot, quadbike and helicopter.

They have also sifted through the local tip, where Mr Moriarty often walked his dog.

Officers have spoken to hundreds of people and the case has garnered international attention, covered by news agencies in England and Ireland.

Police have notified Interpol and have been working with An Garda Siochana — Irish Police — to try and find more about Mr Moriarty's history.

Paddy Moriarty investigators seize hammers and hacksaw from Northern Territory pie shop

A Northern Territory pie shop owner says police have seized a hacksaw and two hammers from her property, but maintains she had nothing to do with the disappearance of a missing man.

The tiny isolated outpost has about a dozen residents who have all been questioned. Many properties have been searched.

Pie shop freezer searched

On the weekend, officers with a warrant returned to the property where Mrs Hodgetts and her gardener Owen live.

The 74-year-old says police searched a meat freezer and took the hammers, saw and a pair of shoes.

"They found this hacksaw and they named it and put it in a bag," she told the ABC.

"They took his (Owen's) shoes, they wanted to leave him a pair of shoes but he said, 'no, I don't want your bloody shoes'. He'd had enough.

Mrs Hodgetts has written a letter to the editor of the local paper outlining her innocence.

"No, I did not have anything to do with the disappearance of Paddy Moriarty. No, I don't know where he is. Yes, I would like to have him found so I can sit back and say, 'Yes I told you so'," her letter said.

Mrs Hodgetts has also criticised the police investigation because the search did not include officers on horseback.

"They probably would have found him, but he probably would not have been there very long because they've got a lot of wild pigs here and a lot of wild dingos," she said.

Possible family member found

Mae Screeney said she would be happy to provide a DNA sample to check if she is related, and if so Mr Moriarty has family in the UK and the United States.

Mr Moriarty's friends are hoping they can get permission to access his house and yard to mow the lawn and protect his belongings from scavengers.

Tiny town of Larrimah torn by a long-running feud and a missing man

Fran Hodgetts says she has been an open book with police since they began investigating Mr Moriarty’s disappearance from Larrimah, about 500km south of Darwin, more than two months ago. Denying any knowledge of what happened to Mr Moriarty, she has been peppered with questions from detectives about her live-in gardener, a reclusive “bushie” known only as Owen.

In repeated searches of her property, police have drained her septic tank, scoured her garden and examined her incinerator. Last weekend — when she was doing a crossword and Owen was “singing to the flowers” — police turned up again. This time they had a warrant to seize hammers and a pair of light-tan shoes. “Nobody wears shoes in the Territory,” she scoffed, in an interview with The Australian. Police left with two hammers and a hacksaw, which she says Owen used to cut up turkey and beef.

“They went through Owen’s place, they went through my place again, all through me knicker drawer, all through me bag, they went through everything.

“They went through me tea house — I think they must have thought I had Paddy pies in my freezer or something, all jokes aside. They opened me freezers and looked in me freezers in the shop.”

Although its population can be counted on two hands, Larrimah has been beset by long-running feuds, with Ms Hodgetts and Mr Moriarty at loggerheads for years.

Days before Mr Moriarty went missing, Ms Hodgetts looked out her window and saw him dragging a dead kangaroo by the tail and dumping it in front of her home. She says when she went to provide police a statement last month, a detective insisted: “You know where Paddy’s body is.”

Police have since told her she has been cleared and know she had nothing to do with Mr Moriarty’s suspected death, Ms Hodgetts says.

That hasn’t eased the concerns of the 75-year-old. Police told her last month that her gardener refused to talk to them and one line of inquiry was whether Owen’s dog, a pit bull, fought with Mr Moriarty’s dog, a red kelpie cross.

“I said, ‘do you know why he doesn’t talk to media and to the police? Because he doesn’t know anything, he never done anything’,” Ms Hodgetts said.

Ms Hodgetts has developed a firm friendship with Owen since he responded to her job advertisement and came to work for her in exchange for board about six months ago.

But as to whether there was anything more between them, she says she “laughed my f..king head off” when police asked if they were in a romantic relationship.

“You haven’t seen Owen. He’s 71,” said Ms Hodgetts. “He lives in his house, I live in mine. There’s nothing between us. He’s just a worker.

“They’ve been trying to turn me. I’m cleared. They told me they trust me, they believe me. They’re trying to break me up with Owen. I said no. Owen’s only been here six months but he’s trustworthy, he’s honest. You work with somebody, you know them.”

With no body, it’s not clear yet whether this a murder-mystery or just a mystery. Mr Moriarty, 70, went missing from his home, across the road from Ms Hodgetts’ shop, after earlier consuming 10 cans of beer at Larrimah’s Pink Panther Hotel on December 16.

He left behind his car, reading glasses, wallet and hat. Searchers around the outback town did not find any trace of him, or his dog, Kellie.

Ms Hodgetts says she read up on the case on a computer at her solicitor’s office because she doesn’t have one of her own.

The most likely explanation was that Mr Moriarty took his dog for a walk and became lost, she says. “Man leads dog. Man takes dog in the bush for a run. And he lets it off the leash.

“Dog didn’t come back. Man goes looking for dog. They can’t find the dog, they can’t find the man and they can’t find the lead.

“If anybody’s going to bump Paddy off, they’re not going to worry about a dog.

“Who would kill a dog? C’mon. I know I couldn’t. I know Owen, he loves animals. He loves dogs.”

For many years travellers on the Stuart Highway have stopped at her business, Fran’s Devonshire tea House, for her homemade goods including her famous buffalo, camel and crocodile pies.

She says Mr Moriarty harassed many of those customers, telling them to eat elsewhere.

