Above - Kay Docherty and Toni Cavanagh, missing together
Above - Age-enhanced image of what Toni may look like today
Above - the letter
Kay wrote to her parents postmarked Darlinghurst after the girls'
disappearance
DOB:
1964 - 15 years when missing
HAIR:
Reddish
Blond
BUILD:
Thin
EYES:
Blue
CIRCUMSTANCES:
Toni left her home at
on 27 July 1979 in the company of
Kay Docherty (also missing).
Both girls were seen at a bus stop opposite Warilla Grove shopping centre in
the early evening.
Letters were received by their parents post
marked Darlinghurst on 1 August 1979.
Reported missing to: Warilla
Police Station.
Reward of $100,000 offered to solve double
disappearance and suspected murder
Minister for Police Michael Daley today
announced that a $100,000 NSW Government
reward would be offered to help Police solve
the disappearance and presumed murders of
Kay Docherty and Toni Cavanagh.
Mr Daley said Kay, 16, and Toni, 15, went
missing from Warilla, a southern coastal
suburb of Wollongong, three decades ago.
"On the 27th July 1979, Kay told her parents
she was staying at Toni's house and Toni
told her family they were going to the
movies with Kay's Aunt and Uncle," he said.
"It's believed the girls were on their way
to the Wollongong CBD to attend a disco, but
it's not known whether they ever made it.
"Both girls were reported missing to the
Lake Illawarra Local Area Command on Sunday
29th July.
"The following week, Toni and Kay's families
received separate letters from the pair
posted from the Kings Cross area, saying
they were staying with friends and would be
home soon.
"There have been no confirmed sightings of
the girls since they were seen at the bus
stop at dusk on the evening of Friday 27th,
although there was an unconfirmed sighting
in Queensland in 1984.
"Strike Force Mundawari has been formed to
investigate the pair's disappearance and
detectives are interested in any information
which will lead to the arrest and conviction
of those responsible for Toni and Kay's
disappearance and suspected murder.
"Their families have spent the last 30 years
wondering what happened to their daughters,
and they deserve closure.
"I hope that the lure of a cash reward may
encourage those with information, who may
have been reluctant to come forward at the
time, to help Police bring those responsible
to justice.
"It may not seem like much but if anybody
has any piece of information, however small,
it could prove to be the vital link police
need to find out what happened," Mr Daley
said.
Detective Chief Inspector Michael McLean
said detectives have recently travelled to
South Eastern Queensland and interviewed
witnesses in the Brisbane and Gold Coast
areas.
"It has become apparent through inquiries
that a high percentage of those who lived in
the Illawarra and knew of the girls at the
time they disappeared, have relocated to
that area," Mr McLean said.
Detective Senior Sergeant Darren Kelly said
Strike Force Mundawari detectives are
grateful for the support of the NSW
Government in progressing this case.
"This reward is a great opportunity to
finally discover what happened to these
young girls," he said.
Mr Daley said that any information will be
treated as strictly confidential and may be
given at any time of the day or night.
Anyone with information should contact Crime
Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Any information provided will be treated
in the strictest confidence.
Your help may give police the clue they
need to close this case and provide some
comfort for the families of victims.
How to claim your reward
Contact Crime Stoppers or your local
Police Station.
Identify yourself and indicate you
have information about a crime and
that you wish to claim a reward.
You will then be put in contact with
a police officer involved in the
investigation of that case.
The Heartache Of Just
Not Knowing
Illawarra Mercury
Saturday August 4, 2007
MICHELLE HOCTOR reports
It's a stunning statistic - 10,000 people
reported missing to NSW Police in the past year.
While many are found within a fortnight, those
that aren't leave behind families with broken
hearts and unanswered questions, as MICHELLE
HOCTOR reports.
POLICE across NSW are undertaking mass DNA
testing in the hope of finding new leads to the
state's long-term missing persons cases.
Since Kay Docherty's disappearance 28
years ago, her family have had to hang their
hopes on the slimmest of leads in the hope she
was still alive.
Now the Dochertys, of Warilla, and
hundreds of families like them have been given
new hope through mitochondrial DNA testing.
The testing is specifically designed to
link families with the remains of people who
have died, but it at least offers closure for
those who have had their lives put on hold for
as many as 60 years.
