Unsolved Gerard Ross - Abducted Kent st Rockingham WA 1997

[ms finch]

People don't expect to be seeing a child being abducted though & many people often turn a blind somewhat sympathetic eye to someone having to deal with a child being "difficult" in public. Who's going to interject if the assumption is its that persons child & particularly if that child appears to go with them happily after being fed a story.
They only appear more brazen than you'd expect because they don't have to be any other way & they still fly under the usual radars. We notice someone scoping a house or a car because its not usual. A parent snatching up their child & briskly walking away or even dragging them by one arm with their feet barely skimming the ground, perhaps even screaming as well, isnt something you tend to stop in your tracks to watch. You look away if anything, not expecting for a minute that your witnessing the child being abducted.

But, for someone with the intention of killing a child and leaving him where he was found easily whilst not having any fear that they may be caught, I dont buy it. They could have just got in their car & removed all reason for any witness to recall anything about the incident. Then picked him moments later after they moved on.

I think the people who abducted him either had no part in his murder or what was to happen to him after they did "their bit" in abducting him & delivering him to someone else, or they had no fear of being identified. The only other alternative is they were just supremely confident the cops couldn't solve a case if they tried & were prepared to risk spending their lives in jail if they got unlucky & I don't buy that either.

You’ve identified a part of what I think - that whoever abducted Gerard didn’t intend to kill him at the time of the abduction. I think circumstances changed for whatever reason. Could have been that Gerard was difficult, could have been that he was nosy and found out something he shouldn’t have (such as someone’s identity specifically), could have been that publicity made them nervous.

It may also be that the woman seeing them pushed them past the point of no return. At that point they had her having seen them AND Gerard. Plus if they had let Gerard go at that point, I imagine they assumed he would have run, and the woman in the car could have stopped then or paid even closer attention.

And I agree child snatchings are brazen for the reasons you indicated. My comment was more simply the fact that they are brazen, and that I see no reason to be shocked about the brazenness of this one if what the woman saw was correct. There are times when kids are grabbed in shopping centre car parks in full view of cameras and onlookers and it’s hard to solve. I’m not sure that a woman in a car peering at them would have been of particular concern.

 

[ms finch]

I've just found this from the ABC and it indicates the lady didn't come forward until the following April.

New witness comes forward
April 20, 1998

A woman says she saw two men struggling with a boy on the day Gerard disappeared, but did not feel comfortable intervening.

She describes two men aged in their mid 30s, one fair-haired, the other dark-haired with a faded maroon or brown station wagon.

Police also reveal a dog may be linked to the case because dog hairs were found on the boy's body.

Timeline: The child murder which shocked Perth

Police are appealing for fresh information about the murder of a school boy in Rockingham almost 20 years ago. Here is how the case has unfolded.

www.abc.net.au

I’ve found a very thorough account from the woman herself.

When she arrived at her daughter’s house, she discussed it. She was distressed and concerned. Her daughter told her to report it to the police. She called Mandurah police that day and they took her report and acknowledged the incident. She didn’t hear anything from them.

Ms Jurek said she drove straight to her daughter’s Mandurah home, about 30 minutes away, and relayed the incident to Bonnie.

“It was bothering me when I got to my daughter’s house and I told her all about it,” she said.

“She said, ‘that sounds bad, I think you should phone the police’ and I did, from her house.

“I phoned the local police in Mandurah and I told the policeman there and he said ‘yes, OK, we’ll see about it’, and that was it. Then I didn’t hear anything else.”

A couple of days later when police were door knocking they naturally door knocked her because she lived in the area he went missing. She told them about her report to Mandurah police, about which they were unaware. They then spoke to her daughter who confirmed her mother’s story (and still does) and they tried to match up timing and took the lady to car yards to try to pick out the car she saw.

About two or three days later the police came to my door when they were going door-to-door and I said to them, ‘yes, I did see him, I’ve already told you about this’,” Ms Jurek said.

“I told them that I saw the scuffle in Kent Street and told them what time it was, about half past nine.

“I told them about me calling the police straight away and I gave them all the descriptions of everything I knew.”

Ms Jurek said those officers, from Rockingham, were unaware of her October 14 report to Mandurah police.

