About 1am on 19 February 1977, after leaving a house party at a Henley Beach, 21-year-old Glen Stewart got into the Morris Mini he had borrowed off his landlord and drove off, heading south along Seaview Rd. Neither he, nor the green Mini Cooper S (with SA registration 577 394) he was driving, have ever been seen again.
The mysterious disappearance of the young man (pictured) is
one of the South Australian cold cases now being reviewed
under the purview of Operation Persist, an
ongoing tactical strategy being led the SA Police Major
Crime Investigation Branch.
Investigator Detective Brevet Sergeant Ann Schaefer said
Glen, who was also known as Hugh after becoming involved
with international spiritual movement, Subud, did not know
the host of the party, but was taken to the gathering that
night by his housemate.
While reports vary on how much he had to drink at the party,
there is no evidence of any conflict there, and when he left
it appeared he was heading home to his flat in Devitt St,
Payneham South.
His friend who walked him to his car, told police they were
stopped on the way by a police patrol who were asking
questions about ‘larrikins’ who were causing trouble in the
area. He told police he saw Mr Stewart, who was dressed in a
beige short-sleeved shirt with an orange pattern on the hem
and sleeves, blue jeans and had a bag made from coloured
suede squares, drive off, south along Seaview Road.
The alarm was raised with police after he failed to return
home, with Detective Brevet Sergeant Ann Schaefer noting
that of most concern was the discovery of his unopened pay
check and his much loved dog, Kara, at home.
“The way everyone speaks about his dog, it seems he would be
unlikely to leave Kara behind – plus if he was looking to
set up a new life, you would think he would take all the
money he could get,” Detective Brevet Sergeant Schaefer
said.
A nurse, he had plans to travel overland to the UK in
January the following year with friends, although he had had
his passport stolen while living on a friend’s boat in
Cairns and had not yet had it replaced.
Detective Brevet Sergeant Schaefer said from his family’s
perspective there was no reason for him to up and leave.
“For me the fact there has been absolutely nothing from 1am,
and there are no obvious leads to suggest either way what
has happened, makes it a challenging case,” she said.
"I would ask anyone with information about Mr Stewart or his
disappearance, no matter how small, to touch base with
police.
“They should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 – any
information could be of vital importance in relation to this
case.
“We don’t ‘close’ matters such as this, and it would be our
desire to provide his family with answers about what
happened to Glen more than 40 years ago.”
Anyone with information about the disappearance and
suspected murder of Mr Stewart is urged to call Crime
Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au –
you can remain anonymous.
SAPOL review the mysterious disappearance of a 21-year-old man, who was never seen again after leaving a house party at Henley Beach over 40 years ago
Its been over 40 years since 21-year-old Glen Stewart left a house party at Henley Beach, never to be seen again.
Upon leaving the party at around 1am on February 19, 1977 Mr Steward hopped into a Mini Cooper (with SA registration 577 394), one he had loaned from his landlord, and headed off down Seaview Road.
The mysterious disappearance is one of the South Australian cold cases being reviewed under Operation Persist, an ongoing tactical strategy being led by SA Police Major Crime Investigation Branch.
Investigator detective Brevet Sergeant Ann Schaefer said Glen, who was known as Hugh after becoming involved with international spiritual movement, Subud, did not know the host of the party, but was taken to the gathering that night by his housemate.
A friend who walked the young man to his car that night, told police that they were stopped on the way by a police patrol who had asked questions about ‘larrikins’ who were causing trouble in the area.
The friend told police he saw Mr Stewart, who was dressed in a beige short-sleeved shirt with an orange pattern on the hem and sleeves, blue jeans and a bag made from coloured suede squares, drive off along Seaview Road.
Police were alerted to the incident when Mr Stewart failed to return home, with Sgt Schaefer noting that the discovery of his unopened pay check and his much loved dog Kara left at home, the most concerning discovery.
“The way everyone speaks about his dog, it seems he would be unlikely to leave Kara behind – plus if he was looking to set up a new life, you would think he would take all the money he could get,” Sgt Schaefer said.
Sgt Schaefer said from his family’s perspective there was no reason for him to up and leave.
“For me the fact that there has been absolutely nothing from 1 am, and there are no obvious leads to suggest either way what has happened, makes it a challenging case,” she said. “I would ask anyone with information about Mr Stewart or his disappearance, no matter how small, to touch base with police.” “They should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 – any information could be of vital importance to this case. “We don’t ‘close’ matters such as this, and it would be our desire to provide his family with answers about what happened to Glen more than 40 years ago.