She Never Came Home: The Elizabeth Herfort Case
A 40-Year-Old Mystery after a night-out in Canberra
Elizabeth Herfort was described as intelligent, thoughtful and kind and had a reliable persona. She represented ACT in softball and had won trophies in swimming. She loved to cook and liked being outdoors.
People say she was a happy girl with plans and dreams for her future. It makes it hard for her family and friends to grapple with the idea that she would’ve left without a trace.
The 18-year-old Canberra resident and ANU student vanished on June 13th after a night out at the ANU Bar. Elizabeth was last seen hitchhiking along Commonwealth Avenue, heading towards her home where she lived with her mother. Elizabeth was never seen again.
Elizabeth's family, including her brother Alistair Herfort, has remained active in seeking answers about her disappearance. Alistair has been involved in commemorating his sister's memory, including placing a plaque near Commonwealth Avenue, the location where Elizabeth was last seen.
Over four decades later, her case remains one of the most haunting unsolved mysteries in the ACT. Herfort was just 18 years old when she vanished, and despite numerous investigations and theories, her fate remains unknown.
The Night of Her Disappearance
At the time of her disappearance, Elizabeth had been living at home with her mother in Pearce.
On June 13th 1980, at 1:30 pm, Elizabeth asked her mother, Anne Berry, if she could use her car to go to the Southlands Shopping Centre. she also lets her mother know that she is planning to go to ANU to see some friends. This is the last time her mother sees her alive.
When Anne Berry returns home from her outing at 2:45 pm, she sees that the car is parked in the driveway. She assumes that Elizabeth has taken the bus to ANU.
Elizabeth had little money with her, having withdrawn her last $1.50 from the bank that afternoon. Her boyfriend, who had gone to Bowen, Queensland, to search for work, who was expecting her to join him the following week.
In the evening, Elizabeth is confirmed to have been at the ANU bar with a group of friends. They spent the time playing pool, drinking slowly, smoking a small amount of marijuana and chatting about her boyfriend. She appeared to be normal and happy during this time.
Additionally, a personal account from a friend who knew Elizabeth from school days at Phillip College describes the group gathering at the ANU Union Bar, where they drank slowly, chatted, and engaged in intelligent discussions. The friend notes that no one in the group appeared drunk, and they all went their separate ways when the bar closed at 9:00 pm.
A male schoolfriend, who lived in Red Hill, was the last person to see her alive. Around 8:45 pm, he asked how she planned to get home, and she mentioned she would catch a bus from Civic. He assumed they would walk together to the bus interchange, but when he returned from the restroom, Elizabeth had already left. He searched for her at the bus stop, but she was nowhere to be found, nor did he spot her on his way there.
Its suspected due to Elizabeth not having enough money for the bus fare, she decided to hitchhike.
The next day June 14th, Elizabeth hasn’t returned home and her family grows concerned. Anne Berry then reports her daughter as missing at Woden Police Station.
The authorities began their investigation, and the police appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward. Despite these efforts, leads were scarce in the early days following her disappearance.
Her mother later expressed the fear that Elizabeth might have been in a vulnerable state due to a lack of money and being alone, with only a small amount of cash on her—having withdrawn her last $1.50 from the bank that afternoon. There were also suspicions surrounding the possibility that Elizabeth may have been forced or coerced into a vehicle, as she was a small and athletic woman, and the events surrounding her last known moments remain unclear.
Anne Berry quotes that she believes that her daughter has been murdered:
"I don't care about catching the offender. I don't know how she was murdered but I would like to know where she is. The police have said she could be anywhere. . I need to have her body found so that I can look ahead instead of looking back all the time”.
The investigation led to several witness accounts, including one that saw her getting into a car near the Canberra Theatre, but subsequent leads did not result in any breakthroughs. The search continued as the police and volunteers combed through various areas, including nearby bushland and the Fairbairn Pine Plantation, given the unsolved disappearance of another young woman, Karen Rowland, in 1971. (We will discuss this in the theories).
In 1993, the ACT Coroner ruled Elizabeth’s death as "suspicous," largely due to the circumstances surrounding her disappearance. The coronial inquest did not conclusively determine the cause of death. Keep in mind, her body had been found. This declaration was significant, as it marked the first time in the ACT that a death had been classified in such a way.
Unsubstantiated claims have also surfaced over the years, including one where two men allegedly confessed to abducting and imprisoning Elizabeth. However, these confessions were later recanted, leaving more questions than answers.
What are the theories?
Many theories have emerged over the years about what could have happened to Elizabeth. The most prominent suggestion is that she may have been the victim of foul play, possibly abducted. However, the lack of physical evidence and no known suspects has made it difficult for investigators to build a clear picture of what happened.
More credibly and importantly, Anne Berry does not believe Elizabeth ran away and neither do the police. Police agree that Elizabeth has probably been murdered.