In my view she is about as credible as they come. She told someone else, reported the incident while fresh, and gave a full report a couple of days later while it would still have been in her mind. It obviously troubled/troubles her so she would have remembered it well. I assume that April was the first time it was reported to the public - perhaps because police had exhausted efforts to find the car and wanted public assistance on it.

Witness: ‘I saw two men with a young boy’

A “credible” witness who saw two men struggling with a boy at the time Gerard Ross was abducted — on the same street where he was last seen — says she is still “upset” with herself for driving away.

thewest.com.au

 

[ms finch]

My take on the incident is that at the moment the lady drove past, they stopped for a moment thinking 'Shiitt we've been seen!' But then quickly realised they were past the point of no return, as obviously the boy could ID them. They would just have to take the risk that the person in the car was unable to see any identifying details. Gerard was probably in shock and thought they were going to let him go.
Was the car parked in a drive way? or on the side of the road?

That’s pretty much my thinking.

Apparently the car was parked on the verge.

I saw a car parked on the verge and (it looked) as if it was some sort of a fight or incident,” she said.

.........

The car was parked out the front of 68 Kent Street with its nose facing Alexandra Street, which is also the direction of the holiday unit where Gerard was staying. There is no evidence to suggest that the vehicle or the people were linked to 68 Kent Street.

“They were between the car and the house,” she said.

Witness: ‘I saw two men with a young boy’

A “credible” witness who saw two men struggling with a boy at the time Gerard Ross was abducted — on the same street where he was last seen — says she is still “upset” with herself for driving away.

thewest.com.au

 

[one eyed spy]

My take on the incident is that at the moment the lady drove past, they stopped for a moment thinking 'Shiitt we've been seen!' But then quickly realised they were past the point of no return, as obviously the boy could ID them. They would just have to take the risk that the person in the car was unable to see any identifying details. Gerard was probably in shock and thought they were going to let him go.
Was the car parked in a drive way? or on the side of the road?

That’s pretty much my thinking.
Apparently the car was parked on the verge.

Past the point of no return is what I don't grasp. Is there a point of no return when someone has taken a seemingly keen interest in your attempts to abduct a child? What was in it for them that made it worthwhile regardless that they may have just been seen & that person may have been heading straight to the police station with the rego No. & a good description of you both, all before you'd even managed to get him in your car. Was it just the thrill of what was about to occur in 2 very twisted minds, or did they have no fear whatsoever of being caught. If so, why? Was the car or the plates borrowed or stolen? Registered interstate? Dumped & torched soon after? Or was it a brief hiccup that caused another person to feel this boy was too hot to handle & perhaps then procure yet another party to "deal" with the issue or even refuse to accept this boy, which forced his abductors to silence him. Or were these 2 abductors so depraved that they didn't care about the potential consequences of being caught that it was worth it to them. In which case, I think there must have always been an intention to murder him.

 

[Kurve]

My take on the incident is that at the moment the lady drove past, they stopped for a moment thinking 'Shiitt we've been seen!' But then quickly realised they were past the point of no return, as obviously the boy could ID them. They would just have to take the risk that the person in the car was unable to see any identifying details. Gerard was probably in shock and thought they were going to let him go.
Was the car parked in a drive way? or on the side of the road?

Would that imply though that Gerard actually knew who they were or what house they came out of? Otherwise, what could an 11yo and stressed Gerard say by way of identification when the lady witness could probably have even more with a pen and paper in her car and a registration number?

Right then, when the lady stopped to stare was the time they had to check themselves and let him go.

 

[ms finch]

Past the point of no return is what I don't grasp. Is there a point of no return when someone has taken a seemingly keen interest in your attempts to abduct a child? What was in it for them that made it worthwhile regardless that they may have just been seen & that person may have been heading straight to the police station with the rego No. & a good description of you both, all before you'd even managed to get him in your car. Was it just the thrill of what was about to occur in 2 very twisted minds, or did they have no fear whatsoever of being caught. If so, why? Was the car or the plates borrowed or stolen? Registered interstate? Dumped & torched soon after? Or was it a brief hiccup that caused another person to feel this boy was too hot to handle & perhaps then procure yet another party to "deal" with the issue or even refuse to accept this boy, which forced his abductors to silence him. Or were these 2 abductors so depraved that they didn't care about the potential consequences of being caught that it was worth it to them. In which case, I think there must have always been an intention to murder him.

