Sarah Brown

Sarah Elise Brown vanished while walking to the shops in Victory Heights, Gympie on June 7, 2021. Seven days later, her body was found in bushland off Bartons Road. Police ruled her death a suicide by hanging, but disturbing anomalies — a phone with a smashed screen and missing SIM card, minimal decomposition inconsistent with seven days deceased, and a wrist condition that her mother says made it physically impossible for Sarah to tie a knot — have fuelled a relentless campaign for the truth. In January 2025, the Queensland Coroner reopened the investigation after new evidence emerged.

On June 7, 2021, 23-year-old Sarah Elise Brown was last seen leaving her home in Victory Heights, a suburb of Gympie in Queensland, reportedly walking to the local shops. She never returned. Two days later, on June 9, Sarah was officially listed as a missing person after she failed to meet her mother, Janet Gardner, who had driven eight hours to view a rental property with her daughter.

For a week, Janet Gardner, friends, and Queensland Police searched for Sarah. On Monday, June 14, 2021, at approximately 11am, her body was discovered in bushland off a dirt road near the Victory Trails hiking network in Gympie.

Queensland Police quickly ruled Sarah's death a suicide by hanging. However, her mother Janet Gardner immediately disputed this finding, pointing to multiple anomalies that she believes indicate foul play.

Key anomalies identified include: investigating officers initially questioned the death themselves, citing a lack of decomposition that was inconsistent with a body that had been deceased for seven days in Queensland conditions. Sarah's mobile phone was found with a smashed screen and its SIM card missing. Sarah suffered from a condition known as "drop wrist" which severely limited the movement of her wrist and fingers — her mother argues this made it physically impossible for Sarah to tie the knot required.

CCTV footage purportedly shows a figure walking down a road with a phone flashlight toward the area where Sarah's body was found, but Janet Gardner has stated it is impossible to confirm the figure is Sarah and that the timing does not align with what she believes were her daughter's last movements.

While police acknowledged Sarah was a drug user who lived with mental health issues including anxiety, her mother maintains that Sarah's health and physical limitations made suicide in this manner highly unlikely.

Janet Gardner spent years gathering evidence independently — scouring social media, taking screenshots of comments, and recording conversations of people she suspected were involved. She compiled more than 100 pages of information and documentation which she shared with former Queensland Police detective turned private investigator Graeme Crowley.

In April 2024, Crowley launched the investigative podcast "Who Killed Sarah Brown?" which has now produced 11 episodes examining the circumstances of Sarah's death. The podcast has generated significant public interest and community tips, with listeners naming individuals they believe were responsible for Sarah's disappearance.

On September 27, 2023, the Queensland State Coroner initially found no evidence of third-party involvement and did not support a coronial inquest. However, following the podcast investigation and the emergence of new evidence, the Queensland Coroner announced in January 2025 that the investigation into Sarah Brown's death would be reopened.

The matter remains ongoing. The Queensland Coroner's Court has stated that as the matter is subject to an ongoing police investigation in relation to family concerns, no material will be released at this stage.