It went back to bad blood between the pair over false and malicious rumours she says Mr Moriarty spread around town about her business being unclean.

“I was going through hell. But that doesn’t give the right for anybody to do anything to Paddy,” she said.

Pink Panther publican Barry Sharpe doubted Mr Moriarty, an experienced bushman, became lost. “He’s lived his whole life in the bush. He come out when he was 19 from Ireland and went straight to a cattle station,” he said. “No, he got into trouble with somebody and somebody got the better of him, I’d say.”

Mr Sharpe ruled out any involvement of his own 3.5m pet crocodile, Sam, who lives in a pen behind the pub.

“I’ve heard the theory someone’s thrown him to the croc. That didn’t happen,” he said.

He played down the conflict in the town. “Everything’s all right. A lot of things have been put out of context. We don’t spend our day going around fighting with the neighbours.”

NT Police said in a statement they “still don’t know what happened to Paddy and Kellie” and the priority remained for investigators to find them.

NT Police will begin searching other "sites of interest" after divers scoured the Larrimah Dam but found no trace of Paddy Moriarty, who has been missing for almost three months.

On Monday, Detective Sergeant Matt Allen said police had searched the Larrimah Dam during the past week but found no trace of him.

"Over the last week police divers, detectives and forensic investigators searched Larrimah Dam, which is located approximately 1 kilometre west of Larrimah," Detective Sergeant Allen said.

"Our priority at this stage is finding Paddy, we continue to ask anyone who was in or travelled through Larrimah on December 16, 2017, and who hasn't yet spoken to police to please contact us."

Paddy Moriarty's Larrimah house contained a series of clues which led police to suspect homicide

Today, one year ago, is the last time there was evidence that Paddy Moriarty was inside his outback home, on the fringe of the Stuart Highway, in the remote Northern Territory.

Now, for the first time, images taken by Northern Territory police inside his deserted home have been released to the ABC.

They show the physical evidence that helped stoke fear within the police force, and among other residents in the tiny town of Larrimah, that he is dead and may be the victim of a homicide.

The barbecue chicken

A passing tourist gave Mr Moriarty the remnants of a barbecued chicken they had purchased earlier that day.

They told police the leftovers were a gift, and were handed to him as he and his dog Kellie were leaving the Pink Panther hotel at sunset on December 16 — the last day he was seen.

The hats

Yet his well-worn cowboy hat and an array of caps were left behind, his favourite sun protector placed neatly on an esky inside his house.

The dim sims

A plastic container with dim sims reheated inside was left half-eaten on the table.

The inquest called almost all the residents of Larrimah, and all have denied having anything to do with the disappearance.

There is still a possibility witnesses could be recalled, or new evidence could be taken.

The calendar

Mr Moriarty had a calendar repurposed from the previous year with the new dates written in.

The last date crossed off was December 15, 2017 — the day before the last night he was seen.

While residents came looking for him in the days after he vanished, and searched around the remote town, police say the alarm was not raised with them for 72 hours.

But this calendar, meticulously marked off in the past, suggests Mr Moriarty was not inside his home after December 16.

The glasses

Mr Moriarty was 70, and it was very strange to his friends in Larrimah that he would have left his reading glasses behind if he was going somewhere.

While he was described at the inquest as being in good health for his age, he did carry his glasses with him.

No sign of a struggle

The house was neat and tidy and it appeared there had been no sign of a fight or forced entry.

During the inquest, local residents Mark and Karen Rayner told the court they had gone to Mr Moriarty's house because they were worried about him.

They felt something was wrong and began looking for him in the scrub around the town.

After residents conducted their own searches and found no sign of Mr Moriarty or an explanation for his disappearance, they contacted police on December 19, at 4pm.

Police arrived in Larrimah the following day and began a substantial land and air search.

The lead investigator, Detective Sergeant Matt Allen, said he had excellent visibility from the helicopter and believed Mr Moriarty would have been spotted by him, or his officers, if he had met misadventure in the bush.

As Christmas approached, on December 23, a medical expert advised police that there was no real likelihood Mr Moriarty would still be alive if he had simply wandered off or become lost.

Since then police say the Irish-born local has not contacted friends or accessed any bank accounts or social services under his name, nor have any reports of sightings been confirmed.

The iview and YouTube series delving inside this outback missing persons file explores the petty disagreements and feuds in Larrimah that police have investigated as part of the process of establishing how and why Mr Moriarty vanished.

Police have confirmed there are persons of interest in Larrimah and outside of the outpost.

Why Paddy Moriarty's disappearance from the tiny town of Larrimah may never be fully solved

There's a long, straight stretch of the Stuart Highway that cuts through the Northern Territory outback like a blade – the 700 kilometre run between Katherine and Tennant Creek.

Each lonely roadhouse or rest area can seem separated by hours, punctuated only by termite mounds, cattle station fencing, or the rush of a road train as it thuds past in the opposite lane.

It was from here, in this sparse patch of Australia, that the saga of a missing man and his red kelpie captivated the nation, and the world, with a tale that seemed drawn from a far-fetched movie.

The tiny outback town with a population of 10 or so people, where everybody had an axe to grind, but nobody was saying anything.

This week, a surprise announcement was released which harboured a sobering reality: any answers about the case are no closer to emerging, and there's no saying they ever will.

'Insufficient evidence'

The photo appeared just before Christmas in 2017, attached to a police media release.

Grizzled and grinning, a beer in his hand and a dog by his side, a 70-year-old man had gone missing from his outback home in Larrimah.

Since the police investigation's early weeks, NT police have sustained that it's highly likely Mr Moriarty was murdered, and his body disposed of somewhere in the vast outback.

However that prospect was never proven, and the larrikin's body was never located.