Since 2000 many relatives of 660 long-term
missing persons in NSW have had mitochondrial
DNA samples tested in the hope new leads can be
found.
NSW Missing Persons Unit Constable Joanna
Williams said under normal circumstances nuclear
DNA samples were taken because they provided a
definitive result.
"With nuclear DNA, you can get a 100 per
cent match," she said.
This testing fell down, however, when
identifying missing persons because nuclear DNA
slowly disappears from human tissue during
decomposition.
As an alternative, a mitochondrial DNA
sample was taken, which provides a connection
through the maternal line.
"It's not 100 per cent definitive, but
mitochondrial DNA can be detected in bones after
decomposition," Const Williams said.
She said these family samples were being
compared against any missing bones that had been
found over the years, and will be accessed as
new bones are found.
So far, a "handful" of cases have been
solved through the process, Const Williams said.
Mitochondrial DNA samples, taken from a
swab of saliva, are sent to the United States
for testing before being returned as a DNA
profile, a process that takes about six weeks.
Const Williams said police had been
working way their way through a list of
families, reaching Kay Docherty's 42-year-old
twin brother Kevin on May 1 this year.
As yet, there have been no matches, a
result Mr Docherty regards with mixed emotions.
Either way, the news would not be good.
If you have seen any of these people, call
1800 000 634
Brendan Crinis
Last seen: the 19-year-old was last seen
in Tarrawanna on September 10, 2002.
Pauline Sowry
Last seen: Warrawong in 1993
Grant Rodgers
Last seen: Albion Park in 1989
Saverio Ganino
Last seen: Unanderra in 1990
Toni Cavanagh
Last seen: July 27, 1979. The then
15-year-old left her Warilla home with friend
Kay Docherty in the early evening.
Kay Docherty
Last seen: July 27, 1979. The 15-year-old
left Warilla with friend Toni Cavanagh. Believed
to have hitchhiked to Wollongong.
Jaki-Lee Walsh
Last Seen: The 22-year-old was last seen
on April 14, 1989 at Kiama. Police believe she
met with foul play.
Detectives appeal for public assistance
into two girls missing for 30 years - Strike Force Mundawari
2009-07-27 05:19:28
NSW Police from Lake Illawarra Local Area Command have formed a strike force and
are appealing for public assistance to locate two girls missing from the
Wollongong area on the 30th anniversary of their disappearance.
About 7pm on Friday 27 July 1979, Kay Docherty, aged 15, and Toni Cavanagh, aged
16, left the Cavanagh residence in Martin Street, Warilla. It is believed the
pair intended to make their way to a disco in the Wollongong CBD. Kay and Toni
have not been seen since.
Today marks the 30th year of their disappearance. Previous public appeals have
outlined a hope that the girls had run away but detectives no longer believe
this to be the case. It is suspected both girls had become victims of foul play.
Strike Force Mundawari has been formed to investigate the pair's disappearance
and detectives are appealing to the public for their assistance.
Investigators are seeking any information concerning the disappearance of the
girls or any incidents that may relate both prior to and after 27 July 1979.
Anyone with information into the whereabouts of Kay and Toni, or details
surrounding their disappearance, is urged to contact Lake Illawarra Police on
4295 2699 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
TV revisits Warilla cold case
BY ALEX ARNOLD
22/06/2009 10:57:00 AM
The mysterious disappearance of two Warilla teenagers 30 years ago is
due to feature on the TV program Missing Persons Unit tonight.
Kay Docherty and Toni Cavanagh went missing on July 27, 1979,
after reportedly hitch-hiking to Wollongong.
The last-known sighting of the two girls was on Shellharbour Rd,
outside Warilla Grove Shopping Centre.
In 1996, detectives investigating Ivan Milat and the backpacker
murders visited the Docherty's home.
Milat reportedly worked for a road gang in Kiama and was known to
travel along Shellharbour Rd.
In 2006, one of the girls' friends from Lake Illawarra High School
reported seeing Toni in Cairns.
Sergeant John Klepczarek of Lake Illawarra police said he hoped
someone watching tonight's program may be able to provide leads.
"Anyone with information is asked to contact Lake Illawarra
detectives," he said.
