I feel like something bad
is gonna happen to me.
I feel like something bad
has happened.
It hasn't reached me yet
but it's on its way.
I don't know why
it's important...
...like, how it helps people
to deal with loss...
...by making up stories
about ghosts or whatever.
Alice kept secrets.
She kept the fact
she kept secrets a secret.
It's hard for some people
to understand.
You've to believe
you're to blame...
...otherwise there's
nothing to hold on to.
Emergency services.
My daughter Alice
has gone. We need...
She's been missing.
Send someone up.
I need you to talk
to me for a second.
Can you hear me?
The normally tranquil setting
of Ararat's novel dam...
...was shattered
with the disappearance...
...of 1 6 year-old
Alice Palmer...
...while picnicking.
We received a call
around 6 p.m. tonight...
...over a missing girl.
Upon discovering the nature
of the situation...
...we called in the search
and rescue divers.
Police divers entered
the water around 1 0...
...with volunteers joining
a fruitless search.
They'd swum out
to the middle of the dam.
I could see them
from where I was sitting...
...in the picnic area.
I think I'd been
in the water 1 5 min...
...and I said I'd get out
because I was cold.
So l started swimming back and
she didn't come out with me...
...she said she'd stay there.
l remember Matty got out.
A few minutes later
l heard him ask...
...where was Alice.
So l stood up and
looked out across the dam.
The water was
completely still.
So I called out.
I looked out
over the water...
...to see if I could see her.
And both the boys had
kind of checked...
...you know,
the bush land behind.
l could see Alice's towel.
She'd left it on the ground.
She clearly hadn't gone
out of the water...
...because she would've
picked up her towel.
That was the last time
that l saw her.
Police continue to hold
their search...
...for 1 6 year-old
Alice Palmer...
...who disappeared while
picnicking with her family.
We were told to go home.
lf the search and rescue
divers found anything...
...then they'd let us know
immediately.
It felt very strange
in the car on the way home...
...because there was
one empty seat.
One minute she was there
and then...
...gone.
I went back to stay
with the Palmer's that night.
We were just mostly waiting.
Waiting for news...
...and for bad news.
There was that expectation.
We got a call from Russell
on his mobile...
...at about 9 o'clock at night.
He said there'd been
an accident at the dam...
...and Alice had gone missing.
So, we thought...
...we'd better go.
l remember June was
a bit funny...
...about seeing lris.
There was a strange
feeling between them.
lt felt a little strange
having my mother there.
Mum, l and,
therefore, Alice.
It just didn't feel like
the right order of things.
It was an awful,
awful night.
Worse night of our lives.
I went into Alice's room
later that night.
Her phone went off
a couple of times...
...but I didn't answer it.
I remember the bed
was made.
I remember thinking
how neat everything looked.
I got a call from
Alice's mum, June.
She'd said that Alice
was missing...
...and presumed
that she drowned.
l did not believe her...
...but, I don't know,
it was hard to take...
...so I actually called
Alice's mobile.
l just...
l wanted to see if it was
a joke or something.
A real shock.
Just didn't really feel
like it was real.
Everything was the same
as always...
...but people were saying
that Alice had drowned.
Are there memories from
that night stand out for you?
l remember we had
the porch light on.
We still do, actually,
just in case.
And why is that?
Just in case she comes home,
l guess.
Divers located Alice's body
at approximately 9:25 p.m.
They used sonar to locate her.
She drifted someway...
...and came to rest
on a shelf...
...at the bottom
of the storm water system.
Obviously we contacted
the family immediately.
As soon as we were told
they'd found the body...
...June and I went down
to the dam.
It was all very official
and formal.
They asked me to sign a
statement of identification.
June stayed in the car.
On reflection, l think
that was a mistake...
...because she didn't
have any closure.
I just couldn't bring myself
to identify Alice's body.
She'd been underwater
all that time.
l guess it's not how l...
I didn't want to remember her
that way.
l thought it
my responsibility...
...as Allie's dad, you know?
That's what a father does.
The car stalled on the way
back from the dam.
The only gear I could
get into was reverse.
So we drove back to town
in reverse...
...which was either that
or walk...
...and given everything
that had happened...
...it seemed like
the better option, really.
