The Tragic & Mysterious Case of the Beaumont Children

Australia Day is supposed to be a day of celebration and excitement in the land down under. January 26th 1966 however, was an Australia Day that is still surrounded in infamy.

Jane, Arnna, and Grant Beaumont left their home in Adelaide around 10 am to catch the bus to the beach for some fun for Australia day. Though Jane was only 9, she was tasked with keeping an eye on her 7 year old sister and 4 year old brother on the little trip from their home. Just the previous day, their father, Grant, had dropped them off at the beach himself and entrusted Jane to supervise her siblings then too. Though it seems strange now, it was actually a normal occurrence in 1960's Australia, so no one batted an eye at three children under ten boarding the bus together. It was a two mile walk to the beach, but it was far too hot to send the kids on foot as it was over 100 degrees. They arrived at a bus stop across from the local bakery and walked the rest of the short walk to the beach.

It was when the children didn't return on the noon or 2pm Bus that their mother, Nancy, began to worry. When her husband, Grant, returned home from work around 3, he went himself to investigate the beach before grabbing Nancy to have her help with the search. It was 530 pm when they went to the police station to report the children missing. The police drove Grant around in their patrol car, looking for the kids near the beach, and when they dropped him off he got right back into his own car and continued the search. By morning, boats were assisting in the search via water and train stations and airports were on high alert in case the children were trying to be taken anywhere else. Some theorized they drowned, but many, including their parents felt it was kidnapping. The entire area of Adelaide was on high alert, hoping to find the Beaumont children. Even members of Jane's girl scout troop were out on foot, trying to locate their missing friend and fellow brownie. The bus driver who drove them to the beach clearly remembered the children on their trip to the beach, but not on any return trip. The bakery shopkeep said that the children has stopped in and bought a handful of pastries, including a meat pie, which the children had never purchased before. The amount of pastries purchased also seemed far too many for three children, which suggested there may have been another person with them, waiting. Jane paid with a 1 pound note, despite her mother only giving six shillings and six pence to cover bus fare and lunch. Where did Jane get the extra money?

Multiple people reported seeing the kids playing with a tall, narrow faced blonde man. The kids were very friendly with the man, who seemed to be in his 30s. Later in the investigation, Arnna teased her older sister in front of their mother and said, "Jane has a boyfriend down at the beach." which lead many to wonder if the man on the beach was a predator who was getting far too close to the older Beaumont child. After a police sketch was drawn of the tanned, thin faced man, there were many reported sightings of him but nothing conclusive. There was a lead that suggested the children might be alive on the Mud Islands of Victoria but nothing productive came out of it. Someone else claimed to live near the children in a shanty railway town, but there wasn't a trace of the children or any other witnesses. Weeks turned to months, months turned to years, and still the Beaumont children remained missing. Reports would continue to come in for years. Child murderers Derek Percy & James O'Neill were interviewed to see if they had any connections to the case but nothing was found.

It wasn't until 1973 when two young girls went missing at a soccer stadium that there was any hope in solving the case at all. The suspect in the Adelaide soccer case was described as looking quite similar to the suspect in the Beaumont children case. Could the man who took young Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon the very same man who was last seen with the three Beaumonts?

In 2013 the cold case was turning warm again, when a pair of brothers reported that a factory worker had asked them to dig a ditch on Australia Day in 1966. The man, Harry Phipps, had assaulted his own son as a child, who also believed his father was the one who took & killed the Beaumont children. Hadyn, his estranged son, even remembered seeing children on his fathers property. Phipps lived near the beach, looked similar to the descriptions made by sightings, and was known for giving out 1 pound notes. However, searches of the factory grounds have only ever turned up animal remains. The last search of the factory grounds was in 2018, and still, no trace of the Beaumont children but distant memories. Even today, there is still a 1 Million dollar reward for any useful information regarding the case and any leads are taken seriously.

The pain of the loss of their children took a toll on their relationship, and Nancy and Grant separated a short while after the disappearance. Nancy Beaumont passed away in 2019 at 92 years old, never knowing what truly happened to her children. Grant is in his 90's, and still living around Adelaide. He has still not been reunited with his children, nor has he received any clarity on what happened to his beloved offspring.

If you have any new information on the Beaumont case, you can report it to Crime Stoppers Australia, anonymously. Call 1800 333 000 or go to www.crimestoppers.com.au