Missing Persons Unit screens tonight on WIN at 9.30pm
$100k reward over girls' cold murder case
PostedMon
Nov 16, 2009 5:49pm AEDT -
ABC
A $100,000 reward is being offered for information about the suspected
murder of two teenage girls in New South Wales 30 years ago.
Kay Docherty, 16, and Toni Cavanagh, 15, went missing from Warilla,
south of Wollongong, in July 1979.
They were on their way to a disco in Wollongong.
Detective Chief Inspector Michael McLean says the girls were initially
treated as runaways, but police now suspect they were murdered.
"These are good kids and the only mistake they made that night was to go
out of their house with the intention of going to a disco in
Wollongong," Chief Inspector McLean said.
"We are unfortunately satisfied that these girls most probably met foul
play."
Chief Inspector McLean says he hopes the reward will encourage people to
come forward with information.
"We believe there has to be somebody in the community that has some
knowledge, whether it be first or third-hand in relation to what
happened to these girls," he said.
"We really seek these people and ask them to come forward as any
information, no matter how trivial or how small it may seem, may be
critical.
"Any information would be treated with the upmost confidence."
Police seek new leads in missing teens cold
case
Posted
Tue Nov 17, 2009 11:19am AEDT - ABC
Police have made a fresh appeal for information
about the disappearance of two teenage girls in the Illawarra 30 years
ago.
Kay Docherty, 16, and Toni Cavanagh, 15, went missing at Warilla
in July 1979.
The New South Wales Government has announced a $100,000 reward for
information about the case.
Lake Illawarra Detective Chief Inspector Michael McLean says the
girls were initially treated as runaways but police now suspect they
were murdered.
"These are good kids and the only mistake they made that night was
to go out of their house with the intention of going to a disco in
Wollongong, they've done nothing else wrong," he said.
"We are unfortunately satisfied that these girls most probably met
foul play, so once again we just ask people to come forward.
"Any information would be treated with the upmost confidence."
Reward Offered to Solve Double
Disappearance and Suspected Murder
Monday 16th November 2009
Minister for Police Michael Daley today announced that a $100,000 NSW
Government reward would be offered to help Police solve the
disappearance and presumed murders of Kay Docherty and Toni Cavanagh.
Mr Daley said Kay, 16, and Toni, 15, went missing from Warilla, a
southern coastal suburb of Wollongong, three decades ago.
“On the 27th July 1979, Kay told her parents she was staying at Toni’s
house and Toni told her family they were going to the movies with Kay’s
Aunt and Uncle,” he said.
“It’s believed the girls were on their way to the Wollongong CBD to
attend a disco, but it’s not known whether they ever made it.
“Both girls were reported missing to the Lake Illawarra Local Area
Command on Sunday 29th July.
“The following week, Toni and Kay’s families received separate letters
from the pair posted from the Kings Cross area, saying they were staying
with friends and would be home soon.
“There have been no confirmed sightings of the girls since they were
seen at the bus stop at dusk on the evening of Friday 27th, although
there was an unconfirmed sighting in Queensland in 1984.
“Strike Force Mundawari has been formed to investigate the pair’s
disappearance and detectives are interested in any information which
will lead to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Toni and
Kay’s disappearance and suspected murder.
“Their families have spent the last 30 years wondering what happened to
their daughters, and they deserve closure.
“I hope that the lure of a cash reward may encourage those with
information, who may have been reluctant to come forward at the time, to
help Police bring those responsible to justice.
“It may not seem like much but if anybody has any piece of information,
however small, it could prove to be the vital link police need to find
out what happened,” Mr Daley said.
Detective Chief Inspector Michael McLean said detectives have recently
travelled to South Eastern Queensland and interviewed witnesses in the
Brisbane and Gold Coast areas.
“It has become apparent through inquiries that a high percentage of
those who lived in the Illawarra and knew of the girls at the time they
disappeared, have relocated to that area,” Mr McLean said.
Detective Senior Sergeant Darren Kelly said Strike Force Mundawari
detectives are grateful for the support of the NSW Government in
progressing this case.
“This reward is a great opportunity to finally discover what happened to
these young girls,” he said.
Mr Daley said that any information will be treated as strictly
confidential and may be given at any time of the day or night.
Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Inquest finds two Wollongong teenagers died in 1970s
Posted
An inquest into the disappearance of two Wollongong teenagers in the
late 1970s has concluded they are no longer alive.