I don’t disagree with your logic. I do wonder if sometimes we are all too logical about criminals. Not all of them are particularly clever or think through their actions very well; actually I think most of them aren’t and don’t.

One reason I can see that the people who snatched Gerard would have gone ahead with it regardless of being seen is money. There is (disgustingly) a fair whack of money in paedophile rings.

 

[Kurve]

If they'd let Gerard go to run off after the lady witness saw what was going on, I'm not sure the cops would even try too hard back then on an 11 year old's account two men stopped to try and get him in a car but if they did probe any further and managed to track them down, all they had to say was something along the lines of "He threw a rock at the car!" or "He fell over and we stopped to make sure he was okay."

 

[Kurve]

You’ve identified a part of what I think - that whoever abducted Gerard didn’t intend to kill him at the time of the abduction. I think circumstances changed for whatever reason. Could have been that Gerard was difficult, could have been that he was nosy and found out something he shouldn’t have (such as someone’s identity specifically), could have been that publicity made them nervous.

If it was a paedophile ring, that might explain why another car was being looked for as well in the white ute. Gerard was taken somewhere else and something went wrong.

As the holidays had finished, it might have been assumed Gerard was a bit of a tear away kid and wagging when
he should have been at school. That nobody would really be looking for him until after 3.30 or 4.00pm and that he might stay quiet about what happened. If they'd summed all that up though, it's probably not the first time they've taken a kid off the street.

And if so, there's at least three people who know what really happened that day. Hopefully the million dollar reward will draw one of them out.

 

[imho]

I don’t disagree with your logic. I do wonder if sometimes we are all too logical about criminals. Not all of them are particularly clever or think through their actions very well; actually I think most of them aren’t and don’t.

One reason I can see that the people who snatched Gerard would have gone ahead with it regardless of being seen is money. There is (disgustingly) a fair whack of money in paedophile rings.

true, ms.F, and while money is most often a driving force, I frequently wonder if we are ALL too logical about our own expectation of 'POLICE' response.
a previous poster has already touched upon the perpetrator(s) perhaps just relying on dumb luck, in a firm belief that the police are clueless, but the fact that the witness to a troubling scuffle made her report in regard to what had appeared to have been a possible incident in progress, within the hours surrounding a child's disappearance, you have to wonder who exactly was calling the shots whilst being well paid for their poor decision making with regard to their lack of effort in hastening that report directly to the investigation during a time when police had already commenced a door knock for information.

i can't explain my very strong and niggling gut feeling concerning the rehab centre en route to the comic shop, and any persons who might have been resident, or regulars in attendance, or those in the vicinity for an apnt, to visit, to drop off, or perhaps either sell or score drugs, which sadly does still happen in rehab.

i'm very curious to know more of the family's actual familiarity with rockingham.
-was it their first holiday at the location?
-how long had they been in rockingham prior to GR's disappearance?
-exactly how much time did the boys have to establish themselves in the area?
-what casual acquaintances might they have made in passing, if any, during their stay?
-was the mum's suggested trip to the comic shop that day to be their first visit to the comic shop?
-had they previously been permitted, unsupervised,
to attend the comic shop, perhaps the beach, or to explore surrounding rockingham?
not casting any aspersions on their parenting by asking this ... you know what kids are like ... i recall myself as a 10yo girl in the UK, with my younger boy cousin, riding our bikes much further afield than was known or sanctioned by our family, and we would never have dared to have told them!
on one such occasion, in search of conkers, we happened upon a small woods on the banks of the mersey, behind a housing estate that was blocked from view by a huge old stone wall, ... tons of conkers and ultra secluded, when suddenly, we were approached by two boys ... older, bigger, rougher, tougher. i'm still chilled to think that had there been any mishap, no one - but us and those boys - would have ever known we'd been there.

from what i understood, GR had a $5 note in his pocket when he left home for the comic shop.
now am i very mistaken, can anyone clarify,
was it said that upon discovery of his remains,
he "still had the TWO $5 notes in his pocket"?
correct or incorrect,
and if correct, perhaps he was just carrying his brother's money too?