The autopsy was performed
on the 27 th.
Then the coroner
released the body...
...on Tuesday the 28th.
It was very strange...
...spending Christmas day
with the family there...
...while Alice lay alone
in the morgue.
I don't know, it was like I
hadn't seen her for a week.
lt didn't feel real.
Death takes everything,
eventually.
It's the meanest, dumbest
machine there is.
It keeps coming
and it doesn't care.
There's nothing else to know
about it, really.
It was a somber day
for the family...
...and friends of Alice Palmer
who gathered to pay...
...their final respects
to a young woman taken too soon.
She was a great person.
Very popular...
...clever, lovely.
Alice is remembered as
a happy, fun-loving girl...
...with a zest for life.
Described as always...
The Palmer's were really
doing tough at the time.
l think about how bad
it was back then...
...it was hard to imagine
how worse it would get.
the 1 5th of January...
...stuff started happening
around the house.
Noises on the roof.
Sounds coming outside
the windows...
...and other movements
that seemed to come...
...from Allie's old room.
So we rehung the door...
...to Allie's room and
we got a pest controller...
...to come in and check
for termites.
It didn't help at all.
Doors kept slamming...
...and we still kept getting
noises from her room.
There was just something
weird about that house.
It had a fairly strange
feeling about it...
...I can't explain to you
what it was exactly.
You'd go in there
and have this bad feeling...
...in your gut.
I started having
these nightmares...
...and they were
so distressing...
...that sometimes
I wouldn't want...
...to open my eyes.
l'd woken up but l didn't
want to open my eyes.
There was one particular one.
It was quite vivid...
...and recurring. Alice would
come down the hall...
...still dripping
from the dam...
...and just stand at
the foot of our bed...
...staring at us.
It was quite terrifying.
As I said, I didn't want
to open my eyes.
By early February...
...my nightmares were
getting so bad that...
...I began to go
for walks at night...
...sometimes
for hours at a time.
Just so that I didn't
have to go to bed...
...close my eyes
and go to sleep.
Sometimes, I'd actually
go into people's houses.
I didn't feel like I was
doing anything wrong.
l guess l really wanted to be
in someone else's life.
Do you remember
how Russell was doing?
Yeah, Russell was
working a lot.
At that point, I think
it might've helped him...
...with his grief.
Russell and I met
on a project in '98.
We worked together.
You've known each
other for years?
Yeah, a good few years.
Do you remember him
after Alice's death?
-What changed?
-It was work as normal.
It was troubling, I didn't
know what to say.
Did you notice a breakdown?
Not really. Everyone grieves
in their own way.
lt wasn't really my place
to tell him how to feel...
...but l certainly
was concerned.
I was really grateful
that I had my work.
l felt really guilty
about that at the time...
...but l just wanted
to get on with it.
One night in late February,
I came home from work...
...and I was sitting
in the kitchen.
I heard a noise coming
from Allie's room.
So I went into Allie's room.
I don't really know why...
...but l found myself
sitting down on the chair...
...in front of the dresser.
Before l could work out
what l was doing...
...Allie walked in.
She went over to her desk,
sharpened a pencil...
...and looked like
she was checking...
...for text messages
on her phone.
l was completely
freaked out.
She was completely
oblivious to my presence.
l don't know
what happened...
...l must've moved the bed
or squeaked my shoes...
...but she went
completely rigid.
l knew then that she knew
that l was there.
She slowly turned around,
looked me right in the eye...
...fully for what felt
like forever...
...and then she just
came at me.
Stood up and said:
''Get out! Get out!''
l got up and ran out
as fast as l could.
l could hear Russell crying.
He was here in the kitchen...
...Mathew and l
found him in here.
He was sobbing.
He was absolutely
inconsolable.
Did you believe Russell
when he said he saw a ghost?
Yeah, l do. l believe
he saw what he saw.
He's not the kind of man
to make something up.
So, l believe he saw something.
Whether it's a real ghost
or not, l don't really know...
...but l'm sure
he saw something.
I remember trying
to talk to members...
...of the church about
how to help June...
...and how to help
the Palmers.
There didn't seem to be
anything we could do.
I think part
of the reason was...
...because they weren't
church-goers...
...and didn't know how
to offer them comfort.
