 Police are seeking assistance in relation to missing persons. William Walter Cowell and Joan Iris Taylor last seen about the mid-1983. The missing persons were last seen at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. They were visiting their daughter Christine who was suffering cancer at the time. Why after 30 years is there an appeal now? Well, the search never really stopped. When they went missing in 1983, the search began in 1984. Through the extensive network of family members, they started the search and continued. Through the generations of cows, bishops and tailors, each person would conduct their inquiries. And as people would pass on, then new family members would continue the search. We're now 30 years down the line, almost to the day. We have Melissa, who is the granddaughter of missing persons. She is now carrying the torch and she's continuing the search. The matter was reported, however, in 1983, the procedure was that missing persons would be dealt with by the Salvation Army Missing Persons Program and not by police. Now, in 2013, we take missing persons very seriously. However, the procedure back then when they first went missing was to work through the Salvation Army. In that three decades, has there been any trace of them at all? No, not a single trace, which is why police are now appealing to the public. If they have any knowledge of William Walter Cowell or Joan Iris Taylor to come forward and help solve the mystery. He tells a little bit about the car keys. They were driving a red XP Ford Fruitture, I believe. The car virtually vanished around the same time they did. And have they driven that car to the hospital? That is unknown. They were observed driving the vehicle around that period. And it is believed that they were in possession of the vehicle when they went missing. He tells a little bit about them. I was reading online that they sort of left their home, sold their possessions. So, guys, what are they going fruit picking? Can you talk us through them? William and Joan were free spirits. They lived for the moment. They were good people, very quiet, kept to themselves. And they would often go on fruit picking journeys. They would pack up the car and just venture out and get employment on different farms picking fruit. It was during one of those trips when they met missing. Do you know where they were headed on that particular trip? It's believed that they were heading to Gimpy. Police received information that a PO box was established at Gimpy post office. And the last sighting was actually at the post office. And that would have been about mid-1983. I guess Melissa can talk us through and give us some description of them as people. But what do you hope in three decades' advancements in technology, or how the situation is now, how you may be able to find some trace of them? Well, we've used massive resources on this. I mean, we treat every missing person as seriously as next. And we've poured a lot of resources into this. And we've exhausted those avenues of inquiry. We're now actually seeking assistance from the general public. There might be somebody out there who may have known William Wajone, or may have known of them spending time in Gimpy with a Gimpy region. We're just hoping that somebody out there can shed some light on the mystery. Had any members of the public contacted police over the years with any useful information? No. Do you fear that they'd met with fail play? No. Although we can't be certain, through the inquiries and the investigation, they were in very poor health. They were very frail. And the last time they were seen, they were in their 60s, venturing out to an unknown farm to pick fruit. However, in the state they were in, it would have been an odd time to be going somewhere to do manual labor. It was right around the time that their son Alan drowned, and daughter Christine was diagnosed with cancer. So it's just timing. We don't think it's foul play. So there was a lot of emotional factors going on in their life that could have led them? Absolutely. Yeah. Alan? Alan, I believe, was in his 30s. I don't have his exact day of birth, but I believe he was in his early 30s, drowned in the Brisbane River. Well, they would be 88 and 90 at this stage. So we don't believe that they, because they were quite sick and frail back in the 80s. So we don't believe that they are alive. A Corona report is being completed, which will be turned into the state coroner. However, just to assist the family, police now are seeking assistance from the general public to assist the family in getting some kind of closure. Is that important to get the family in? Absolutely. I mean, they've never stopped looking. I mean, the search has been going on for 30 years, and it's quite profound. It's gone from generation to generation. So the family are to be commended, actually. They never stopped searching. Is it true that a letter that was sent to them acting like it was opened? A letter was forwarded from George Bishop to the missing persons, advising of the death of Alan. George and Christine actually drove to the post office box, to the post office. And they observed a letter, the postmaster provided them with a letter, which was the letter he'd sent. And it had been open. The postmaster, who is unknown, would not disclose the circumstances surrounding the opening or reading of the letter. Yeah. Well, it was the normal procedure of when they would go fruit picking to go to a local post office and establish that as their address. George and Christine