Police theorise that she was abducted by a stranger when she was either finding a ride or waiting for the bus in the Civic and Commonwealth Avenue area, as a witness reported seeing Elizabeth hitchhiking near Commonwealth Avenue. Nothing else has been confirmed about this theory.
Unfortunately, there were many false confessions being made to police at the time, which muddled their investigation.
Detective Sergeant Rick Ninness has also said that he believes Elizabeth was picked up, possibly sexually assaulted and buried or dumped somewhere. Because she was affected by alcohol she may not have been very alert. Because she was small (160 centimetres tall and of slight build) she may have been forced or enticed into a car. The driver may not have intended to kill her but if a struggle had developed the situation could have got out of hand.
“Harry the Hat”
A suspect known as "Harry the Hat" (not his real name) has been repeatedly questioned by police in connection to Elizabeth’s disappearance. The man allegedly introduced himself to police as the one "you believe killed Elizabeth Herfort" but has not admitted involvement despite numerous police interviews.
He attended the Woden Police Station on one occasion, and, according to Detective Senior Constable Bob Peters, introduced himself as the man "you believe killed Elizabeth Herfort". He has made no admissions about being in any way involved with Elizabeth's disappearance. A car with his number plate was seen where Elizabeth was believed to have been last dropped off.
The witness, who took the number plate, also said that he had seen a man wearing a hat who was acting aggressively towards a woman next to the car at around 9:40 pm on June 13, near Commonwealth Avenue. The witness account also matched the same description of ‘Harry’s’ car.
Unfortunately, the witness had not come forward until two weeks later on June 28th.
"Harry" then denied being there and said his car was locked away all that night. No concrete evidence has linked him to Elizabeth’s death.
Other Suspects
In 1995, during the coronial inquest, it was revealed that Mark Ellis had allegedly told Stephen Vann Pickering a story about abducting and killing Elizabeth. Ellis later claimed he couldn't recall making such statements and described them as "bravado-building-type stories."
According to Vann Pickering, Ellis told him that he had picked Elizabeth up from the ANU Bar, raped her multiple times and wrapped her body in mattress and disposed of her off a bridge in the South Coast.
Ellis then says that he ‘could not remember’ telling this story.
The coroner, after reviewing the testimonies and available evidence, concluded that the statements made by Ellis and Pickering were unreliable and lacked corroboration. There was no physical evidence or credible witness testimony to support any claims of their involvement in Elizabeth's disappearance. As a result, no charges were brought against either individual.
Ellis apologised to the Herfort family.
Links with other Missing Girls
Elizabeth’s disappearance may be connected to other unsolved cases of missing women in the ACT, such as Karen Rowland (1971) and Mary Bertram (1974). Some believe that the cases may involve the same person or group of people, possibly a serial offender.
The connection between Elizabeth Herfort's disappearance and the Fairbairn Pine Plantation is based on a concern raised by police during their investigation into her case. At the time, the police were considering the possibility of a serial connection between Elizabeth's disappearance and that of another young woman, Karen Rowland, who had gone missing in 1971. Karen Rowland's body was discovered near the Air Disaster Memorial in the Fairbairn Pine Plantation, and her case remained unsolved for many years. When Elizabeth went missing in 1980, the police feared that there might be a link between the two cases, given the similarities in the circumstances—both women were young and disappeared under mysterious and seemingly unrelated circumstances.
As a result, the police conducted thorough searches of the area surrounding the Fairbairn Pine Plantation, hoping to find any clues that might connect Elizabeth's disappearance to Karen Rowland's unsolved case. However, despite extensive searches and investigations, no significant leads or evidence were found in the Fairbairn Pine Plantation that could establish a connection between the two disappearances.
While the investigation into Elizabeth's disappearance continued, the link between the two cases was not substantiated, and both remain unsolved to this day.
Just a year later, Megan Louise Mulquiney was a 17-year-old from Canberra who disappeared on July 28, 1984, after finishing her shift at Big W in Woden Plaza. She was last seen standing outside the western entrance of the plaza, adjacent to the car park, as if waiting for a ride home.
There is no confirmed connection between Megan Mulquiney and Elizabeth Herfort. However, both cases are part of a series of unsolved disappearances of young women in the Canberra region during the 1970s and 1980s, including Karen Rowland and Mary Bertram . This pattern has led to speculation about possible links between the cases, but no direct evidence has been found to connect them.
Megan Louise Mulquiney’s case did have a supposed breakthrough in 2018. However this doesn’t exactly correlate to Elizabeth’s case.
Similarities in the timing and nature of these disappearances have led some to draw parallels between the cases. For instance, Rowland’s murder and Bertram’s death both occurred under mysterious circumstances, and their cases remain unsolved. While the connections between these cases have been suggested, there is no direct evidence linking them to Elizabeth’s disappearance. Each case has its own set of unique circumstances that complicate a definitive connection.