I don't even know
what June believes in.
l found myself mostly
concerned about Mathew.
I guess because those two
were always so close.
I was worried
how he would cope.
I remember he was
spending more time alone.
We were worried about him.
Mathew came in with some
unusual bruises on his body.
Unusual in terms
of distribution and depth.
We obviously took a history
trying to exclude trauma...
...but there was no history
he was able to give us.
We tested him for vasculitis,
excluded poisoning...
...or toxins in his system.
We were unable to turn up
anything conclusive...
...and several weeks
after the bruises...
...resolved spontaneously,
we were never really able...
...to establish a cause
for them.
My name is Steve Wilkie.
I'm Mathew's best friend.
l usually stay at Mathew's
two or three times a week.
We started a band together.
We normally play music
at my house.
Mathew seems
to be quieter...
...but he was always
very quiet.
I guess there weren't
warning bells going off.
I'd heard about June
going into people's houses...
...and Mathew never wanted
to talk about any of that.
l never asked him
about any of it.
I know that he was always
interested in photography.
At this time he was
starting to pursue it...
...with more passion.
Mathew was very keen
to learn about photography...
...so I was more
than willing to help out.
That's what I do.
He was picking my brains
about anything...
...from equipment,
to techniques, lighting.
He was a great learner
and employee.
Mathew, can you talk
to me about...
...the photographs
of the backyard...
...that you've been taking?
Yeah, basically l've taken
that same photo...
...with that composition
every three months...
...for the past four years.
It's just a photograph
of the backyard...
...looking out,
you can see the hills.
It's like a little project
that I set up...
...for myself
when we got here.
What was in the April 28th
photo that was different?
Well, it was basically
the same shot...
...but it would appear...
...that Alice is standing
against the fence.
Remember what the reaction
was at the house?
I wouldn't say
the mood was good...
...but it was better
than before.
lt was like it gave us
something to focus on.
All of this.
The photographs were
taken on the 3rd of April...
...they were developed
on the fourth...
...l looked at them
on the fifth...
...and looked at the dams
and water levels.
l was quite happy
but the following night...
...it was pointed out
to me by my wife...
...that there was
something in the background.
This image came up.
When I first looked
at the photograph...
...I didn't know
what to make of it.
The image was quite unsettling
because it certainly...
...looked like Alice.
It was an incredibly
discomforting image.
l became convinced
that Alice was still alive.
I didn't have any
rational explanation...
...for who was
in those photos.
But l did notice something
about Alice that June didn't.
l'd seen Alice's body.
l didn't think
she was alive.
l knew she wasn't.
l became convinced that
Russell made a mistake.
He himself said it didn't
look like anybody anymore.
June was so convinced
that l'd made a mistake...
...that l actually started
having doubts myself.
l started to think maybe...
...l'd made up in my mind
it was Alice's body...
...before l looked.
The circumstances were
so compelling to me...
...that l decided it was her.
More than 3 months
after the funeral...
...of Ararat teenager
Alice Palmer...
...her grieving parents
formally requested...
...her body be exhumed
from the cemetery.
Has been
some contention...
...from the Palmer family
about the accuracy...
...of the original
body identification.
June and Russell Palmer
were adamant...
...that DNA testing
be carried out.
They couldn't be sure
the body they identified...
...was indeed Alice.
Alice's body was exhumed
in the presence...
...of the funeral director,
Dr. Slatter.
There was a representative
from the coroner's office.
It was transported
to Ararat's hospital...
...where they took
DNA samples...
...and she stayed there
till the results came back.
A few days later,
we received a copy...
...of the coroner's full
preliminary report...
...and Alice's identity
was confirmed...
...by the DNA sample.
It was only after
they'd confirmed...
...it was Alice's body
that I realized...
...how much l'd invested
in the possibility...
...of it not being her.
l can't tell you
how much l...
...wanted there to have been
a terrible mistake...
...even if it had been mine.
Really, really wanted there
to have been...
...someone else's kid
in that dam...
...runaway or murder victim.
Anyone else's...
...as long as it wasn't my kid.
As long as it wasn't Alice.
Alice was reburied
two days later...
...on the 7 th of June.
But the question remained.
Who or what
was in those photos?
I continued to hear things.
