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Unravel

Barrenjoey Road 01 | Saturday night on Barrenjoey Road

Unravel

ABC Australia

True Crime, Society & Culture, Documentary

0.00 Ratings

🗓️ 8 October 2018

⏱️ 26 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A heart breaking search for the hitch-hike girl. For a free-spirited teenager, growing up on Sydney’s northern beaches in the '70s was as good as it gets. Endless perfect surf breaks, days spent lounging on the beach with mates, parties every weekend. 18-year-old Trudie Adams was typical, hanging out with her girlfriends and looking forward to a trip to Bali.

On a Saturday night out at the Newport Surf Club in June 1978, Trudie’s boyfriend watches her leave to hitch hike home. She never makes it.

The laidback community quickly realise something is wrong. The popular teenager had no reason to go missing. Suddenly, the northern beaches don’t feel so safe anymore.

Trudie’s disappearance exposes the dark underbelly of the "insular peninsula". There are drugs, crimes against women and, potentially, police corruption.

Join investigative journalist Ruby Jones as she begins to unravel what happened to Trudie Adams.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is an ABC podcast.

0:08.9

If you go north along the coastline of Sydney, you end up on Barron Joey Road.

0:15.2

It follows the shores of the northern beaches out along a peninsula to a kind of cliched Aussie paradise with yellow

0:24.1

sands and perfect breaks.

0:27.9

Surf was right at the back door so yeah pretty much enjoy that peninsular lifestyle.

0:42.3

We'd lay on the beach and then get hot, then we'd go out there in the surf and annoy the boys. On the way to school you'd go and check the surf.

0:44.3

And if the surf was good, well, you most likely wouldn't go to school.

0:48.3

Back in the 70s, this place was its own little world.

0:53.3

It was just a series of beachside villages.

0:57.0

You know, there's a lot cruiseries.

0:59.0

It was like a country town sort of thing.

1:01.0

It was such a nice community.

1:04.0

Life wasn't quite so serious.

1:06.0

You look back on it, it's like, you think good grief, you know, it was paradise. It was and still is a kind of paradise.

1:14.6

And that's what makes this story so jarring

1:18.6

because no one here thought an 18-year-old girl could just vanish.

1:22.6

It was here at a dance at the Newport Surf My Saving Club

1:28.1

that Trudy was last seen on Saturday night.

1:34.2

40 years ago, Trudy Adams tried to hitchhike home on Baron Joey Road.

1:40.3

She hasn't been seen since.

1:43.6

She was last seen heading north towards Avalon where she lived.

1:48.0

We're always hopeful that in these types of matter that she will turn out.

...

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