Circumstances:
Susan Goodwin was 40 when she vanished from her home in Port Lincoln, SA, on July 19, 2002. A friend last saw Susan at her home address in Port Lincoln, South Australia on 19 July, 2002. Her disappearance is described as out of character.
Despite many searches, fun-loving Susan hasn't been spotted since, explains Michel Peterson, 43, her partner of seven years.
"From the moment I arrived home from work at 4.30pm, I had a feeling something was terribly wrong. Susan usually picked me up, but this day the car was locked in the driveway. It sent alarm bells ringing. Ordinarily, Susan never bothered about locking it.
I went inside the house and it all seemed normal. Susan had even prepared the evening meal. It was sitting in the fridge, waiting to be cooked. All the contents of the house were intact, and her clothes in the wardrobe were untouched. One of the other signs something was wrong was that her toothbrush was still in the bathroom cabinet. Susan had an obsession about brushing her teeth, and wouldn't have left the house without it. There was no note to say where she was, so I called friends and family, but came up with nothing. It was strange, as we were inseparable and I know she wouldn't cause me any stress. I went to the police that night and reported her missing. While I completed the forms I thought I'd get a call on my mobile from Susan. But it's never happened. When I'm driving and I see an area of bushland that hasn't been searched, I stop the car and look for myself. It's sad and frustrating because there haven't been any reported sightings of Susan from the time she disappeared. The Port Lincoln SES and police have both been fantastic, conducting searches in the area. The family are very stressed and heartbroken, because Susan survived a car accident in the 1980s which claimed the lives of two of her sisters and her brother. It's a terrible blow to her parents and sister, who live in Victoria. I think about Susan every day, wondering if she's dead or alive, so there's no closure." If you have any information, please call the National Missing Persons Unit on 1800 000 634.

Sunday Mail (28-12-2003)
Anna Merola/ Peter Haran

EVERYWHERE Susan Goodwin went she look her toothbrush and a small bottle of water.
But the Port Lincoln woman took neither with her the day she disappeared.
She had ignored her obsession with dental hygiene, a fact that gave police reason to worry about her safety.
Police said events from years ago ruled out the likelihood of suicide - Susan had survived an horrific car crash in which her three siblings were killed.
"She considered life precious," Major Crime investigator Detective Sergeant Mick Standing said.
There had been no falling out or altercation with her partner, Michel Peterson, with whom she lived, but something had distressed her on the day she vanished.
Susan had arranged to pick up Ms Peterson from a Port Lincoln fish processing plant at 4.30pm on July 19.
She had shopped for food for the evening meat and was seen in town by people who later told police she was "distressed" or "distraught".
Why Susan was upset is not clear. She drove her four-wheel drive back home and apparently unpacked her groceries.
At 4.30pm Ms Peterson arrived home and became alarmed after finding the four-wheel drive locked and parked in the drive- way.
Inside the couple's home meat had been unpacked and left on the kitchen bench for the evening meal.
Investigators built up a picture of Susan and concluded foul play was involved. One detective said "the whole picture is not right".
The following week police and SES volunteers scoured 25sq km of dense scrub near Port Lincoln for clues or a grave.
Susan carried $140 with her but had not used her bank accounts.
Seventeen months on, her disappearance - listed as a major crime - still mystifies all concerned.
Her father, Don Goodwin, who lives in rural Victoria, told the Sunday Mail his daughter had "been to hell and back" after the tragedy of the car smash.
"She was very close to me and this has set me back," he said. "I've come to the conclusion she's not alive."
Susan's mother, Margaret, said: "If she was alive we would have heard from her - somebody knows something."

Missing woman unlikely to be alive: police
Thursday, 17 November 2005 - ABC

Port Lincoln police say they do not expect to find missing woman Susan Goodwin alive.

Police searched the old greyhound track on Tuesday after Ms Goodwin's partner said new information had been received.