Magistrate Geraldine Beattie found that 16-year-old Kay Docherty and
15-year old Toni Cavanagh died a short time after their disappearance in
July 1979.
Their bodies have never been found.
The teenagers were last seen at a bus stop heading to a disco in
Wollongong.
A letter from the pair arrived a week later saying they were in Sydney,
but they were never seen or heard from again.
The inquest heard evidence from investigating detectives that the girls
may have been murdered by fugitive Wollongong killer Graham Potter or
backpacker murder Ivan Milat, but no detailed evidence was provided to
support the claims.
Images released in search for Kay Docherty and
Toni Cavanagh's killers
By Angela
Thompson Illawarra Mercury
Updated August
12 2016
For seven years Kevin Docherty has held tight two pictures that
could unlock one of the Illawarra’s deepest and most harrowing
mysteries.
Or they could not.
After 37 years without his missing and presumed murdered twin
sister Kay, Mr Docherty takes care not to get his hopes up.
Kay and fellow Lake Illawarra High School student Toni Cavanagh vanished
from near a bus stop outside Warilla Grove shopping centre on
July 27, 1979.
Lake Illawarra police believe the girls were trying to make
their way to a Wollongong disco when they met with foul play.
Detectives invited renowned medium Debbie Malone to assist their
investigation in 2009. Part of Ms Malone’s contribution
was computer-generated pictures of two men she identified as
having abducted and murdered the girls.
Police never released the images; Mr Docherty also opted not to
share them, until now.
As the 37th anniversary of the girls’ disappearance passed last month, he
remembered the pledge he made to his mother Jean on her deathbed, to never
relinquish his efforts to find Kay.
“It was a big promise, and I thought about it before i said it,” Mr
Docherty told the Mercury.
“There wasn’t a great deal of thought put into [sharing the
pictures] – I’m just clutching at straws.”
The pictures show two men aged 18-22, as they would have looked in
1979. They possibly came from Sydney, and drove an early 1960s-1970s
Holden, according to Ms Malone.
The value of the pictures remains to be seen. Mr Docherty said Ms
Malone was one of four psychics who had contacted him with
information about his sister’s disappearance.
“They all think they know what happened – but I never get my hopes
up,” he said.
“I’m just trying to piece together everything they say and see if
anyone’s got anything in common.”
In 1996, police investigating Ivan Milat and the backpacker murders
visited the Docherty home. Milat reportedly worked for a road gang
in Kiama in the late 1970s and was known to travel along
Shellharbour Road.
Mr Docherty notes that Milat’s name “keeps coming up” in connection
with the girls.
He favours another scenario – that Toni – the more outgoing of the
girls – arranged to get a lift with a male or males she knew, and
that Kay joined her in the car.
Detective Senior Sergeant Darren Kelly admits to having developed a personal
interest in the case after years of absorbing himself in its finer details.
He says Ms Malone’s images were not released in 2009 as they had the
potential to mislead witnesses. He said Mr Docherty’s decision to
share the images now, after two inquests that resulted in open
findings, could generate new information.
“We’ve come to a part of the investigation where there are no
further fresh leads for us. I’m always encouraging more people to
come forward who might have critical information relating to the
disappearance of the girls.”
Police medium ‘saw’ faces of girls’ killers
Debbie Malone was convinced of it; she was looking at the faces
of two killers. The difficult part, at Lake Illawarra Police
Station in 2009, was converting what she saw into something
detectives could use. The station had no computer program to compose
the faces Ms Malone, a renowned Sutherland Shire-based medium,
claimed to see.
Brought in to aid the investigation into the July,
1979 disappearance of Warilla schoolgirls Kay Docherty and Toni
Malone, Ms Malone and police produced the pictures the old fashioned
way.
“It was just a book,” Ms Malone told the Mercury. “There was a page
of mouths, a page of noses, a page of eyes … “I think it took four
weeks for it to come back [as a complete picture]. That’s when I saw
the faces completely. I didn’t get to tweak it. That was the hardest
part.”
Despite the method, Ms Malone said she was satisfied with the final
‘identikit’ images. Held privately for seven years, Miss Docherty’s
twin brother Kevin recently made the pictures public, reigniting
interest in the 37-year-old case.