took the chance of sending a letter to the Gibby post office. Received no reply, and a short time later attended the post office and were notified that the letter had been received, had been opened, and in fact read. Just because we're very visually restricted with this story, do you mind if we just all stand and have a chat to you so the cameraman can get some shots? Yes. So you would most likely believe that they have told us now, probably from the hospital? They were, there was a lot of mental health issues. With the family, they were a very close family, and losing their only son and daughter with mental health issues and being very frail and ill of health. Yes, right around the time they went missing. Well, they were currently on a fruit picking trip. And so we're not even sure how they found out that Christine was in the hospital. So apparently through various family members, they kept in communication to find out how everyone was. Learned of Alan's drowning and Christine's terminal cancer, and drove off into the sunset. And how would it be with Christine and Christine? Melissa would probably be able to answer that question better. I don't have the date of birth. And when did police take over from the Salvation Army? Well, the Salvation Army ran an extensive television campaign, press, print media. And that was throughout mid-1985. There was a limited time for which they'll run their inquiries, which time the family engaged the services of independent solicitors and spent quite a bit of money funding a search all with negative results. We've searched our archives and haven't found anything that we may have run. Is there that Salvation Army TV campaign? Would that be on file somewhere? I've tried and they did not keep any historical archive footage. Also, William Walter Cowell, the name changed as the years went on. He became Walter and Bill. And so we have documents featuring different names. So it's possible that they may have relocated and moved there as Iris and Bill. Because of record keeping, or rather lack thereof in the 80s, it's very hard to track someone a lot different now. And did you say that the last sighting was at the Gimpy Post Office? Well, that was not a sighting. That was just a report of contact. The last sighting was actually at the Royal Brisbane Hospital mid-1983. Do you know what date in 1983? No, I'm not sure. What do you hope to achieve through this media appeal? Really, it'd be great if they found a lot somewhere, but just to find out really what happened. What can you tell us about what happened? What you know what happened? Just what Michael Fanard has just more less to inform you. Why is it so important to you to find out what happened? Well, they're my grandparents. Like, wouldn't that be important to you? Absolutely. But we want to convey that to people. Well, I've never really known, and so, like, I'd get really nervous now. You know. Just closure, really. Like, I never knew I'm growing up. I've got my own children, and I would have liked to have them met my grandparents, and just really closure. I really want to know what happened to them. Melissa, I mean, your grandparents disappeared, and it's pretty emotional time. They did? Yeah. What's the family being through these past few decades? I mean, that would have been sort of even more difficult for the family at the time. It was, yeah. My uncle dying, my mother dying, and then my grandparents missing four and three years. So it was pretty devastating to the whole family, really. And how's that, you know, Michael mentioned that, you know, it's gone from generation to generation, and the family's obviously carried this pain with them. Yeah, well, it has been hard, because, like, we've come up with no new leads or anything, so it's just been really hard for everybody, because we can't find no new information or anything. Do you have older siblings you might remember them? I've got one older brother, but he doesn't really remember them that much either. So how old are you, when they disappeared? Around four or five. And how old was your uncle, and when he passed away, do you know him? I'm not really too sure. Around Michael Fnaal I've told you before. And so, who's daughter are you? Christine's. So Melissa, was your mother able to pass on any memories that she had of her parents? Sorry? Was your mum able to pass on any memories? No, well, I was so young at the time when she died, so, and she was quite old for quite a while, so, you know, she didn't. Really enduring mystery. It is. Have you been involved in any of the searches or anything like that that I've gone on? Yeah, probably about 10 years ago, 15 years ago, I contacted the police and they told me to go to the Salvation Army, so I reported them missing through them. Never got any feedback on that. Probably about six years ago, we hired some solicitors to try and find them again. They were on the case for about four years and we didn't get anything out of that either. So, and then we've came again to the police station and that's when Michael Fnaal has taken over and got everything moving. Australia. It was, yeah, it was. And we must be quite hopeful at the moment now, knowing the case is in... I am. I am. Hopefully something good comes at all. Like to say to the people who are watching the nation. Yes, I'm going to open up a Facebook page in John and Walter's name, so anybody can contact me if they wanted. Like, surely somebody's got to have seen something, the car, fruit picking, like, there's, surely there's got to be somebody.