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Google Maps images taken two years apart may help solve the mystery of what happened to an elderly couple who vanished on a camping trip in the remote Victorian wilderness.
Jetstar pilot Gregory Lynn, 55, was arrested by heavily armed police in a dramatic operation on Monday in relation to the disappearance of secret lovers Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, who went missing in the Wonnangatta Valley in March 2020.
The ‘family man’ who lives on a suburban street in Caroline Springs, west of Melbourne, is married to a glamorous flight attendant and leads an idyllic life camping, often travelling across the world.
Jetstar pilot Gregory Lynn, 55 (pictured with wife Melanie), was arrested by heavily armed police in a dramatic operation on Monday over the disappearance of secret lovers Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, who went missing in the Wonnangatta Valley in March 2020
A Google Map image from 2019 shows a blue Nissan Patrol 4WD parked at Lynn’s home
A Google Map image from 2021 shows the same make and model 4WD coloured beige outside the same house
Mr Lynn remains in custody and spent a second day being grilled by detectives after tactical police swooped in on two helicopters to arrest him at a remote campsite in Licola on Monday – about 100km south of where the couple went missing.
Investigators also seized his 4WD following a public appeal for a blue late 90s Nissan Patrol, which was captured on CCTV in the area the night Mr Hill and Ms Clay vanished.
Although the pilot’s Nissan Patrol is the same make and model as the one police were looking for and has the same roof rack – it is beige, not blue.
Police are investigating whether he repainted the car.
Google Maps images show in 2019 there was a blue Nissan Patrol parked in Mr Lynn’s driveway.
Another image taken this year reveals an identical 4WD coloured beige.
The mid-1990s model Nissan Patrol (pictured) is now central to the investigation after being captured on CCTV near where the couple went missing
The 4WD (pictured in a police sketch) has roof racks, side steps, off-road tyres and a bulbar. The box trailer is ‘fairly standard’ but has been fitted with ‘off-road wheels’, police said
The beige off-roader was taken by police on Monday at a remote campsite in East Gippsland where heavily armed officers swooped on the suspect, north of Sale
A 55-year-old man suspected of involvement in the disappearance of the missing couple was arrested on Monday
Neighbours were stunned when their quiet street was swarmed by police on Monday.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal Mr Lynn lives at the address with his second wife Melanie Lynn, who also works for Jetstar as a flight attendant, and their three children.
Mr Lynn in 2019 had become the face of the airline after penning a successful blog offering flight tips for parents.
There is no suggestion that the police are seeking to investigate Mrs Lynn in any way in relation to the disappearance of Mr Hill or Ms Clay.
It is understood police had spoken to Mr Lynn last year after identifying his vehicle had been in the area at the time the pair went missing.
For almost 10 years, he had lived trouble free in suburbia when not travelling the world in the cockpit of international aircraft.
Russell Hill (pictured, left) and Carol Clay (right) vanished during a camping trip
Melanie Lynn had been a poster girl for Jetstar before her husband was linked to the disappearance of two elderly campers
In an article published by Mamma Mia in April 2019, Mrs Lynn provided insight into the couple’s amazing life and how they came to be together.
The article reveals she met her pilot husband while the pair were working together overseas.
Mr Lynn was already the father of two children, with the couple later having a child of their own together.
‘So I had to learn fast how to be a mum but also how to travel with children,’ she wrote.
Mrs Lynn described herself as a veteran of three airlines over her career as a flight attendant.
Melanie Lynn is yet to comment on the arrest but there is no suggestion police are seeking to investigate her in any way
Melanie Lynn (pictured) had provided a series of helpful tips for parents travelling with children in an article on Mamma Mia as a Jetstar worker
Her husband, an experienced check pilot with Jetstar, had also worked at Qatar Airways.
Mr Lynn has no previous criminal record and had been grounded at the time the campers went missing due to the Covid-19 pandemic shutting down flights across the globe.
The family had lived in a comfortable home nestled on a corner overlooking a green reserve in Caroline Springs, west of Melbourne.
On Wednesday afternoon, a teenage boy was seen emerging from the home to get the mail before dashing back inside.
An Australian flag sits proudly in the top window of the Lynn’s property in Caroline Springs
Caroline Springs, where the pilot lives with his family, is surrounded by million dollar properties
Neighbours had described the couple as ‘lovely’, with Mrs Lynn painted as a kind and caring woman who cared for the community as a whole.
It was a motto she held dear in her 2019 blog.
‘We do this job because we like to help people,’ she wrote.
Mrs Lynn provided parents with a series of helpful tips, drawing on her family’s own experience travelling with small children.
The flight attendant has also shared tips to mainstream media on ‘flight attendant beauty hacks’.
‘If you travel with a silk pillowcase and slip it over your regular pillow on a long-haul, your skin and hair will stay smooth — not to mention, you’ll sleep like a baby because silk pillowcase,’ she told 9honey in May 2019.
Greg Lynn (pictured) is an avid camper and posted multiple pictures of himself on outdoor getaways
Mr Hill’s white Toyota Landcruiser (pictured) was found with minor fire damage at their burnt campsite near Dry River Creek Track in the valley on March 21
Other tips included handy ways to ensure you look fresh after a long haul flight.
‘While I’m at work I lightly mist my hair with Tresemme hairspray to keep myself looking fresh and keeping the fly-aways at bay. They do a great travel-sized spray,’ she said.
Adding: ‘Rub some hand cream onto your hands and then lightly run your hands over your hair. That helps harness the fly-aways.’
The sprawling double-storey home includes a backyard perfect for lovers of the outdoors.
An Australia flag sits proudly in a front window of the house facing the sprawling green field.
Behind the fence, the experienced outdoorsman keeps bees – his pride and joy.
Mother and son were often noticed sharing goodbyes before he scooted off on his bike to the nearby school, which she was also known to help out at.
It is such adoration of their children Mrs Lynn expressed in her blog for travelling parents.
While Mrs Lynn was described as open and engaging, her husband (above), while polite, was not the type to pour his heart out to the neighbours
Arrested Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn was a dedicated family man who enjoyed camping. He was arrested by police on Monday
‘Take books and toys; they don’t run out of battery or break if you drop them. Stock up on sticker books, fuzzy felt, invisible ink books and small Lego kits,’ she wrote.
‘I always said I would never let electronics babysit my children… and then of course I actually had children. Don’t forget the headphones and a portable phone/iPad charger.’
Neighbours told Daily Mail Australia Lynn had been noticeably present during Victoria’s six hard lockdowns.
Before then, the Jetstar pilot was usually only seen when he was heading out the door to go bush again – the couple’s great joy.
By all accounts the family had been happy, with not a hint of any issues – at least not that neighbours were aware of.
Jetstar – a Qantas subsidiary – has now stood down the senior pilot pending the outcome of the police investigation.
Source: DailyMail
