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When searchers finally found the
first sign of Michael Graham, it

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wasn't him. 
It was a message scrawled in the

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Durst near a remote. 
Cattle, water, traffic, red, 

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walking, very weak. 
Days later, another word 

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appeared. 
Help. 

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The messages confirmed what 
searchers had hoped Michael had 

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survived long enough to leave 
them. 

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But despite one of the largest 
land search operations WA had 

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ever undertaken, the man who 
wrote those words has never been

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found. 
This is Vanished West, a podcast

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exploring the stories of people 
who disappeared across WA. 

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Each episode examines the lives 
they left behind, the 

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investigations that followed, 
and the questions that remain 

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unanswered. 
If you're enjoying Vanished W, 

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00:00:50,160 --> 00:00:52,240
I'd love for you to follow the 
podcast. 

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00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:55,560
It helps more people discover 
these stories and ensures that 

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00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:59,280
you never miss a future episode.
Vanished West is independently 

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researched and produced by me. 
If you'd like to help keep the 

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podcast going, you can also 
support the show through Buy Me 

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00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:08,200
a Coffee. 
The link is in the episode 

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description. 
In the summer of 2013, 46 year 

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old Michael Keith Graham 
travelled from his home in 

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Acadia Vale, NSW to the remote 
gold fields of WA. 

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It was a journey of more than 
3000 kilometers, taking him from

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the East Coast to a landscape 
defined by vast distances, 

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abandoned mine workings and some
of the most isolated country in 

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the state. 
Michael was married and the 

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father of two children. 
Over the years he had worked in 

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hospitality, building and 
landscaping and at the time of 

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his disappearance he was 
breeding reptiles on a semi 

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commercial basis. 
Like many people drawn to the 

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gold fields each year, he also 
enjoyed prospecting. 

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Michael had also lived with 
significant health challenges. 2

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serious motor vehicle crashes, 
one in 1992 and another in 1998,

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had left Michael with ongoing 
health problems. 

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He had undergone 2 knee 
replacements, had one kidney 

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removed and lived with chronic 
back pain, managing with 

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prescribed medication. 
Despite those injuries, Michael 

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had made the long journey to WA 
with plans already in place 

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suggesting his health hadn't 
stopped him from pursuing the 

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things he enjoyed. 
Michael arrived in Menzies on 

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the 2nd of January 2013. 
Rather than heading straight 

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into the Bush, he checked into 
the historic Menzies Hotel. 

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The publican, David McKenna had 
arranged for Michael to help 

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manage the hotel. 
While he planned to take leave 

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from the area, it was an 
opportunity to spend time in the

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gold fields while also lending a
hand. 

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There was nothing to suggest 
those plans would change over 

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the next week. 
Michael settled into life in the

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small Outback town before making
arrangements to head north with 

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local prospector Peter Holloway.
On Friday the 11th of January, 

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the two men packed their gear 
and left Menzies behind. 

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Neither of them could have known
it would be the last time anyone

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would see Michael Graham alive. 
The drive from Menzies to 

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Riverina Station took the men 
deep into WA's Gold fields. 

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Their destination was Peter 
Holloway's prospecting lease on 

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Riverina Station, a pastoral 
lease covering almost half a 

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million acres of remote country.
Reaching it meant travelling for

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around an hour along unsealed 
roads before finally arriving at

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the campsite during the 
afternoon of Friday the 11th of 

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January 2013. 
The first full day at camp 

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didn't unfold as planned. 
Heavy rain fell throughout the 

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following day, forcing Michael 
and Peter to put prospecting 

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aside where they worked to keep 
their camp dry. 

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Michael planned to sleep in his 
Nissan X trail while the pair 

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spent much of the day making 
sure the campsite could 

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withstand the downpour. 
The following day, the weather 

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cleared. 
The two men finally had the 

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opportunity to explore the 
surrounding country together. 

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They spent time panning for gold
and examining the rocks around 

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the lease. 
At some point during the day, 

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Michael also began searching for
a particular flower. 

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According to the evidence heard 
at the inquest, he believed it 

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might contain properties that 
could prevent a medical 

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condition he feared could become
cancerous. 

