Authorities are exploring a fourth potential site in the ongoing search for the Beaumont children, who disappeared nearly 60 years ago. This comes as a new private excavation enters its fourth day. The search is centred around the former Castalloy factory, where brothers David and Robin Harkin assert they were paid as boys to dig a grave-like hole just three days after Jane, Arnna, and Grant Beaumont vanished from Adelaide’s Glenelg Beach in 1966.
David and Robin claim that the request to dig came from Harry Phipps, the former factory owner, who has long been regarded as a key suspect in the children’s disappearance. Based on fresh information, authorities are now set to excavate a site located only metres from the previous dig spot. Independent MP Frank Pangallo highlighted the significance of exploring this new area, noting that a shed once stood on a concrete slab there, potentially corresponding with the Harkin brothers’ experience.
Pangallo also pointed out that this dig is proving to be more thorough than past excavations conducted in 2013 and 2018. “We aimed to leave no stone unturned in identifying the area described by the Harkin brothers as the one they dug so many years ago,” he stated. After assessing the previous sites, excavators returned to the original area, as the soil conditions appeared more consistent with what the Harkin brothers had described—sandy and prone to collapse—compared to the harder material encountered at the other sites.
So far, the dig has reached approximately five metres deep, revealing layers of fill material that have accumulated over the years. Pangallo noted the indications of compaction, suggesting the soil would have been difficult for young boys to excavate with shovels. The effort continues as the excavators search for additional evidence that could shed light on the children’s fate. Although the police are not directly involved in this dig, they are keeping a close watch on its developments.