from my viewing of the west's doco,
i took away some new information as stated by his teacher, previously not publicized - afaik - at least unknown to me - that GR was in fact a budding young artist with a remarkable talent beyond others of his tender age, and that he was also very proud in showing off his work, which could be of some significance to any possible contact he may have sought or made in rockingham.
i consider the likelihood of his interest in comics and passion for illustration would have also been the child's dream of some possible future career opportunity which, tragically, he was never to achieve.

i hope the west won't mind my inclusion of these screenshots depicting GR's illustrations from their riveting documentary
...the boy in the blue cap

imho

 

[Fortune Cookie]

In my brain of useless information, I have it tucked away that Gerard was involved in a childrens book somehow... I recall something about it, but can't find anything searching www. From memory, it was a book published in memory of him? And perhaps used some of his drawings.

 

[Likeamystery]

true, ms.F, and while money is most often a driving force, I frequently wonder if we are ALL too logical about our own expectation of 'POLICE' response.
a previous poster has already touched upon the perpetrator(s) perhaps just relying on dumb luck, in a firm belief that the police are clueless, but the fact that the witness to a troubling scuffle made her report in regard to what had appeared to have been a possible incident in progress, within the hours surrounding a child's disappearance, you have to wonder who exactly was calling the shots whilst being well paid for their poor decision making with regard to their lack of effort in hastening that report directly to the investigation during a time when police had already commenced a door knock for information.

i can't explain my very strong and niggling gut feeling concerning the rehab centre en route to the comic shop, and any persons who might have been resident, or regulars in attendance, or those in the vicinity for an apnt, to visit, to drop off, or perhaps either sell or score drugs, which sadly does still happen in rehab.

i'm very curious to know more of the family's actual familiarity with rockingham.
-was it their first holiday at the location?
-how long had they been in rockingham prior to GR's disappearance?
-exactly how much time did the boys have to establish themselves in the area?
-what casual acquaintances might they have made in passing, if any, during their stay?
-was the mum's suggested trip to the comic shop that day to be their first visit to the comic shop?
-had they previously been permitted, unsupervised,
to attend the comic shop, perhaps the beach, or to explore surrounding rockingham?
not casting any aspersions on their parenting by asking this ... you know what kids are like ... i recall myself as a 10yo girl in the UK, with my younger boy cousin, riding our bikes much further afield than was known or sanctioned by our family, and we would never have dared to have told them!
on one such occasion, in search of conkers, we happened upon a small woods on the banks of the mersey, behind a housing estate that was blocked from view by a huge old stone wall, ... tons of conkers and ultra secluded, when suddenly, we were approached by two boys ... older, bigger, rougher, tougher. i'm still chilled to think that had there been any mishap, no one - but us and those boys - would have ever known we'd been there.

from what i understood, GR had a $5 note in his pocket when he left home for the comic shop.
now am i very mistaken, can anyone clarify,
was it said that upon discovery of his remains,
he "still had the TWO $5 notes in his pocket"?
correct or incorrect,
and if correct, perhaps he was just carrying his brother's money too?

from my viewing of the west's doco,
i took away some new information as stated by his teacher, previously not publicized - afaik - at least unknown to me - that GR was in fact a budding young artist with a remarkable talent beyond others of his tender age, and that he was also very proud in showing off his work, which could be of some significance to any possible contact he may have sought or made in rockingham.
i consider the likelihood of his interest in comics and passion for illustration would have also been the child's dream of some possible future career opportunity which, tragically, he was never to achieve.

i hope the west won't mind my inclusion of these screenshots depicting GR's illustrations from their riveting documentary
...the boy in the blue cap

imho

In the past I'd worked out when the Ross family had stayed in Rockingham and from memory they were there during the school holidays and an extra week or so, that week was either before or after the school holidays. As recently suggested the perpetrator/s may have thought Gerard was wagging school – prompting the thought he wouldn’t be missed until about 3pm.

The artwork is wonderful, Gerard was so talented. Perhaps he had been to the comic store beforehand and struck up a conversation with someone in the store.

As Gerard was found clothed and with money in his pocket, abducting him on behalf of someone else might make sense, but somehow the plan backfired. Prior to Gerard’s abduction another boy was approached in the same street – i.e. cream coloured vehicle.

As Ms Finch mentioned: One reason I can see that the people who snatched Gerard would have gone ahead with it regardless of being seen is money. There is (disgustingly) a fair whack of money in paedophile rings.

