E58 | Who turned off the light? The disappearance of Eloise Worledge (AUS)

In January 1976, eight year old Eloise Worledge went to bed in her family's home on Scott Street, Beaumaris. Her father looked in on her at 11:40pm. At 7:30am her younger brother and sister woke their parents to say Ella was not in her room. The flyscreen on her window had been cut and rolled back, but forensic examination found the cut was made from the inside, the dust and cobwebs undisturbed, and the scene staged. Fifty years on, Eloise has never been found, nobody has been charged, and a coroner's open finding is the only formal answer anyone has.

IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING

On 13 January 2026, the fiftieth anniversary, Victoria Police announced a reward of up to $1 million. It is offered at the discretion of the Chief Commissioner of Police for information leading to the discovery of Eloise's remains, or the apprehension and subsequent conviction of the person or persons responsible. Police say it is currently the only reward of its kind in Victoria because it pays for the recovery of remains, not only for a conviction. The Director of Public Prosecutions may grant an informant indemnity from prosecution.

The investigation remains open with the Victoria Police Missing Persons Squad. Police believe Eloise was murdered.

Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000

Confidential online report: crimestoppersvic.com.au

You do not have to give your name.

A NOTE ON SOURCING

Nobody has ever been charged over Eloise Worledge's disappearance. Her parents, Lindsay and Patsy Worledge, were treated as suspects from the first days and lived under public suspicion for decades. No evidence implicating either was ever found. A 2001 cold case review found none, and Victoria Police have since told the family they have concluded the parents were not involved. Lindsay died in 2017 and Patsy in 2022, before that conclusion was conveyed.

Alistair Duncan Webster, named in this episode, died in 2020. He had convictions for sexual offences in 1953, 1970 and 1972. He was never charged over Eloise Worledge, and no court or coroner has found he had any involvement. The case for examining him is ABC journalist Russell Jackson's, and Jackson states he found circumstantial evidence and coincidences but nothing definitive. Police say they cannot comment on individuals.

The Board of Inquiry into historical child sexual abuse at Beaumaris Primary School reported in February 2024 and found no connection between Eloise's disappearance and the abuse at the school.

Coroner Frank Hender's 2003 finding is not published online, so we worked from contemporaneous reporting of it. The 631 page police coronial brief is not public. Some widely repeated details about that night could not be traced to a source and were left out. The argument in Part Two that a staged window is equally consistent with an intruder misdirecting the search is the host's own analysis, not any investigator's finding.

SOURCES

Victoria Police cold case, missing person and reward pages, police.vic.gov.au

Board of Inquiry into Historical Child Sexual Abuse in Beaumaris Primary School and Certain Other Government Schools, final report, Chair Kathleen Foley SC, February 2024

Russell Jackson, ABC News, 11 and 14 January 2026

ABC News, 13 January 2026 and 7 July 2003

Australian Women's Weekly, January 2026

SUPPORT

This episode deals with the abduction and presumed murder of a child, and with historical child sexual abuse.

New Zealand: 1737 call or text. Safe to Talk 0800 044 334. Family violence 0800 456 450.

Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14. Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636. 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732.

While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts.

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This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf.

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