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National

Police to reveal in court what they allege happened to missing campers Carol Clay and Russell Hill

After almost three years, the family and friends of Carol Clay and Russell Hill will this week learn what police allege happened to their loved ones.

The pair disappeared from a holiday in the remote Wonnangatta Valley in eastern Victoria in March, 2020, leaving behind a burnt-out campsite and few other clues.

Mr Hill was an avid camper and outdoors enthusiast — he had also spent many years in Victoria's high country working as a contract logger.

Police led searches of the rugged terrain and spoke to media after the disappearances, but still the pair had been not found and their fate was not known.

In late 2021, police arrested a man at Arbuckle Junction, a remote site in Gippsland.

Days later, police charged the then-55-year-old Jetstar pilot, Greg Lynn, with the murder of both of the campers.

Police later found the bodies of Mr Hill and Ms Clay in bushland near Dargo, also in the state's high country.

Those charges started a new chapter of waiting for those affected by the disappearances, as the legal process began.

Mr Lynn has indicated that he plans to fight the charges against him.

Today, more than a year since Mr Lynn was first charged, the first significant hearing for the case has opened at Melbourne Magistrates' Court.

It will be the first time that police allegations against Mr Lynn will be publicly aired.

Until now, detectives have kept their case against the former pilot under wraps.

The public is yet to hear exactly what police allege happened in the Wonnangatta Valley, and what evidence police will rely on to try to prove their case.

Mr Lynn's committal hearing is also significant because, at its completion, the magistrate will need to decide if there is enough evidence to send the case to trial.

It will be the next big chapter in a case that has gripped Australia.

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