Interesting you (IMHO) mentioned the drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre which is within close proximity. Recently I suggested the men who the witness had seen may have been on drugs. Maybe one of the perpetrators was in debt to a dealer.

they all stood still. Then presumably carried on to bundle him into the car after they've been seen. As if they had no concern whatsoever that they've possibly just been identified and she might have their registration.

 

[one eyed spy]

I don’t disagree with your logic. I do wonder if sometimes we are all too logical about criminals. Not all of them are particularly clever or think through their actions very well; actually I think most of them aren’t and don’t.

One reason I can see that the people who snatched Gerard would have gone ahead with it regardless of being seen is money. There is (disgustingly) a fair whack of money in paedophile rings.

Most criminals dont abduct or murder children though.

No doubt there would be somewhat less fear if they were just the middle men for a pedophile ring whose role was simply one of abductor/deliverer as they'd be fairly quickly exchanging the child for monetary gain & thereafter have no connection to them.

If that were the situation here, who killed him then & why? Why would you pay an abductor for a child just to take his life so quickly?

Was he too old? Did someone refuse him & they panicked & saw no other option? Or was he killed accidentally perhaps?

To be honest, I don't know why I'm even trying to make sense of it. There's no sense to be found in this event for any normal person & its all pure speculation at best, which is fairly irrelevant & gets no one any closer to solving the case. I doubt I'd comprehend it anyway regardless if someone hits the nail square on the head as to who & why, which we wont know anyway as it also means solving the case.

 

[zedx]

Would that imply though that Gerard actually knew who they were or what house they came out of? Otherwise, what could an 11yo and stressed Gerard say by way of identification when the lady witness could probably have even more with a pen and paper in her car and a registration number?

Right then, when the lady stopped to stare was the time they had to check themselves and let him go.

They did have the chance to check themselves' but they didn't.
......'The car was parked out the front of 68 Kent Street with its nose facing Alexandra Street, which is also the direction of the holiday unit where Gerard was staying.'
So Gerard crossed the road?

 

[ms finch]

Most criminals dont abduct or murder children though.

No doubt there would be somewhat less fear if they were just the middle men for a pedophile ring whose role was simply one of abductor/deliverer as they'd be fairly quickly exchanging the child for monetary gain & thereafter have no connection to them.

If that were the situation here, who killed him then & why? Why would you pay an abductor for a child just to take his life so quickly?

Was he too old? Did someone refuse him & they panicked & saw no other option? Or was he killed accidentally perhaps?

To be honest, I don't know why I'm even trying to make sense of it. There's no sense to be found in this event for any normal person & its all pure speculation at best, which is fairly irrelevant & gets no one any closer to solving the case. I doubt I'd comprehend it anyway regardless if someone hits the nail square on the head as to who & why, which we wont know anyway as it also means solving the case.

I agree with you. Murdering children is a unique category all on its own - even killers who will think very little of killing adults won’t touch children. I’m just not sure it means they are clever or logical in their behaviour, though. I do think it’s very hard to make any sense of, not least in my case because I don’t like reading about people who hurt children so I know a lot less about those cases than other serial killers.

The cases I am thinking of with my theory that Gerard was killed because he was difficult or identified someone he shouldn’t have (other than the guys who took him) or due to the publicity are Karmein Chan and Madeline McCann.

I am not sure if you have heard of Mr Cruel - the person who abducted children around Melbourne? He used to return the kids afterward, and the police had incredible descriptions of the car and house but could never catch him. They believe he took Karmein Chan as well, whose remains were found a couple of years later. The theory is that he killed Karmein because she fought back and maybe pulled off his mask and saw who he was.

I don’t think paedophiles necessarily put much stock in kids identifying them. They probably see them as unreliable and easily confused. But maybe these two guys reported afterward to whoever they were abducting Gerard for that a woman had seen them as well and whoever was in charge decided they had to kill Gerard. Or maybe he fought his abductors and was able to identify someone significant in the paedophile ring. Or perhaps he was even killed accidentally when he was being “difficult” and they were trying to control him. Like you say, total speculation, but I think these are possibilities due to other situations involving paedophiles.

