The Beaumont Children

[Anonymous User]

The morning of Australia Day (26th January) 1966 was already hot in Adelaide, with the temperature due to peak at almost 40°C. Jim Beaumont, a linen goods salesman, wondered whether to go to work or go swimming with his children. Work on this day meant a two hour drive to Snowtown to see some customers. Staying home and taking his children to the beach sounded more appealing. Being a good salesman, however, Mr Beaumont decided that he'd better see his customers. It was a decision he would regret for the rest of his life.

The children left their home at 109 Harding Street, Somerton Park, on the corner with Peterson Street, at 10am. They were catching the bus to Glenelg. It was only a short distance and they could have ridden their bicycles. Being a hot day, however, it seemed more sensible to catch the bus. It was understood by the children that they would return home on the noon bus. There was no way they could be confused about the time because the clock tower at Glenelg was highly visible. Mrs Beaumont gave Jane eight shillings and sixpence for expenses ⁷⁸.

The children having left for the beach and her husband gone to see potential customers, Mrs Beaumont visited a friend. She returned before the noon bus arrived, and was waiting at the bus stop. The children were not on the bus. She didn't consider this serious as the children could have decided to walk home, which they had done before. Or they could have missed it, and would be on the 2pm bus instead. Some friends visited and Mrs Beaumont didn't worry for the moment.

The children did not return on the 2pm bus, and Mrs Beaumont began to feel uneasy. She could have gone to look for the children but their route home could equally take them down Moseley Street, Partridge Street or Brighton Road. She could very easily miss them, so it was best to wait.

The children did not return on the 3pm bus, and if Mrs Beaumont was uneasy before, she must have been distinctly worried now. Jim Beaumont returned home early (his customers had not been available) and when his wife explained what had happened, he immediately went out searching for his children. He drove to the beach, searching, and was home again by 3:30pm. He picked up his wife and returned to the beach, and kept searching. The children were finally reported missing to the police at 7:30pm. Jim Beaumont stayed out all night, still searching.

The next morning the Beaumont children were officially declared missing.

Read the rest here:_

http://www.beaumontc...tTheSearch.html

Wikipedia Article:_

http://en.wikipedia....n_disappearance

Case(s) with possible relation:_

http://www.australia...m/Ratcliffe.htm

http://www.australia...irsteGordon.htm

- - -

My mum is currently reading a book on this case and when she's finished I plan on reading about it also. In the mean time, I thought I would share it here.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Thomas J

[Keel M.]

Wow! I think this is the first time I've ever heard of more than one child being abducted at once. Sad story, though.

[Anonymous User]

Wow! I think this is the first time I've ever heard of more than one child being abducted at once. Sad story, though.

Attempting to abduct two children to me sounds like a stretch, but three without leaving any trace, no screams, nothing? It's hard to believe. Although, at least to my very basic idea of the case the man that was seen with these kids down at the beach had been seen with them at the beach on other occasions. My guess is that over time he was able to befriend the children and gain their trust which probably allowed him to lead them into a car and appear to be a parent or guardian. Getting rid of peoples suspicion.

Chilling and very unfortunate.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Thomas J

[Chris Baker]

I have read up on this story, the children were definitely lured rather than abducted. There were seen with a man but I don't think he was traced. It was also linked to two children going missing at a footballl stadium or something.

[Keel M.]

Yeah I would think that for a group of kids, they'd be lured away, not just snatched. And as was stated in your first link, the eldest would go along with the other two just to make sure they're all right so all anyone would really have to do is lure the younger two and she'd go by default.

[HMS Dreadnought]

Absolutely horrendous this, the poor parents, all the decades of not knowing & hurt.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah I would think that for a group of kids, they'd be lured away, not just snatched. And as was stated in your first link, the eldest would go along with the other two just to make sure they're all right so all anyone would really have to do is lure the younger two and she'd go by default.

It's still rather strange though. I mean, at nine years old is around the age where the child should of at least realised that something wasn't right. Especially if they were being taken into a car which seems like the most viable option, given the lack of witnesses after their last sighting by a mail-man of them walking in the direction of their home together. However the Beaumont Children case was one of the very first child-abduction cases inside Australia. The mentality of people at the time was pretty laid back because there hadn't been any mentionable cases beforehand which would cause the parents to be overly cautious about their children. So it's kind of understandable, as a non-parent.

My theory is that 'weather conditions' on this specific day (40 degrees, that's very hot for Australia) finally enabled the abductor to take them. Like I mentioned above, the very last sighting of the children was by their mail-man and he reported the kids saying hello to him while crossing a road walking backward in the general direction of their house on their way back from the beach. He only reported the 3 children by themselves and there wasn't any sighting of their possible abductor. From here what I think has happened is that their abductor might have been trailing behind them with a car. Since it was so hot that day, and there was quite a distance between the beach and the children's house.. I believe it's possible that the abductor (Who the kids think is a "friend") might have pulled up beside the kids and asked them if they wanted a lift so they wouldn't have to walk the rest of the way. Because the kids would of been hot and bothered and believed the person pulling over was harmlessly offering a lift, it's likely they would of taken it.

I was discussing this with my mum yesterday and she thought it was a plausible explanation because it lined up with the witness reports and occurrences that day. Another thing that came to mind just writing that out is that the abductor offered the children money while they were down at the beach to buy something to eat. (They were seen with 2 dollars in notes, while their parents had only given them enough coins for the bus trip back) Whether or not it was intentional, he might of got them to spend just enough money so they wouldn't have enough for the bus hence them being seen walking back. Like, If it was a hot day and the option for a bus was available, most people would take it right?

Just some thoughts.

Edited September 20, 2012 by Thomas J

[Anonymous User]

Absolutely horrendous this, the poor parents, all the decades of not knowing & hurt.

The parents are still alive today in their 80's I believe, and they still explore absolutely any lead given to them out of one last glimmer of hope.

Edit: In the post before this one (can't edit it now) I wasn't exactly clear in the first paragraph. What I mean to say that parents warning their children about stranger-danger, just say no to them, ect.. wouldn't of been taken as seriously because Australia hadn't really experienced anything of the sort that warranted caution. Different mentalities.

Edited September 20, 2012 by Thomas J

[Anonymous User]

http://www.beaumontchildren.com/beaumontAtTheBeach.html

http://www.beaumontchildren.com/beaumontThePostman.html

Revise: It's probably best I learn more about the case in further detail, the mail-man sighting of the children at least according to police is unreliable.

[snowfan1]

Seems the parents would not have let their kids go to the beach alone in the first place.Very sad case.

[libstaK]

As Thomas J mentions "stranger danger" in Australia was practically a non-entity, even in the 70's of my childhood it was the same much less back in the 1950s. It is a different mindset, especially when I think back now. I often walked the 3 1/2 kms to the local swimming centre ALONE in my bathers with just a towel over my shoulder between the ages of 7 and 11 when you start being more self conscious, never once did it occur to me to suspect anyone and the streets were filled with kids all doing the same - we'd all meet there and then head home in separate directions alone at the end of each day also - it was simply a different world, innocent in ways many today could not fathom I guess.

Edit to add: The Beaumont Children is one Australia's most enduring mysteries and such a tragedy, thank you for the links and info Thomas J.

Edited September 24, 2012 by libstaK

[Keel M.]

It was like that here in the US as well, Libsta. It wasn't very widely used here either.