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As evening approached the return
to the camp, sometime between 

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9:00 and 10:00 that night, 
Michael retired to his vehicle. 

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As the day drew to a close, 
there was nothing to suggest 

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anything was about to go wrong 
when Peter settled in for the 

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night. 
There was every reason to expect

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the following morning would be 
much like the last one before. 

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Instead, it would be the last 
night anyone could say with 

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certainty where Michael Graham 
had been. 

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Peter Holloway woke at around 
9:00 in the morning of January 

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the 14th, 2013. 
Michael wasn't at the campsite 

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at first, there was no reason to
be alarmed. 

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The previous day, the men had 
spent hours exploring the 

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surrounding country, and 
prospectors often worked 

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independently, so Peter assumed 
Michael had simply risen early 

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and headed out before him. 
He made himself a cup of coffee 

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before setting off to continue 
his own prospecting. 

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When he returned to camp shortly
after midday, Michael still 

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hadn't returned. 
Peter called out for him, then 

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repeatedly sounded the horn of 
his vehicle, hoping Michael 

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would hear it somewhere beyond 
the camp. 

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Nothing. 
Receiving no response, he left 

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camp and searched the immediate 
area to the South before 

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eventually returning that 
afternoon. 

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Again, there was no sign of 
Michael. 

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As daylight began to fade, 
concern replaced the confidence 

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that Michael would simply wander
back into camp. 

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Peter contacted a friend in 
Menzies and explained that 

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Michael was missing, believing 
the information would be passed 

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on to police. 
Before darkness fell, he hung a 

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light in a nearby tree. 
If Michael had become 

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00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:02,400
disoriented after sunset, 
perhaps a light would guide him 

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home. 
It didn't. 

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When morning arrived on Tuesday,
Peter resumed searching, driving

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through the surrounding country 
in the hope of finding some 

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trace of his friend. 
By lunchtime there was still 

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nothing that friend Peter had 
contacted the previous evening. 

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Together with Menzies Hotel 
Public and David McKenna drove 

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out to Riverina Station at about
12:50 PM on the 15th of January.

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While travelling to the 
campsite, McKenna contacted 

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Leonora Police Station to report
Michael missing. 

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By the time they reached the 
camp that afternoon, everyone 

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was asking the same question, 
where was Michael? 

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The disappearance was treated 
seriously from the outset. 

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After receiving the report, 
Leonora police immediately began

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making inquiries. 
The caretaker from nearby Mount 

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Ida was asked to assist while 
officers gathered information 

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about Michael's movements and 
the areas surrounding Peter 

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Holloway's camp. 
As the afternoon progressed and 

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there was still no sign of 
Michael, the response was 

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escalated. 
The Goldfields Esperance 

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District Office, the WA Police 
Emergency Operations Unit, 

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nearby Mining operations and the
Shire of Menzies were all 

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notified. 
Before long, the search extended

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well beyond the campsite. 
Police officers, State Emergency

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00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:27,280
Service volunteers, station 
staff and local community 

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members joined the efforts. 
Ground teams searched tracks and

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surrounding bushland while 
aircraft swept across the vast 

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expanse of Riverina Station from
above. 

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Every lead, no matter how small,
was followed. 

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For days, the search continued. 
Yet every day ended the same 

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way. 
There was no confirmed sightings

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of Michael, no discarded 
clothing or equipment, no 

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obvious trail leading rescuers 
toward him. 

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The further the search expanded,
the more apparent it became just

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how immense the surrounding 
landscape really was. 

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00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:07,800
By the 22nd of January, after 
more than a week of searching, 

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police were preparing to reduce 
the operation. 

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00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:15,160
It was a difficult decision, but
one faced in many large scale 

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searches when every available 
lead has been exhausted. 

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Then, just as that decision was 
about to be made, everything 

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changed. 
The owner of Riverina Station 

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discovered what appeared to be 
fresh signs of human activity 

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near a cattle water through 
known as Five Mile Well. 

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For the first time since Michael
disappeared, investigators had 

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something tangible to follow. 
It was the first meaningful lead

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investigators had uncovered in 
days. 