In the case of Madeline McCann, I recall it being said many times in the early stages that police wanted the McCanns to keep quiet because they felt that the level of publicity was putting Madeline’s life in danger. She was too hot for the paedophiles to keep alive. Maybe the same happened with Gerard, especially if they realised he was an intelligent kid with a good artistic capability, something that would increase the chances he could identify them. Again, pure speculation, but it seems plausible to me.

The possibility of drug involvement is an interesting one. The people who abducted him could have been on something that made them less concerned about consequences, and that could be why they didn’t react as we think they would have if they were seen.

The most prevalent drug of serious users in the late 90s was heroin, wasn’t it? I am pretty sure that while ice was finding its way to the Australian market it was just beginning. I am happy to be corrected on this. The only reason I bring this up is because they are different mindsets. I don’t believe someone who has smoked some marijuana or is on cocaine is abducting a kid. Speed maybe?

Maybe they were robbing him, but as far as I recall he was found with his money on him. Also, would you go after a kid that young for money? How much do you expect to get? I would also assume that if they were after him for money, when they saw the woman staring, they’d have let him go and taken their chances. I suppose someone in a crazy drug fueled state wouldn’t necessarily be thinking logically, but I still think that that sort of person is unlikely to then kill a kid. The only drug I really see prompting that sort of insane behaviour (grabbing a kid for a few dollars and killing him) is ice and I don’t think it was around as much.

So if they were on drugs I think that was incidental to the reason for the abduction, as in, I don’t think that is why it happened. It may have meant they were crazier about the way they did it or it may have been why they were willing to do it on someone else’s behalf if they were getting paid.

 

[Kurve]

Kistin Shorten, the journalist who's been covering this case since the beginning and who worked on The Boy In the Blue Cap is being interviewed in this podcast. She has some interesting information that might say something quite curious about how the CSK case was handled.

There was no sex offenders register when Gerard was taken so investigators we know was MACRO, had to go back through all police files manually looking for similar crimes against children. Given very few kids are abducted from the streets and murdered, I assume they looked for anybody operating by approaching kids in the street, loitering around places where kids gather and stranger attacks that do not always end in murder etc. I would also assume given they went to those lengths, that they asked for a list of persons who had to do a sex offenders course.

If MACRO were doing that when Gerard went missing, how the fek did they miss BRE?

What Happened To Gerard Ross: The Boy In The Blue Cap

<p>11-year-old Gerard Ross went missing in October 1997 while on a family holiday in the WA town of Rockingham. Two weeks later a horse trainer was out exercising his horses when he discovered Gerard’s body dumped in a pine plantation 20 kms from town.</p><p>While police have always had suspects...

player.fm

 

[ms finch]

Kistin Shorten, the journalist who's been covering this case since the beginning and who worked on The Boy In the Blue Cap is being interviewed in this podcast. She has some interesting information that might say something quite curious about how the CSK case was handled.

There was no sex offenders register when Gerard was taken so investigators we know was MACRO, had to go back through all police files manually looking for similar crimes against children. Given very few kids are abducted from the streets and murdered, I assume they looked for anybody operating by approaching kids in the street, loitering around places where kids gather and stranger attacks that do not always end in murder etc. I would also assume given they went to those lengths, that they asked for a list of persons who had to do a sex offenders course.

If MACRO were doing that when Gerard went missing, how the fek did they miss BRE?

What Happened To Gerard Ross: The Boy In The Blue Cap

<p>11-year-old Gerard Ross went missing in October 1997 while on a family holiday in the WA town of Rockingham. Two weeks later a horse trainer was out exercising his horses when he discovered Gerard’s body dumped in a pine plantation 20 kms from town.</p><p>While police have always had suspects...

player.fm

That’s REALLY interesting, and great analysis by you as well.

I can imagine how that would have gone: “Ah look, dude on sex offenders register for attacking a woman in a hospital. Not our guy for Gerard obviously. Next.” Just more incompetence on Macro’s part in my view.

I am absolutely convinced that Edwards should have appeared on Macro’s radar multiple times. In some of the instances that he didn’t it was either due to dumb luck or a lack of diligence. In other cases I think it is highly possible that he did but was dismissed out of hand and nobody recalls it (or if they do they are unwilling to cast doubt on Macro, who we are all expected to hail as the gods who solved Australia’s greatest manhunt due to their incredible investigative skills and tenacity).

