Kirste Gordon
Four-year-old Kirste and family friend Joanne Ratcliffe, 11, were snatched during a football match at Adelaide Oval on August 25, 1973 – and Kirste’s mum Christine is still desperate for answers.
“It’s been nearly 44 years since our Kirste was taken from us, but it seems like yesterday. Someone, somewhere knows something and one day, that somebody may want to clear their conscience and contact police.
“When the girls were abducted, they’d gone to the toilet and witnesses say a man picked up Kirste. Joanne went to her rescue, so he took her too. Those early days were devastating, but we always thought we’d find her. Now we know we’re looking for a body and we’ve had to come to grips with that.
“Occasionally I get down the box filled with hundreds of cards from strangers, and reading their messages helps keep me together. My husband Greg and I aren’t into vengeance – it’s soul destroying and takes up too much time and life. It’s possible the perpetrator is not with us anymore and if he’s had a bad life, then that’s maybe why he’s gone.
“I haven’t finished crying. Certain little things still set me off, like hearing a song she used to sing – always out of tune.
“I hope we can bring both girls home, though I feel Kirste is so much with us anyway that maybe she’s already home.”