-What did you hear?
-l was hearing noises.
They were relentless.
l heard them in the hallway...
...so I thought I'd set up
a camera to see...
...if I see anything.
If I see something.
The first night
I looked back...
...and there was footage
of a figure...
...moving from the room,
across the hallway...
...to the front door.
You're on Voice FM,
two minutes past eight.
I'm Helen Bath
and we're taking calls...
...with psychic consultant
Ray Kemeny.
Next, we have Nigel
on the line, Ray.
Hi, Nigel, how are you?
What can I do for you?
It was around that time
that I decided...
...to seek out the advice
of Ray Kemeny.
I had heard Ray
on the radio over the years.
Opinion was quite divided.
Some thought he was
the real deal...
...others were unconvinced.
Next, we have Annie
on the line.
Hi, Annie, how are you?
Thanks for taking
my call, Ray.
My pleasure.
What can l do for you?
I just wanted
a general reading.
General?
Not just medical?
I'm Hungarian by birth.
My parents came out here
when I was quite young.
I have a 1 5 year-old daughter
who lives...
...with her mother
in south Australia.
My Christian name
is actually Scholtz...
...but I changed it to Ray.
I think it's a more
trustworthy name for a psychic.
Australia's psychic of choice.
Most of what I do
is when I'm dealing...
...with the sick or dying,
they're a third of my clients.
lt allows them the possibility
that death isn't the bitter end.
lt's not the full stop...
...which is a consolation
l'm happy to give them...
...considering the fact
that what happens...
...after death is
up for grabs anyway.
lt's somebody very
close to you.
Someone you haven't
seen for a while.
Someone who's going
to come back to your life.
Someone who'll be
of great comfort to you.
Anyone fits that bill?
Yeah, I can think
of someone.
l won't lie to you, Annie,
l can see obstacles here.
I think that this person
who's coming back to you...
...is going to make
a great difference...
...and will be
of great solace to you.
Thank you.
See you, Annie.
Where I come from,
when someone dies...
...they block out
the mirrors in the house...
...to stop the dead
from finding their way back.
Things like that
make a difference.
Hello, l'm Ray.
lt's okay to die, Annie.
lt's just the start
of something else.
lt's all right.
I liked Ray immediately.
He wasn't what I expected.
l don't know what
l really expected...
...but there was nothing
kind of spooky...
...or fake about him.
Okay, ready?
Want you to close your eyes.
I usually videotape
my sessions...
...so they can be
reviewed by the clients...
...especially when there's
elements of trance...
...or hypnotism involved.
I keep a copy for myself
and one for them.
Better to be safe than sorry.
Okay, so you're standing
outside your house.
Tell me what you see.
My house.
It's a white house.
I'm walking towards
the front door.
l want you to go
inside the house.
l want you to move
slowly from the house.
l want you to describe
what you see...
...where you are,
give me a guided tour.
Okay, I'm walking
down the hallway...
...towards Alice's room.
What's there?
I can see Alice's shoes
outside her room.
What does that mean
for you, June?
She always used to leave
her sneakers out of her room.
I want you to go inside
her room now.
Open the door
and just move inside.
Do you feel safe enough
to go in to Alice's room?
-Okay.
-Now open the door.
I'm going inside her room.
You can see something,
can't you?
Tell me what you see, June.
She's...
Alice is sitting...
...on the wicker chair
at the end of her bed.
She looks up.
I first met Ray when...
...June brought him
home for dinner...
...the night of her
first consultation.
l'm completely indifferent
to psychics...
...l don't have a position
on them at all.
l barely mind having him
come to dinner...
...but I didn't want
to upset June.
He was a pleasant
sort of a bloke.
He wasn't spooky at all.
I was on my best behavior.
A few days later,
maybe a week later...
...l suggested to the family
that we hold a sance.
June was really keen
but l remember Russell just...
...flat out refused.
l think Mathew finally talked
his dad around.
Mathew, how did you feel
about having a sance?
At the time l was actually
quite interested...
...sort of curious.
l don't think Dad was thrilled
about the idea...
...but, yeah, l thought
it would be interesting...
...and l suggested
we filmed it.
And I recorded this
with a video camera...
...which is the PC9.
l'm getting a strong
presence in the room...
