Shortcut: The disappearance of Susan Thomson leaves more questions than answers

This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed. 

 

Susan Warren, 15 years old in the year of 1965, ran away with a man 8 years her senior, Arthur Thomson.

 

The next 34 years of her life are quite frankly, a complete mystery.

 

She had no friends, no community, and hardly any family contact.

 

In fact, her life was so isolated that when she went missing in 1999, there wasn’t a missing persons report with the police until 2006.

 

And this wasn’t because Arthur reported her missing - it was actually the subsequent result after both he and his mother, were found dead in their rural Queensland home.

 

Searching through his “museum like” house, full of antique furniture with their price tags still attached, they found an old letter from Susan that she had addressed to her mother.

 

This letter indicated that she had not just ran away, as Arthur had fleetingly suggested to the community years prior.

 

The complete mystery of Susan’s life and disappearance has always stuck with crime and investigative journalist, Paula Doneman, who is our guest for today’s episode.

 

For Support: 

Lifeline  on 13 11 14

 

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)

 

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732

 

CREDITS:

Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram 

Guests: Paula Doneman. Her twitter handle is @pauladoneman. Here is the link to her original article on Susan Thomson

Executive Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

 

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