Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon

And Then They Were Gone

Little Monster Productions

Documentary, True Crime, Society & Culture

4.6 • 747 Ratings

🗓️ 7 February 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A kidnapping happens in broad daylight in front of thousands of witnesses, but no one knows it’s a kidnapping. That’s what happened when a man abducted family friends, 11-year-old Joane Ratcliffe and 4-year-old Kirste Gordon from an Australian Rules football match on August 25, 1973.

The stands were packed at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide Australia, with over 10,000 fans in attendance. Many of those there saw a middle-aged man in a wide-brimmed hat take the two girls, but said nothing, assuming that he was their father.

Over 50 years have passed, and after decades of investigation and thousands of leads, recent breakthroughs have led to two extremely strong and chillingly similar suspects. Is one of Australia’s most infamous unsolved crimes close to a resolution?

If you have any information which may assist both families and police to locate Kirste and Joanne, please make contact with Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there, it's Cona Gallagher, host of And Then They Were Gone and day by day, true crime stories.
0:06.4	And I am here to bring you an amazing opportunity to win some incredible prizes, all for a good cause.
0:14.6	Join the Texas Advocacy Projects the Big Game Football Squares Raffle on February 9th, 2025, and help support survivors of
0:23.2	power-based abuse. For every $100 donation, you secure a square and a chance to win amazing prizes.
0:31.2	You can choose from two exciting grids. The Hawaiian Paradise Grid offers a grand prize of a seven-night stay for two at a luxury resort in Oahu or the Big Island.
0:42.8	Or play the beachfront Mexico Grid for a chance to win a four-night, all-inclusive state for two at a five-star Marival luxury resort in Banderas Bay or Nuevo-Niart, Mexico. Your contributions help survivors understand
0:58.5	their rights, navigate the justice system, and secure emergency protective orders. To participate,
1:05.0	visit Texasadvocacyproject.org and select your grid today. Don't miss out. Tune in to the Texas Advocacy Project's Facebook page
1:13.5	on February 9th, 2025 during the game for live updates on winners. Prizes are awarded at the end of
1:20.8	each quarter with the grand prize at the game's conclusion. So score big for a cause. Visit
1:26.7	Texas advocacyproject.org to learn more.
1:34.2	Darkcast Network. Welcome to the dark side of podcasting.
1:40.7	A kidnapping happens in broad daylight in front of thousands of witnesses, but nobody realizes it's a kidnapping.
1:48.7	That's what happened when a man abducted family friends, 11-year-old Joanne Ratcliffe, and 4-year-old
1:54.7	Kirsty Gordon from an Australian rules football match on August 25, 1973.
2:01.7	The stands were packed at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia, with over 10,000 fans
2:06.5	in attendance. Several people present saw a middle-aged man in a wide-brimmed hat take the two
2:13.1	girls, but they said nothing, assuming that he was their father.
2:23.0	Now, over 50 years have passed, and after decades of investigation and thousands of leads,
2:29.0	recent breakthroughs have led to two extremely strong and chillingly similar suspects.
2:33.8	Is one of Australia's most infamous unsolved crimes close to a resolution.
2:37.9	When a person goes missing, there's a special kind of pain in the not knowing.
	...

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