Search teams found pieces of old clothing, which will be tested to see if they belonged to Ms Goodwin, who disappeared more than three years ago.

Senior Sergeant Hank Swalue says any hope of finding Ms Goodwin alive is all but gone.

"She's still a missing person. However, the likelihood of her being alive now in light of information that we've received over a period of time, it's highly unlikely that she's still alive and I think we'll be looking for the remains," he said.

New search for body
By Billie Harrison - Port Lincoln Times
Thursday, 17 November 2005

NEW information sparked a police search for the remains of missing Port Lincoln woman Susan Goodwin at the old greyhound track on Tuesday.
Ms Goodwin was first reported missing on July 19, 2002 after she failed to pick up her partner from Port Lincoln Tuna Processors that afternoon.

Senior Sergeant Hank Swalue said information from Ms Goodwin's partner Michel Peterson had prompted the search.

An extensive search uncovered pieces of old clothing, which will be examined by police, however no evidence of human remains was found in the search area.

Ms Peterson joined police and local State Emergency Services on the search of a number of areas around the old greyhound track.

"If I didn't come I'd want to come and look for myself anyway," Ms Peterson said.

She has renewed her plea for anyone with information about Ms Goodwin's disappearance to come forward.

Sergeant Swalue said police were convinced there were people in the community who knew something about what happened to Ms Goodwin.

"It's now been three years since Susan Goodwin went missing and from time to time police still receive some information as to the possible location of what now would be her remains," he said.

"Michel Peterson, the former partner of Susan Goodwin approached police recently in relation to some information that had been passed onto her for police to search an area in the vicinity of the old greyhound track.

"Once again this is a plea for someone to come forward so this baffling case can finally be put to rest and give some piece of mind to both Michel and the family of Susan Goodwin."

Anyone with information should either contact local police on 8688 3020 or Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.

Sergeant Swalue stressed all information would be treated with the strictest of confidence.

The revelation — which narrows the list of potential suspects to less than a handful — is a significant development in the long-running cold case.

Police have also revealed it is “more than likely’’ that more than one person was involved in either the murder of Ms Goodwin, 39, or the subsequent disposal of her body near the town.

The officer in charge of the Major Crime Investigation Branch, Detective Superintendent Des Bray, yesterday said numerous scenarios had been discounted.

“We don’t believe it was an accidental overdose and we don’t believe she ran away. We are firm in our belief that she was murdered,’’ he said.

“We are now taking the investigation back to day one and investigating it as if the crime occurred today.

“In a case like this, history shows us it’s not uncommon for the offender to be someone related to the victim, friends or closely associated.

“We think it’s most likely she was murdered by somebody that she knew well.’’

Det-Supt Bray would not comment on a likely motive but indicated it had formed part of the renewed investigation.

Police received 20 calls to Crime Stoppers and to Task Force Lincoln detectives last week after distributing posters and placing banners on police cars urging Port Lincoln residents with information about Ms Goodwin’s murder to come forward.

“All of those calls will result in further investigation,’’ Det-Supt Bray said.

“The investigators are now confident the killer still resides in Port Lincoln and believe Ms Goodwin’s body was disposed of within a 30km radius of the town.

“It’s also likely her murder was not planned but there was more than one person involved, most likely in disposing of her body.’’

Det-Supt Bray appealed to those on the periphery of Ms Goodwin’s murder to contact police and said a $200,000 reward was available for information about her death or recovery of her remains.

Ms Goodwin disappeared on July 19, 2002, and was reported missing after she failed to pick up her partner, Michele Peterson, from work at 4.15pm that day.

Ms Peterson started walking to their Moonta Crescent home but, at 4.27pm, accepted a lift from a work colleague.

When she arrived home, she found fresh meat ready to be cooked for their evening meal.

Ms Goodwin had only her clothes and about $140 with her when she disappeared.

Police later revealed they believed she was with other people when she died and may have been buried in a shallow grave. She was a social drug user.

In 2003, Ms Peterson pleaded for public help to solve the mystery.