Ms Malone handled items from Kay’s jewelery box the day she visited
the police station. As detectives looked on, she took a delicate
silver chain and other items in her hands and experienced a series
of visions.
“I saw the girls’ faces – a fair blonde-headed girl and a red-headed
girl. I said, ‘it’s Toni Cavanagh and Kay Docherty’. I just knew who
they were,” she said. “Kay came across as shy. Toni … was a bit of a
wild child and a bit more streetwise than Kay.”.
Ms Malone accompanied police to a section of Seven Mile Beach she
had identified as the girls’ likely location. Police twice searched
the area with cadaver dogs, but found nothing.
“I still feel they’re there,” Ms Malone said. “It’s just we weren’t right on the
spot.”
Psychic ‘saw’ Warilla's Kay Docherty and Toni
Cavanagh's violent end
Computer-generated pictures of two men who may be involved in Kay and Toni's
disappearance.
A psychic medium who assisted a police investigation into the 1979
disappearance of two Warilla schoolgirls has detailed some of the
pair’s final moments, in a disturbing new account based on a series of
visions.
Debbie Malone claims Lake Illawarra High School students Kay Docherty and
Toni Cavanagh were driven to secluded bushland off Seven Mile Beach
and violently raped, killed and buried, the same night they vanished from a
Warilla bus stop almost 38 years ago.
The girls willingly got into a car with a man romantically linked to Toni,
before the night spiraled well out of both girls’ control, Ms Malone claims.
The account is contained in Ms Malone’s recently-released second book, Clues
from Beyond, which details her work on multiple criminal cases.
Detectives re-investigating the disappearance of Kay and Toni invited Ms
Malone to handle the girls’ belongings at a police station in Warilla in
2009.
Ms Malone told detectives she ‘saw’ the girls, and was able to
communicate with them. Part of her contribution to the police
investigation were computer-generated
pictures of two men she identified as having abducted and murdered
the girls.
She claims Toni was “quite smitten” with one of the men, described as having a
thin build and long face, with light brown/sandy blonde hair, aged 18-22, who
may be linked to the name Ronald.
Toni convinced the less confident Kay to get in the car when the man arrived
to collect them from the bus stop about 7.30pm, July 27, 1979, Ms Malone
writes.
She claims the driver headed south and collected a friend who was
staying at his family’s weekender in a Windang caravan park that has
since been converted into a retirement village.
The friend had curly, almost fuzzy, brown/ginger hair, a distinctive
nose, blue eyes, “nice white, straight teeth” and a stocky build”.
He may have been a brother to one of Toni’s neighbours, she suggested.
She claims the girls were driven to a place near Seven Mile Beach, where Kay
attempted to leave.
“I could feel Kay’s stress and anxiety … I could see that the headlights of
the car were still on and Kay getting out of the car and running in front of
the headlights. Kay looks back at Toni and the driver as if she is a
startled kangaroo in the headlights.”
Kay, then Toni, were violently sexually assaulted by the darker-haired man,
Ms Malone claims. She saw nothing of their murders.
“It was as if I was not allowed to witness the horror that the girls were
made to endure. I got the feeling that the girls were stabbed to death.”
Ms Malone attempted to lead detectives to the girls’ graves on March 25,
2010 but, despite the involvement of cadaver dogs, the search was
unsuccessful.
'Did
you do it?': Warilla's Kevin Docherty wants to lay his missing sister
Kay to rest
Not a day goes by for Kevin Docherty when he does not think
about his twin sister Kay who went missing more than 40 years
ago.
Missing Persons Week, from August 2 to 8, is
particularly tough for the Warilla resident but he knows if he
wants to keep Kay's case alive then he needs to talk about the
pain of her disappearance, and likely murder.
Despite being only 16-years-old at the time, Mr Docherty has a
very clear memory of the events of that fateful day and the
lasting impact it had on his heartbroken parents.
It follows him where ever he goes.
He sometimes looks at people and thinks, 'was it you?', 'did you
do it?'.
But he tries not to dwell on his loss, rather preferring to lead
as normal life as possible.
Mr Docherty tries to be thankful for every day as he knows how
easy it is for everything to change.
Kay Docherty, then aged 16, and Toni Cavanagh, then aged 15,
were last seen on July 27, 1979 around 7.30pm.
