The recent unearthing of human remains near Australia’s infamous “Highway of Death” could potentially unlock the mystery surrounding one of the nation’s most perplexing cold cases.
Homicide detectives are delving into this grim discovery, located near Charters Towers, an outback town in North Queensland, adjacent to the notorious Flinders Highway. This route, notorious for its history of unsolved disappearances and violent crimes, winds through various regional towns, earning its ominous moniker.
On Monday, remains were uncovered in Breddan, a rural locality southwest of Townsville, though they have yet to be identified with any known missing person.
This find has fueled speculation that the remains could be those of Jayden Penno-Tompsett, who vanished from the area on New Year’s Eve in 2017.
Penno-Tompsett, then 22, was in the midst of a road trip from Newcastle, New South Wales, to Cairns when he inexplicably disappeared near Charters Towers.
The 22-year-old was on a road trip from Newcastle, New South Wales, to Cairns when he vanished without a trace near Charters Towers.
Mr Penno-Tompsett and his friend Lucas Tattersall were driving north in a red Nissan Pulsar to meet friends and family for the end-of-year celebrations.
The 22-year-old drove the Nissan ‘erratically’ around Charters Towers on the day he vanished and was last seen by Mr Tattersall walking into a fenced paddock just outside the rural town.
A 2022 coronial inquest found he most likely died of exposure.
Jayden Penno-Tompsett disappeared in North Queensland on New Year’s Eve in 2017
Police are seen scouring the scene where the human remains were found on Monday
The Nissan Jayden Penno-Tompsett was driving before he walked off an was never seen again
Mark Irving, a private investigator from Surveillance NQ, worked as a police officer for 22 years in the region and is well-versed in the case.
He said Mr Penno-Tompsett went missing at the worst possible time of the year.
‘It’s hard, hard country out there. It’s rocks and trees and that’s it. You’d be dead in two days without water. It gets super-hot, it’s extreme exposure,’ he told Daily Mail.
‘You’ve just got distinct isolation with low traffic volumes. Distance is working against those (missing) people.
‘There are few passing cars. If you were to stop, someone probably wouldn’t stop (to check on you) because they’d wonder why that person has stopped and if I stop, I’m a long way from help.’
Mr Tattersall continued his journey to Cairns without his travel companion before Mr Penno-Tompsett was officially reported missing by his father on January 4.
The remote region is notorious for mysterious disappearances and it’s believed at least 11 people have vanished from the area since the 1970s.
The lonely outback Flinders Highway stretches 900km from Townsville to Mount Isa, and has been the backdrop for horrific crimes and disappearances for over 50 years.
CCTV showed Mr Penno-Tompsett before he disappeared on his road trip to Cairns
The lonely outback Flinders Highway stretches 900km from Townsville to Mount Isa in North Queensland, where at least 11 people vanished or met a grisly end
Hitchhikers have vanished without a trace, little girls have been murdered, and backpackers have been discovered buried under a bridge.
But Mr Irving said not all the grisly cases were connected.
‘You can probably suggest it’s sinister, but it’s no more sinister than northern NSW where 32 women have been reported missing in the past 30 years,’ he said.
‘When you stop and look at it, it challenges your brain to say “are they all related or is there someone who was a truckie in that area for 25 years picking up hitchhikers”.
‘You really don’t know until someone is caught and it’s exposed. ‘It’s a theory but a hard one (to prove).’
Mark Jones, whose brother Tony vanished in 1982, believes at least one serial killer could be operating along the road.
‘It is a lonely abandoned road in the middle of nowhere. But if the same person did these completely random killings, why stop?’ he said in 2014.
‘Was he in jail, did he go to ground, or is he still out there waiting for the next victim?’
Tony Jones (pictured) left Townsville on November 3, 1982, to hitchhike to Mount Isa to meet his brother Tim but never made it
A crime scene has been established and forensic teams are inspecting the area.
Queensland Police told Daily Mail on Thursday morning that there were no new updates about the remains.