...in the house.
I think we all thought
the sance was a failure.
Ray didn't really
come up with anything...
...like any signs.
So after about an hour...
...we called it quits.
lt was not until
the next day...
...that Mathew was
reviewing the footage...
...that there was
an image of Alice.
Make your presence
known to us.
The new footage
was completely different...
...to the hallway footage.
For one, it was significantly
more detailed...
...so it was less ambiguous.
lt was impossible
to dismiss it...
...as a coincidence
of shadow play...
...or digital noise.
There was something
inexplicable in our house.
That was beyond doubt.
I was concerned.
This was pretty unfamiliar
territory for me...
...and that was terrifying.
Ray got Mathew
to help him set up...
...three permanent cameras
inside the house.
Recording in time lapse
configuration 24 hrs a day.
There'd been a lot
of speculation about Ray...
...what he was doing there.
When people don't know...
...it leads to a lot of talk.
l had heard rumors
throughout July...
...of video images reporting
an apparition in the house.
l was skeptical
as to their legitimacy.
And your view on Ray?
Also very skeptical.
l think they had me
as a Rasputin figure...
...mesmerizing the Palmers,
stealing their money...
...altering the photos
of Alice.
Happy birthday to you!
Mathew in particular
seemed to be...
...really struggling.
Happy birthday,
dear Mathew!
I thought I might be able
to help by being there.
That's it. My main
motivation was professional.
Something was happening...
...and l wanted to find out
what it was.
What was your reaction
to these images?
We were completely
gob smacked by them.
But before we had time
to take in what they meant...
...the Withers video
came out.
-Is it good?
-It's great.
-Can I have a look?
-Yeah, be careful.
Cathy and Doug
were at the dam...
...on April 3rd,
the same day...
...the Bob Smeet
photo was taken.
-Careful!
-What do you think I'll do?
Be careful.
Take my hand, babe.
lt was a couple
of months later...
...at the end of July...
...when we were looking
at our footage...
...that we'd shot at the dam
and kind of crossed...
There's a figure
in the background...
...which we identified
as Bob Smeet...
...which interested us
because we thought:
''Oh, it was the same day
he was there...
...when he captured the image
people were talking about.''
Then we went through
all our footage...
...to see if we'd captured
the figure as well...
...and we did.
To see if the camera saw
what Bob saw.
We did find a figure
in the background...
...like the image that
had been described...
...in his picture.
We looked more closely...
l got in right
on the computer...
...and from what could...
...have looked like
a female figure...
...from a long way away,
up close and tight...
...you could see it was
neither female or Alice.
It was Mathew.
Do you guys believe
in ghosts?
No. No.
This is where I was...
...when the Bob Smeet
photo was taken.
l was wearing Alice's jacket.
l looked up and l saw
a man on the hill...
...who turned out
to be Bob Smeet...
...and l didn't want
to be in the photo.
So, l walked off
through the bush...
...l didn't see there was
also a couple filming...
...who turned out
to be the Withers.
When this came out,
Dad came to me...
...and asked me
if I'd been involved...
...in anything else
and I didn't want to lie.
So, I told him.
I told Dad I was responsible
for the image...
...of Alice in the hallway
and the bedroom...
...and that I created
the April 28th photo...
...and the sance image.
I told him what I'd done.
I got two photos.
A photo of Alice
in the backyard...
...and I composited
the images.
That's a photo
l took of Alice.
Mum kept talking about
getting Alice exhumed...
...and she was keen
on this idea...
...of identifying her body.
So, l knew that without
more evidence...
...it wasn't going to happen.
l made the photograph.
I just used
an old video of Alice...
...and I played that
on the T. V.
I had the T. V. up
on the bookcase...
...it was as simple
as rotating the mirror...
...so that the reflection
of the T. V. came up.
The mirror is quite small
so I cropped out the edges...
...and I filmed that.
Same with the kitchen...
...and the bedroom,
what you see is Alice...
...on a television
in a mirror.
It wasn't about
trying to trick people.
I guess something
was better than nothing.
Do you think what you did
made it worse for June?
l think that...
Yeah. Yeah, l probably did
make it harder for her...
...but that wasn't
my intention.
l'm not quite so sure
about his reasons.
l don't know that l...