I really hope they hold an inquest in to Sarah’s death. The coroner can look at aspects of the investigation and make judgements on it.

 

[Kurve]

Kristin Shorten -

What they said is the person who committed Gerard's abduction and murder is a very special type of offender in that they're not your average paedophile or your common paedophile, that's not to downplay the impact of sexual offending against children but what they're trying to say is for someone to offend at this high level .... it takes a very special person. It actually would take someone who is a psychopath, someone of a psychopathic nature to be able to offend in this way and also someone able to commit a very bold and brazen daylight abduction. So what police will say about the offender is that most paedophiles are not capable of this type of killing and also there are other things that research tells them is that the offender is most probably a lone male, obviously with a license and access to a vehicle. They also believe the pine forest where Gerard was found is not the primary crime scene (which is what they told us through the CSK murders) ....

 

[Kurve]

I'll just drop this here before I forget.

About six weeks before Gerard was abducted which would take it back to around the 14th of September, a man in a beige (cream?) station wagon was reported as approaching kids trying to get them in his car in the same area.

EDIT: This is a bit annoying. The incident with the beige or cream station wagon is reported here as being in August 1997.


Investigators are also seeking to identify the driver of a beige or cream coloured sedan that approached a young boy waiting at a Kent Street bus stop near the Rockingham public library a few weeks before Gerard disappeared.

"We don't have a precise date but in August 1997 a male driver pulled over at the bus stop and asked the 11-year-old if he wanted a lift. When the boy declined the man drove away," Acting Inspector Munday said.

Police release new information into 1997 Gerard Ross murder case

He left his holiday home to visit a comic book store, but never returned. Twenty years on "several new persons of interest" have emerged, police say.

www.stuff.co.nz

 

[Likeamystery]

They did have the chance to check themselves' but they didn't.
......'The car was parked out the front of 68 Kent Street with its nose facing Alexandra Street, which is also the direction of the holiday unit where Gerard was staying.'
So Gerard crossed the road?

Perhaps Gerard had crossed Kent St to cut through one of the vacant blocks, intending to walk along an alternative street. Or the driver of the car had caught Gerard's attention, and called him toward the car.

 

[Kurve]

Kristin Shorten -

What they said is the person who committed Gerard's abduction and murder is a very special type of offender in that they're not your average paedophile or your common paedophile, that's not to downplay the impact of sexual offending against children but what they're trying to say is for someone to offend at this high level .... it takes a very special person. It actually would take someone who is a psychopath, someone of a psychopathic nature to be able to offend in this way and also someone able to commit a very bold and brazen daylight abduction. So what police will say about the offender is that most paedophiles are not capable of this type of killing and also there are other things that research tells them is that the offender is most probably a lone male, obviously with a license and access to a vehicle. They also believe the pine forest where Gerard was found is not the primary crime scene (which is what they told us through the CSK murders) ....

To follow on from this, it implies investigators are of the belief that the person who abducted Gerard, a psychopath with the brazenness to offend in broad daylight, is the same man with the attributes of the psychopath who killed him.

I don't think that takes away from the lady's statement there were two men involved in the abduction even if, while crediting her witness account as important, the focus appears to go off there being two offenders and narrows onto one.

 

[Likeamystery]

Gerard’s family had only arrived at the beachside suburb, 50km south-west of Perth, a few days earlier.

The owner of the rental Greg Simpson advised: Mr and Mrs Ross arrived with three children and that surprised me because it wasn’t school holidays.

(Greg and Marian Simpson bought the unit in 1993 - 105 Kent St)

https://thewest.com.au/features/ger...erard-ross-story-part-one-gone-ng-b881348912z

Reports from the time say the brothers had been playing noisily in the house so their 35-year-old mother Cyrese – who was pregnant with twins – sent them down Kent Street to the shops in Churchill Park.

They initially suspected sexual interference but later said there was no evidence of it. Still, the cause of death was so horrific that it was kept from most of the taskforce. Gerard’s parents were deliberately kept in the dark.

https://jezza888.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/this-boy-was-murdered-does-anyone-care/

They are also trying to identify the driver of a beige or cream sedan that reportedly approached a young boy waiting at a Kent Street bus stop near the Rockingham public library a few weeks before Gerard disappeared.