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The search was immediately 
redirected to the area. 

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The discovery at Five Mile well 
transformed the search. 

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Until that point, investigators 
have been looking for a man who 

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had vanished without a trace. 
Now they had reason to believe 

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00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,160
Michael had survived long enough
to leave evidence of his 

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00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:03,960
movements. 
Search teams were immediately 

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00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:08,040
redirected to that area. 
Special Tactical Response Group 

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tracking officers were flown to 
Riverina Station, joining 

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police, ground crews and 
aircraft already searching the 

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surrounding country. 
Every track, every footprint and

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every mark in the dirt suddenly 
carried new significance. 

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Searchers soon discovered why 
the owner had believed someone 

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had recently passed through the 
area approximately 1 kilometre 

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from Five Mile Well. 
Searchers found words scratched 

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into the ground, walking very 
weak. 

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An arrow had been drawn beside 
the message, pointing back 

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towards the water. 
Through it was the first clear 

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indication that Michael had been
alive. 

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After leaving the campsite, the 
search intensified once again. 

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Police prepared survival packs 
containing food, bottled water, 

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multivitamins and matches. 
Each pack also included a 

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written message asking Michael 
to remain where he was if he 

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00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:09,240
found it and to light a fire so 
search aircraft could locate 

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him. 
The packs were carefully placed 

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along tracks, fence lines, wells
and bores throughout the search 

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area, places investigators 
believed he might pass if he was

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still trying to make his way to 
safety. 

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Less than 24 hours later, 
another message was discovered. 

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00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:32,400
While flying over the area near 
Kurrajong, Well around 7 1/2 

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kilometres east of the campsite,
a helicopter crew spotted 

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another message. 
It consisted of just one word. 

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Help. 
Search teams immediately 

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converged on that location. 
Investigators believe the 

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writing had been there for at 
least 24 hours, suggesting 

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00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:54,200
Michael had moved through the 
area before rescuers arrived. 

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00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:58,600
That afternoon, a thunderstorm 
swept across Riverina Station, 

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00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:03,280
the rainforest search operations
to stop temporarily, and washed 

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00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:07,480
away many of the signs trackers 
had been following at the same 

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00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:09,520
time. 
The coroner later observed that 

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00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:13,720
the storm may also have given 
Michael access to freshwater if 

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00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:17,400
he was still alive to reach it. 
When the search resumed the 

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00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:21,000
following morning, it did so 
with every resource police could

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00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:24,600
reasonably deploy. 
Helicopters, fixed wing 

195
00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:28,920
aircraft, ground search teams, 
specialist tactical response 

196
00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:33,400
group trackers, police trail 
bikes, even forward-looking 

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00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:37,120
infrared technology was used in 
an effort to detect heat sources

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00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:41,280
across the surrounding country. 
When the search finally ended, 

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00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:45,160
the messages remained the last 
confirmed signs Michael Graham 

200
00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:48,360
had been alive. 
No further messages were ever 

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00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:53,440
found, no fresh tracks appeared,
and no one saw Michael. 

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00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:58,920
The searchers had followed every
single clue he left behind, but 

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00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:00,880
somehow they never caught up 
with him. 

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00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:05,320
By January 29th, the search had 
reached a turning point. 

205
00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:09,160
Despite the extraordinary 
effort, no further evidence of 

206
00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:11,440
Michael's movements had ever 
been found. 

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00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:14,640
The search operation was 
formally scaled back. 

208
00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:17,480
Although police weren't yet 
prepared to abandon hope 

209
00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:21,480
entirely, the survival packs 
remained where they'd been left 

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00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:25,240
for almost another two weeks. 
They were checked regularly, 

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00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:29,480
each inspection carrying the 
same hope that one of them might

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00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:32,960
have been opened or that fresh 
tracks might appear nearby. 

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00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:37,520
Neither ever happened. 
On the 11th of February 2013, 

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00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:41,280
the packs were collected. 
The active search had come to an

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00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:43,840
end. 
Even then, the investigation 

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00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:46,960
continued on. 
Police examined Michael's mobile

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00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:51,400
phone, his bank account and the 
campsite itself, looking for 

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00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:54,440
anything that might explain why 
he had disappeared. 