“I think the possibility of her being alive is pretty slim. I think she’s probably dead but it would just be good to know,” Ms Peterson said at the time.

“There has got to be somebody out there who must know what has happened to her. It would be good to be able to put it to rest so I can get on with life.’’

Ms Peterson yesterday declined to comment on the renewed investigation when contacted by the Sunday Mail.

■ Anyone with information about the disappearance and murder of Ms Goodwin should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Police today released a personal plea from the gravely ill father.

Ms Goodwin was last seen in Port Lincoln in 2002, and police investigating her disappearance believe she has been murdered.

Recorded in his hospital room in Victoria last week, Don Goodwin is urging anyone with information to speak up now.

In a tragic twist, Ms Goodwin had survived a car crash 15 years before she went missing but she lost two sisters and a brother.

Also penning a letter of appeal ‘To Whom it May Concern’, he wrote that six months ago he had a heart attack, and just three months later he found out he has cancer.

“Thirty years ago Suzy was in a tragic car accident … she survived but lost two sisters and only brother,” he wrote.

“Fifteen years ago we lost Suzy, believed now murdered in Port Lincoln.

“I am appealing to anyone (who) knows anything … I am desperate for answers as her remaining sister and mother need closure and some peace as our lives have been destroyed by these tragedies.”

As part of the police inquiry detectives last week travelled to country Victoria to interview friends and family who live in the Wonthaggi area.

During that trip her father made the video appeal for anyone with information to come forward to police.

“It’s been terrible,” he said of life since her disappearance. “It’s been on my mind all the time — day and night — you never get over it and it just wears you down something terrible,” Mr Goodwin says in the video.

“It’s getting worse as I’m getting older and crooker.”

Releasing the video today, police from Major Crime echoed his appeal for information.

“We are making progress and we know that even the smallest piece of information could make all the difference in this case,” Detective Superintendent Bray, officer in charge of the SAPOL Major Crime Investigation Branch, said.

A reward of up to $200,000 is available for information that leads to the recovery of Ms Goodwin’s remains or the conviction of those responsible for her disappearance and suspected murder.

Despite the tragic outcome, police believe they are making strong progress in the case, ruling out seven persons of interest and narrowing their focus on individuals.

Ms Goodwin’s father Don made a personal plea from his hospital room in May, knowing he didn’t have long to live and begged for closure — not only for himself, but for his wife and remaining daughter.

Only weeks later he succumbed to cancer.

Ms Goodwin’s mother Margaret died on September 1, no closer to knowing her daughter’s fate.

Ms Goodwin disappeared on July 19, 2002 from Port Lincoln and is presumed to have been murdered.

She had only the clothes on her back and about $140 when she disappeared, leaving behind fresh meat ready to be cooked for an evening meal in her Moonta Cres home, which she shared with her partner.

In the hour before her disappearance she was seen at Coles and Woolworths supermarkets looking “distraught” but police were only alerted once she failed to pick up her partner from work at 4.30pm that day.

In May police launched Task Force Lincoln to investigate Ms Goodwin’s disappearance from “day one”, using 12 Major Crime and Port Lincoln CIB detectives.

The task force revealed Ms Goodwin’s car was driven back to her house by someone else the day she disappeared.

Officer in Charge of Major Crime, Detective Superintendent Des Bray, said detectives from the task force would continue to have a strong presence in Port Lincoln.

“There has been excellent support from within the general community and criminal elements following the renewed publicity,” Superint Bray said.

“That includes 52 calls to Crime Stoppers — including some from people within prisons — the majority of which have been very useful.”

As a result of the information police have ruled out seven persons of interest in the inquiry.

“We are now satisfied that they individuals were not involved — and that is a very significant outcome as it has allowed us to narrow the focus of this investigation,” Superint Bray said.

Anyone with information on Ms Goodwin’s disappearance is asked to contact Crime Stoppers online or by calling 1800 333 000.