August 25, 1973 Adelaide, Australia. While attending a football match at the Adelaide Oval stadium alongside their respective families, 11-year old Joanne Ratcliffe and four-year old Kirste Gordon leave their seats to go to the toilet together, but never return. After Joanne and Kirste are reported …August 25, 1973 Adelaide, Australia. While attending a football match at the Adelaide Oval stadium alongside their respective families, 11-year old Joanne Ratcliffe and four-year old Kirste Gordon leave their seats to go to the toilet together, but never return. After Joanne and Kirste are reported missing, numerous eyewitnesses report having seen them in the company of a middle-aged man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and since the two girls appeared to be in distress, they were likely the victims of an abduction. Over the years, a number of known pedophiles are looked at as potential suspects in the case, but there is not enough evidence to implicate any of them, so Joanne and Kirste are never found.
On last week’s episode, we presented Part One of our series about the 1966 disappearance of the Beaumont children. This week, we will not only conclude our series about the Beaumont case, but also explore another unsolved Australian mystery known as the “Adelaide Oval Abductions” and look into the possibility that these two missing children’s cases are connected.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Joanne_Ratcliffe_and_Kirste_Gordon
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/on-the-40th-anniversary-of-the-disappearance-of-joanne-ratcliffe-and-kirste-gordon-family-reveal-new-connections-to-murderer-bevan-spencer-von-einem/news-story/c5449152bfe324dd65b4bead5fcc7fc1
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/cold-case-fresh-leads-in-1973-adelaide-oval-abduction-links-key-suspect-to-abandoned-prospect-home-with-an-underground-bunker/news-story/a20c5f0e8db7de5c81c22ff316971a30
https://www.nine.com.au/tv-shows/joanne-ratcliffe-kirste-gordon-abduction-adelaide-oval-mystery-breakthrough-under-investigation-20221031-p5rcy0.html
https://www.nine.com.au/australia-news/adelaide-oval-abduction-1973-sister-joanne-ratcliffe-kirste-gordon-20230823-p5yuqz.html
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-25/joanne-ratcliffe-and-kirste-gordon-disappeared-50-years-ago/102770974
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-29/search-for-clues-linked-to-kirste-gordon-and-joanne-ratcliffe/105112146
https://www.womensweekly.com.au/news/real-life/joanne-ratcliffe/
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/coldcases/top-cops-stern-words-in-private-search-for-joanne-ratcliffe-and-kirste-gordon-50-years-after-disappearance/news-story/c2c53d53603c3039b96c8f2a3d689220
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-10/bones-found-in-yatina-search-not-human/106325728
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_the_Beaumont_children
https://www.news.com.au/national/crime/parents-of-beaumont-childrens-tortured-wait-goes-on/news-story/fb533bc2a34d59bacea04713d1b03732
https://www.theage.com.au/technology/one-man-so-many-faces-of-evil-20070422-ge4pv0.html
https://www.theage.com.au/national/suspected-mass-child-killer-is-buried-with-his-secrets-at-90-20020722-gduf0t.html
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts/allan-max-mcintyre-who-was-linked-to-the-disappearance-of-the-beaumont-children-in-1966-has-died/news-story/aa23bce2ce29b65a9182a81cb5f18ef5
https://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/exscout-master-anthony-allan-munro-jailed-for-repulsively-evil-abuse-of-boys-from-1965-to-1983/news-story/e75963cb928358a9487460a13a3deb12
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/sa/2018/01/22/new-search-beaumont-children
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/beaumont-children-mystery-harry-phipps-angry-son-says-his-father-did-not-kill-the-children/news-story/173bda07a90ba4a450e8f154921bddf6
https://www.nine.com.au/australia-news/beaumont-children-grandfather-was-involved-in-disappearance-says-grandson-20180201-p5w63x.html
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-10/beaumont-children-search-at-former-castalloy-factory-site/104917216
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-01/dig-for-beaumont-childrens-remains-concludes/104997388
“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at AdvocacyCon, which is taking placemore
On August 25 1973, 12,000 South Australian National Football League spectators packed into Adelaide Oval to watch the North Adelaide Roosters take on the Norwood Redlegs. During the game’s third and penultimate quarter, 11-year-old Joanne Ratcliffe was given permission by her parents to escort 4-yea…On August 25 1973, 12,000 South Australian National Football League spectators packed into Adelaide Oval to watch the North Adelaide Roosters take on the Norwood Redlegs. During the game’s third and penultimate quarter, 11-year-old Joanne Ratcliffe was given permission by her parents to escort 4-year-old Kirste Gordon to the toilet. But the girls never returned.
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Casefile would like to give a special thanks to Suzie Ratcliffe for her assistance with this episode
Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host
Researched and written by Elsha McGill
Creative Director: Milly Raso
For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-163-joanne-ratcliffe-kirste-gordon
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