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00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,480
There was no evidence he had 
planned to leave voluntarily, no

220
00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:02,240
indication he had arranged to 
meet anyone, no activity 

221
00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:05,760
suggesting he had attempted to 
begin a new life elsewhere. 

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00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:09,480
Investigators found nothing to 
support the idea that Michael 

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00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:13,160
had deliberately vanished. 
As investigators worked through 

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00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:16,640
everything they knew, several 
details became increasingly 

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significant. 
When Michael left the campsite 

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00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:23,480
on the morning of the 14th of 
January, he left behind both his

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00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:28,800
GPS and his mobile phone to the 
coroner that suggested he never 

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00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:30,840
intended to travel far from 
camp. 

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00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:34,760
The coroner considered this 
significant because it suggested

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00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:37,920
Michael had not expected to be 
away from camp for long. 

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00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:42,320
Investigators also examine 
Michael's health years before 

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travelling to WA. 
He had survived 2 serious motor 

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00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:49,320
vehicle crashes. 
He lived with chronic back pain,

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00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:53,080
had undergone 2 knee 
replacements and had one kidney 

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removed. 
The coroner accepted that these 

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conditions may have reduced his 
mobility if he became injured or

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found himself trying to cross 
difficult country. 

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There was another piece of 
evidence investigators couldn't 

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ignore. 
The message is left behind by 

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Michael to his wife. 
They suggested something 

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00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:16,200
profoundly simple. 
She told the inquest she 

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00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:19,680
believed her husband had been 
trying to lead rescuers to him. 

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00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:24,080
He wasn't trying to disappear, 
he was trying to be found. 

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00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:29,680
In December 2013, Acting State 
Coroner Evelyn Vicar delivered 

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her findings. 
She concluded that Michael 

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00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:36,520
Graham had died somewhere in the
area surrounding Five Mile Well 

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between the 15th of January and 
the 11th of February 2013. 

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The evidence established that he
had died, but it could not 

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00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:48,400
establish precisely how. 
The coroner considered that 

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00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:52,480
Michael may have become injured,
weakened by a lack of food and 

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water, and increasingly 
disoriented. 

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00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:59,120
His decision not to remain near 
a reliable water source 

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00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:02,360
suggested he may no longer have 
been thinking clearly. 

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00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:06,560
But without finding Michael 
himself, those conclusions could

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never be more than the most 
likely explanation based on the 

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available evidence. 
More than a decade later, that 

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00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:17,720
remains the position today. 
No one knows exactly what 

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00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:20,720
happened after Michael walked 
away from the campsite on the 

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00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:25,560
morning of the 14th of January 
2013, and no one knows where he 

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00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:28,520
came to rest. 
Although the official search 

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00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:31,800
came to an end in February, 
Michael Graham's disappearance 

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00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:34,760
was far from forgotten. 
In the years that followed, his 

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00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:39,160
case remained listed by both 
Crime Stoppers WA and the 

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00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:42,760
Australian Missing Persons 
Register, keeping his photograph

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00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:47,160
and details in the public eye in
the hope that someone, somewhere

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00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:49,480
might hold the missing piece of 
the puzzle. 

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00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:53,560
For Michael's family, however, 
the passing years brought little

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00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:57,240
comfort on social media. 
His sister Lisa, who had 

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00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:00,360
travelled from New Zealand to 
help search for him, wrote that 

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00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:04,320
she still missed her brother 
every day and continued to hope 

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00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:07,160
for the closure their family had
never received. 

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00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:10,520
In the same post, she asked 
people to be careful about 

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00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:13,880
making assumptions, reminding 
readers that many of the 

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00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:16,760
circumstances surrounding 
Michael's disappearance were 

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00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:18,800
known only to those closest to 
him. 

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00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:22,880
Other family members and friends
shared their own memories. 

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00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:26,840
One friend described Michael as 
a lovely family man. 