There was a sighting of the schoolgirls at Bulli Tops, shortly
afterwards and no confirmed sightings since.
"We came home from Lake Illawarra High School and Kay asked Mum
if she could stay with a friend Toni, who was more of an
associate, that night to help her babysit," Mr Docherty said.
"Mum said no. We weren't allowed to stay out anywhere.
"My sister went into her room and started crying.
"Mum told Kay she could go for only two or three hours while I
was at band practice. I was to take her and pick her up on my
pushbike.
"It was the first time she was allowed out on her own. She was
scared of the dark."
Mr Docherty said he finished band practice about 8.30pm and rode
to Toni's place where, to his surprise, her stepmother told him
the girls had gone to the movies.
"I only found out last year that Toni had spoken to her friends
at school and asked them to go out that night but none of the
girls were allowed," he said.
"She had asked Kay to help babysit, that was all she knew
because if it was anything else there was no way would my sister
would have gone. She wouldn't have gone to Wollongong or a
disco."
Police believe the girls were on their way to the Wollongong CBD
to attend a dance, but it's not known whether they ever made it.
"We had a good home life and she didn't run away," Mr Docherty
said.
He stayed in the area looking for Kay, hoping she would appear
but that never happened.
"I kept thinking, 'how am I going to tell Mum?'," Mr Docherty
said.
The teen broke the news to his Mum, Jean, when he arrived home
and she immediately panicked.
She started calling the mothers of Kay's friends before they
walked to the police station a few hours later, where they were
told to come back in 24 and 48 hours.
"Mum didn't sleep that night. She left the outside light on.
That stayed on for years," Mr Docherty said.
"We were sitting around waiting. It was eerie in the house.
"I struggled to sleep for weeks after she disappeared. I had
nightmares that something bad had happened to Kay.
"At no stage did I think she was safe."
"Until we get a resolution or answers I will continue to
ask 'why?'"
Kevin Docherty
Mr Docherty believes his sister was likely murdered, which is
what a Coroner ruled during a 2013 Coronal inquest.
The days and weeks that followed were incredibly hard for the
Docherty family, who searched for around the Wollongong area,
called every community organisation, charities and friends
before Mr Docherty's father went to Sydney to put up posters.
Then a glimmer of hope appeared in the form of a handwritten
note sent from Darlinghurst that said Kay was staying with
friends in Sydney, would be "home soon" and that she loved her
family.
However, after studying the letter, the family knew it wasn't
written by Kay as the handwriting was different and there were
spelling errors.
"Kay was regarded as a runaway. Nothing happened with the police
for years. That was terrible," Mr Docherty said.
"That was the way times were. Now looking back, they could have
done more if they acted earlier.
"Who knows, she could be alive today.
"Until we get a resolution or answers I will continue to ask
'why?'"
The family tried to return to as normal life as possible but it
was never the same. They would always hope she would come home
one day.
"There was nowhere we could go where people weren't talking her
disappearance," Mr Docherty said.
"Still to this day, especially during Missing Persons Week,
people stop me in the street."
"We always tried to remain positive. My job at 16 was to console
my Mum.
"For years after, I didn't want to leave Mum alone. For many
years I didn't leave the house."
Mr Docherty promised his mother while on her death bed that he
would always hold out hope Kay, who would now be 57-years-old,
would return and he would always "keep looking".
He wishes he has a resolution so he can finally move on and lay
his sister to rest.
"If she had been murdered and there was evidence and a body then
we could have accepted it but that was never to be, especially
never for my Mum and Dad," he said.
"For a parent to lose a child and not have any answers is the
hardest thing a parent could ever go through."
Mr Docherty said he still gets contacted up to six times a year
from people who may have information or believe they have seen
Kay, but no report has been credible.
The South Coast Martial Arts Centre owner said he was glad a new
Missing Persons Registry had been created last year. The
investigative team have been digitising old case files.
He was told his sister's case would be the number one priority
however that was four months ago and he has not heard from the
team since.
"Missing Persons Week is always hard to get through," Mr
Docherty said. "I don't dwell on it. I know it is always coming
but it is hard to prepare for.
"There is never day I don't think about her but I don't dwell on
it because otherwise I would be in an early grave like my Mum
and Dad."
