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Det Insp Stamper doesn’t easily let go of things either. He worked in the squad 15 years ago, and returned recently to manage the team, hoping to finally get answers about some of the missing people he tried to locate back then, as a detective senior constable. His resolve to locate those still missing hasn’t wavered with time. One of those is Kath Bergamin who went missing from her Wangaratta home on 18 August, 2002. “Sadly we haven’t found her, but we’re still actively looking,” he said. “It’s an investigation that’s solvable.”
“There are people who repeatedly go missing and do so for a range of reasons,” he said. “Family violence, financial troubles, or they just want to get away.” This was the case for a middle-aged Collingwood man’s disappearance. “He was leading a quiet life in a share house,” Det Insp Stamper said. “He disappeared and it wasn’t long before someone started to sell off all his property. “His car was sold to wreckers, other goods at pawn shops. It was all highly suspicious.” They feared the worst, but a week later, while police were investigating the possible homicide, the man was found sleeping rough in Melbourne’s CBD. “It turned out he just wanted to get away from his life for a while,” Det Insp Stamper said. “It was a win. We found him alive. “We learn something from every case.” There are 15 detectives in the MPS including a number of part-timers, and Det Insp Stamper is proud to say they are a good mix. “We manage investigations as a team. When you need it, everybody pulls together and gives all to the work.” Detective Leading Senior Constable Anna Dickinson has been in the squad for just over two and a half years, working part-time and has just signed off on her first murder charge.
While she’s worked on many cases in her 17 years in policing, the mother of four boys under seven said it was a proud moment to put her signature on the charge sheet for the murder charge. “It is the most serious offence – someone’s death by suspicious circumstances, where foul play is suspected,” she said. Some of the cases being investigated by the MPS occurred more than 20 years ago. “The passage of time makes these cases a challenge, and also makes them interesting,” Det Ldg Sen Const Dickinson said. Fifty years ago two teenagers went missing from Bendigo. At the time it was suggested the teenagers had run away together, but Det Ldg Sen Const Dickinson is still searching for the truth. In any current missing persons case, investigators can have a huge number of witnesses, but for cold cases, witnesses have often passed away, forgotten or moved away. DNA evidence was uncommon prior to the mid-1980s. “Often it is people who help solve things like this,” she said. “Loyalties change and perceptions of people change over time. “Especially as a mother, I cannot imagine not knowing what happened to my child or where they were. That would really affect me. “The unsolved jobs really stick with you. You get to know the victims and their lives, their relationships. I’d love to solve this for the families.”
A $1 million reward is offered for information about her disappearance. With advances in DNA technology constantly improving, police are hopeful they can one day reunite the families of those who are missing with their loved ones. “Families never give up, and neither do we,” Det Insp Stamper said. He points to one of his staff who has a brief of evidence open in front of him. The detective closes it discreetly, keen not to share the details of the case, but says it is “almost there”. “He gets a call every couple of months from the family of a woman who went missing in 1984,” Det Insp Stamper said. “They want to know that we haven’t forgotten, and we haven’t.” Missing Persons Week runs from Sunday, 29 July to Saturday, 4 August, aiming to raise awareness of missing persons. Find out more about current Victorian missing persons, rewards for information and more at vicpolicenews.com.au/ missing-persons
If you have any information about missing persons, call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Image Looking for answers 01 T he MPS's Det Ldg Sen Const Dickinson, Det Insp Stamper, Detective Senior Constable Matthew Heffer and Detective Sergeant Angela Hantsis search for people who have gone missing in suspicious circumstances. Editorial: Maria Carnovale Photography: Nicki Connolly POLICE LIFE | WINTER 2018
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