A fresh, privately funded excavation aiming to uncover the fate of the missing Beaumont children commenced recently in Adelaide’s western suburbs, nearly 60 years after their disappearance. The search team is concentrating on three targeted areas within a former factory site located in North Plympton.
Today, one of these locations was deemed unsuitable, prompting the team to swiftly shift attention to another site, which had been identified through recently analysed aerial photographs. As the dig progressed, excavators encountered a layer of concrete but eventually broke through to what experts describe as “1966 levels” of soil. This development has attracted a mix of conspiracy theorists, interested members of the community, and observers keen to see the site once owned by industrialist Harry Phipps, a figure who faced paedophilia allegations from his own son.
One witness, Graham Clayton, speculated that Phipps may have instructed two boys to dig a hole as a ruse, suggesting that any initial suspicion about him would lead investigators to that decoy location. This hole was allegedly dug just days after Jane, Arna, and Grant went missing from Glenelg Beach in 1966, driven by claims from the two boys that Phipps had paid them to perform the task. Furthermore, it has emerged that Phipps was distantly related by marriage to the Beaumont family, lending credence to longstanding theories that the children might have known their abductor.
Previous police efforts have attempted to locate this hole, but the current team of private investigators asserts that earlier searches were not thorough enough and highlights the significance of the new excavation site.
The ongoing investigation seeks not only to provide closure for the families involved but also to bring the community together in dialogue about a mystery that has perplexed Australia for decades. As new evidence and leads are explored, hope remains that this latest excavation could play a crucial role in unveiling the truth about the Beaumont children’s disappearance.