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00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:29,600
Another simply remembered him as
a great guy. 

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00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:33,480
His niece wrote that although 
she'd only known him as a baby, 

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00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:35,560
she would always carry him in 
her heart. 

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00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:39,920
None of those memories answered 
the questions left behind, but 

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00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:43,760
together they painted a picture 
of the man his family had lost. 

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00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:47,920
Long before Michael became the 
subject of an inquest, he was 

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00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:51,600
simply a husband, a father, a 
brother and a friend. 

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00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,600
His disappearance also became 
part of a broader conversation 

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00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:57,760
about safety in remote 
Australia. 

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00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:01,720
In 2015, the Australian 
Financial Review examined 

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00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:04,960
Michael's case while reporting 
on calls for greater use of 

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00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:09,079
personal locator beacons by 
prospectors travelling into 

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00:17:09,079 --> 00:17:12,839
isolated areas. 
Unlike a mobile phone, a 

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00:17:12,839 --> 00:17:16,640
personal locator beacon 
communicates by satellite and 

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00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:20,520
can alert emergency services 
even when there is no mobile 

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00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:23,640
reception. 
No one can say whether such a 

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00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:27,720
device would have changed the 
outcome in Michael's case, but 

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00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:31,320
his disappearance became one of 
several tragedies that prompted 

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00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:35,160
renewed discussion about how 
people prepare before venturing 

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00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:37,920
into some of Australia's most 
remote country. 

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00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:41,680
Today, more than 12 years after 
Michael walked away from his 

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00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:45,680
campsite, the questions remain 
exactly as they were in January 

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00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:48,920
2013. 
Where was he trying to go? 

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00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:51,760
What happened after he left 
those messages? 

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00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:55,240
And why, despite an 
extraordinary search, has no 

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00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:59,040
trace of him ever been found? 
Some disappearances leave 

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00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:01,560
investigators with almost 
nothing to follow. 

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00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:04,080
Michael Graham's case was 
different. 

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00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:06,720
Searches found evidence he'd 
been alive. 

307
00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:08,720
They found the direction he'd 
travelled in. 

308
00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:11,160
They found messages he'd left 
behind. 

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00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,440
They even found places where 
he'd almost certainly stopped. 

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00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:18,440
Yet somehow, despite all of 
those clues, they never found 

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00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:22,000
Michael himself. 
That is what makes this case so 

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00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:26,080
difficult to forget. 
It reminds us that even the 

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00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:30,400
largest searches cannot always 
overcome the scale of WA's 

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00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:33,440
Outback. 
Distances are immense, 

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00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:37,040
conditions can change quickly 
and once someone becomes 

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00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:40,640
separated from the people 
looking for them, every passing 

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00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:42,960
hour makes the task more 
difficult. 

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00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:46,760
Today, many people travelling 
into remote country carry 

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00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:50,760
personal locator beacons or 
satellite communication devices.

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00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:55,520
Those advances have undoubtedly 
improved safety, but they can't 

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00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:57,440
change what happened in the 
past. 

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00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:00,040
Michael Graham never returned 
home. 

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00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,760
His family are still waiting for
the answers that only he could 

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00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:06,720
have provided. 
Perhaps one day someone 

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00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:09,640
travelling through Riverina 
Station will notice something 

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00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:11,800
that searchers missed all those 
years ago. 

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00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:15,920
And until then, Michael's final 
journey remains unfinished. 

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00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:19,280
If you'd like to support 
Vanished West and help me 

329
00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:23,960
continue researching and sharing
the stories of WA's missing, you

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00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:26,000
can do so through Buy Me a 
Coffee. 

331
00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:29,120
You'll find the link in today's 
episode description. 

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00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:33,240
If this episode resonated with 
you, I'd also really appreciate 

333
00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:36,320
if you could follow the podcast 
and leave a rating or review on 

334
00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:40,440
your favorite podcast platform. 
It helps more people discover 

335
00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,560
these stories and keeps the 
memories of those who vanished 

336
00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:47,520
alive. 
Until next time, stay kind, stay

337
00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:51,360
curious, and never forget those 
who vanished from the West.