"We don't have a precise date, but in August 1997 a male driver pulled over at the bus stop and asked the 11-year-old if he wanted a lift,"

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01...-cold-case-breakthrough-in-rockingham/8187552

Churchill Park is a reserve which spans alongside the ocean, behind the park is a small stretch of shops. I’m not sure where the library was/is on Kent St, I wonder if it was near the post office.

Does anyone know if anything is held at Churchill Park, such as something during the October school holidays? Some sort of a show or festival.

 

[Kurve]

Gerard was holidaying at 105, I couldn't fit it into the map but it's on the same side as 99 where the last confirmed sighting of Gerard was previously reported. The witness Rose backed out of 72. The suspects car was parked on the verge at 68 facing towards 105 where Gerard had come from.

68 will be in between 70 and 66 on the map but it isn't showing on this. There is a number 67 but I think that's actually behind 68 Kent Street and refers to the street address on Rockingham Beach Road where the house is set way back.

I'm not quite sure if on his way to the comic shop Gerard might want to cross over Kent Street to the even numbered side or whether he was lured across.

Let me know if you can see anything wrong with this. This is a current map, if we wanted to see it as it was back in 1997 Landgate maps are quite good. I think for this smallish section though, it might do.

EDIT: I think Gerard did have to cross the road anyway to get to the comic shop and the park where he was to meet his brother closer to the foreshore. The plan was to meet at 'the little park' where his brother would remove his roller blades and they'd go into the comic shop together.

 

[Kurve]

Does anyone know if anything is held at Churchill Park, such as something during the October school holidays? Some sort of a show or festival.

I couldn't find a calendar for the school holidays in 1997 and in looking at the 2020s calendar and realising the date Gerard disappeared wasn't on school holidays, it appeared that school holidays had likely finished. The podcast though, refers to the Ross family taking Gerard out of school before the school holidays started.

That makes sense because the circus didn't come to town until AFTER Gerard vanished. The circus is more likely to come through the school holidays.

The circus probably set up Churchill Park later.

 

[ms finch]

Gerard was holidaying at 105, I couldn't fit it into the map but it's on the same side as 99 where the last confirmed sighting of Gerard was previously reported. The witness Rose backed out of 72. The suspects car was parked on the verge at 68 facing towards 105 where Gerard had come from.

68 will be in between 70 and 66 on the map but it isn't showing on this. There is a number 67 but I think that's actually behind 68 Kent Street and refers to the street address on Rockingham Beach Road where the house is set way back.

I'm not quite sure if on his way to the comic shop Gerard might want to cross over Kent Street to the even numbered side or whether he was lured across.

Let me know if you can see anything wrong with this. This is a current map, if we wanted to see it as it was back in 1997 Landgate maps are quite good. I think for this smallish section though, it might do.

EDIT: I think Gerard did have to cross the road anyway to get to the comic shop and the park where he was to meet his brother closer to the foreshore. The plan was to meet at 'the little park' where his brother would remove his roller blades and they'd go into the comic shop together.

View attachment 992697

Thanks for the map. My guess is that Gerard was spotted by people in the vehicle as he was walking towards them down the street. If there were no other cars or people at the time they may have reacted opportunistically. Then along comes Ms Jurek and they have to make the decision whether to continue or let him go.

I can see Gerard crossing the road at any point really. Given they boys’ ages and the fact that one of them was skating/blading, his parents may have even directed them across the street and told them to go directly starting on that side.

 

[ms finch]

To follow on from this, it implies investigators are of the belief that the person who abducted Gerard, a psychopath with the brazenness to offend in broad daylight, is the same man with the attributes of the psychopath who killed him.

I don't think that takes away from the lady's statement there were two men involved in the abduction even if, while crediting her witness account as important, the focus appears to go off there being two offenders and narrows onto one.

It sounds to me from what you posted previously that police believe one of the people involved in Gerard’s abduction and death was incredibly psychopathic. I agree that this doesn’t detract from the possibility that two were involved at the beginning. I also think that potentially the person/people who took Gerard may have been just bold and brazen, but the person he was handed off to was psychopathic. I’m constantly amazed at how brazen paedophiles rings are, and while every single person involved is despicable, I don’t think they are all psychopaths.