Name: Susan Marie GOODWIN
Age when missing: 40 years
Build: Slim
Hair: Collar length brown hair
Eyes: Blue
Complexion: Fair
Distinguishing Features/Other:
Tattoo of a purple rose on left hip, hysterectomy scar on lower torso.
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.
Port Lincoln inmates targeted in push to solve Susan Goodwin's suspected murder
Letters sent to prisoners and custom-made playing cards featuring missing people
are the latest strategy to solve a long-standing suspected murder case in Port
Lincoln.
Task Force Lincoln has begun a new push to solve the 2002 disappearance of
39-year-old South Australian woman Susan Goodwin.
She was last seen at lunchtime on Friday July 19, 2002, after shopping at both
the Coles and Woolworths in Port Lincoln.
Every prisoner in the Port Lincoln jail on Wednesday night received a letter
slipped under their door signed by the Officer in Charge of SA's Major Crime
Investigation Branch, Detective Superintendent Des Bray.
Ms Goodwin's image has also been released on a set of cold case playing cards
distributed to prisoners.
The letter offers possible immunity and a sentence reduction for those helping
police, who believe Goodwin's body is within a 30-kilometre radius of Port
Lincoln.
Prisoners could also get a large reduction in penalties for current charges,
with the letter offering "assistance with personal safety for you and your
family ... assistance with relocation if needed".
"If you have any information, contact a Cold Case Murder investigator today by
dialling '9' on the Prison Telephone System," the letter said.
Some 400 prisoners, parolees and those on community correction orders are being
targeted in the push.
"I guess our message to these persons is, if you can assist us in some way,
there are ways that we can also assist you," Detective Sergeant Justin Thompson
said.
Some five patrol cars in the town of Port Lincoln have been turned into "mobile
billboards" to raise further attention.
A reward of up to $200,000 is being offered for information that helps recover
Ms Goodwin's remains or solves the case.
Anyone with information about her disappearance has been asked to contact Crime
Stoppers. Those who want to arrange a discrete meeting with police should ask to
speak with a cold case investigator.
Detectives believe missing Port Lincoln woman Susan Goodwin was
killed by someone she knew
Nigel Hunt, Exclusive, Sunday Mail (SA)
MISSING Port Lincoln woman Susan Goodwin may have been murdered by someone
who was very close to her, police have revealed.
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.
Cold case disappearance of Susan Goodwin: Dying dad Don Goodwin
makes heartwrenching appeal
Polly Haynes, The Advertiser
DON Goodwin has one dying wish — to find out what happened to his daughter,
suspected murder victim Susan Goodwin.
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.
Suspects ruled out in Port Lincoln disappearance
SA Police say progress is being made in the
investigation of Port Lincoln Susan Goodwin’s disappearance with
seven suspects now ruled out.
Police launched Task Force Lincoln in May this year to follow up
fresh lines of inquiry into Ms Goodwin’s disappearance on July
19, 2002.
The task force is made up of dedicated investigators and
intelligence experts assisted by Port Lincoln detectives and
Crime Stoppers.
Officer in charge of SA Police Major Crime Investigation Branch,
Detective Superintendent Des Bray, said progress has been made
with seven people listed as “persons of interest” now eliminated
from inquiry.
“We are now satisfied that these individuals were
not involved, and that is a very significant outcome as it has
allowed us to narrow the focus on this investigation,” he said.
Superintendent Bray said there had been a great response so far
coming from the general public and from criminal elements.
“That includes 52 calls to Crime Stoppers, including some from
people within prisons, the majority of which have been very
useful,” he said.
Unfortunately both of Ms Goodwin’s parents have died in recent
months with knowing their daughter’s fate.
Her father Don issued a public appeal to know her daughter’s
whereabouts while undergoing treatment for cancer.
Sadly Mr Goodwin died in July and her mother Margaret died on
September 1.
Superintendent Bray said the task force would continue to have a
presence in Port Lincoln.
“The team has been deployed to Port Lincoln repeatedly and we
will continue to have a strong presence,” he said.
Superintendent Bray said the investigation remained very active
and anyone with information was urged to call Crime Stoppers on
1800 333 000 or report online at crimestopperssa.com.au.
Parents of missing woman Susan Goodwin died without learning the
fate of their daughter
Mitch Mott, The Advertiser
BOTH parents of missing woman Susan Goodwin have died without learning the
fate of their daughter who disappeared in Port Lincoln in 2002.
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.
WHAT HAPPENED TO SUSAN GOODWIN?
Posted on 19/07/2019 Crimestoppers SA
Friday, 19 July marks 17 years since Susan Goodwin went missing
from her Port Lincoln home, never to be seen again.
The 39-year old was last seen around lunchtime that day back in
2002 after shopping at Coles and Woolworths in Pt Lincoln.
She was reported missing when she failed to pick up her partner
from work at 4.15pm that day. Susan’s partner started walking to their Moonta
Crescent home but accepted a lift from a work colleague.
When she arrived home she found fresh meat ready to be cooked for
their evening meal and Susan’s car parked in the driveway.
Susan had only her clothes and about $140 with her when she
disappeared.
The social drug user was known to associate with people involved
in the local drug scene, and a number of these people have been spoken to by
investigators.
Investigators believe that it is likely she has been murdered by
someone who was very close to her, narrowing the list of potential suspects.
Investigators believe that the killer still resides in Port
Lincoln and hope that someone within the community breaks their silence and
comes forward with information.
Police also believe that it is more than likely that more than
one person disposed of her body in a shallow grave within a 30km radius of Port
Lincoln.
A number of searches of the bushland and scrub surrounding Port
Lincoln have proved fruitless.
A $200,000 reward is available for anyone providing information
which leads to the apprehension and conviction of the person or people
responsible for her death or the recovery of her remains.
Anyone with information that might assist should call Crime
Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au