'Slow and Methodical Search' For Bodies of Beaumont Children

Police gave waiting media an update on the afternoon of Friday, February 2, hours after excavators broke ground at a factory site in North Plympton, Adelaide, searching for the remains of three children who went missing in 1966.At about 1pm, Detective Chief Inspector Greg Hutchins said diggers had uncovered about one metre of top fill soil during a “slow and methodical” process and had reached “sandy” soil, similar to that located in a previous dig. Earlier in the day, he met the media at the dig site early on Friday morning, stating an “anomaly” had been found.During the afternoon briefing, Hutchins said an expert from Flinders University needed another 80 centimetres to hit a point where an “anomaly” was detected and forensic experts could conduct investigations.ABC reported police excavated a different part of the site in 2013 but were unsuccessful in uncovering anything. Police decided in January 2018 to conduct further excavations after a pair of brothers told police they were asked by Harry Phipps, a now deceased businessman who owned the site at the time, to dig a hole there.Jane, Arnna and Grant Beaumont, aged 9, 7 and 4 years old respectively at the time of their disappearance, had spent a day at Glenelg Beach on Australia Day, January 26, and never returned home.It is believed the siblings were taken by a tall, blonde, suntanned man, but no trace has been found of the children, and the mystery has baffled authorities for five decades. Hutchins said “victim contact officers” would liaise with the father of the three children in the afternoon.“Everyone’s got their fingers crossed for the sake of the family; the rest of the state and country,” a visibly emotional Hutchins said. “This is a significant event in South Australia. We would all love to be able to solve it.” Credit: SA Police News via Storyful