...totally...
l don't want to say l don't
believe what he said...
...I'm just not convinced
that he really knows...
...why he did it.
When it all came out...
...people wanted
to do stories, books...
...women's magazines,
the whole lot.
We just didn't know
how to handle it.
We had to protect Matty,
protect ourselves...
...protect Allie's memory.
We just didn't have
any experience...
...dealing with this interest
in something so personal...
...that people are
making incredibly public.
The Palmers weren't
coping well at all.
Things were very bad.
It was tough.
This was like the end
of hope for all of us...
...but especially for June.
She just really wasn't
ready to let Allie go.
She needed to hang on
to her a bit longer...
...and I don't think
she would admit it...
...but she was devastated.
She's an interesting girl.
She seemed to not get on
with June so well.
l thought they're quite alike.
lt's interesting how the two of
them did not get on so well.
They always seemed
very much alike.
You could see that Alice
took a lot after June.
Also, things got quite clear
after Alice's death...
...perhaps a sense
of deprivation...
...they shared.
Thanks for that.
June was, still is...
...keeps to herself a lot...
...and it became clear
that Alice did that too.
The sense of privacy,
the sense of their own life...
...that they'll choose
to share or not.
It's wonderful when
your children come...
...and that new expression
that you have...
...but as a mother
you always have doubts...
...that you're not doing
enough or the right thing.
I can only blame myself.
It comes from me.
It came from my mother.
I've never been able to...
I've never been able
to give myself wholly...
...to June.
I feel June is
a little like that too...
...that she couldn't give
herself wholly to Alice.
I hope Alice did know
how much I loved her.
I guess I held something
back a little as she grew.
That would be
the saddest thing...
...to think
she might not know.
Ray suggested that Mathew
accompany him...
...on one of his country
Victorian tours.
He was doing consultations...
...and Mathew jumped
at the chance.
I think I realized
when I was away...
...how much I missed Alice.
That I was never going
to speak to her again.
I guess that's something
all of Ray's clients...
...are coming to terms with.
They want to talk to someone
or contact someone they lost.
And so did I.
I was one of Ray's clients
in a way as well.
-Is the shot at you?
-No.
-Let's see what happens.
-What do you think?
It's going to hit me
and I'm going to get angry.
That's what'll happen.
No!
Watch yourself.
What are you doing
in my room?
I don't know.
When me and Ray
went on the tour...
...we left the two
rented cameras...
...where they were
in the hallway.
I was sure there was still
something in the house.
Obviously because we were
away for three days...
...we couldn't change
the tapes or anything.
We were probably
going to get...
...about a day and a half
of footage...
...but we left them running.
We got back August 22nd.
At which point,
we checked the tapes.
Only Russell and I
were in the house...
...when these images
were recorded.
We couldn't have had
anything to do with them.
They proved there was
a ghost in my house.
Alice's ghost.
Do you believe in ghosts?
Didn't used to.
lt's a hard thing to prove
or disprove.
l think...
Yeah, sometimes l think
maybe they do exist.
There are ghosts everywhere.
lt's a scary world.
l don't know why
it's important...
...like, how it helps people
to deal with loss...
...by making up stories
about ghosts or whatever.
It's a real question mark
over everything.
I went back and reviewed
all the footage...
...that had come before.
All the material taken
inside the house...
...following Alice's death.
It was while I watched
Mathew's June 1 3th...
...hallway material again,
that I noticed something.
There was a second figure,
not Matthew in the hallway...
...but someone else,
squatting in the dark...
...in Alice's room.
At first I thought
it was Alice...
...then I realized
it was our neighbor.
Brett Toohey.
What was this man
doing in my house...
...in my daughter's room,
six months after her death?
When I found Alice's safe...
...I realized exactly why
he'd been there.
He was looking for the tape.
That's it.
-Did you smoke?
-Yeah.
Getting nice and cozy
with Alice.
Alice began babysitting
for the Tooheys in 2002...
...and she continued for
the next two and a half years.
The Tooheys boys
were five and nine.
I literally could just
not believe my eyes.
It just made me feel
so sad.
As far as I'm concerned...
...the Tooheys were
complicit in Allie's death.
I believe if it hadn't
been for them...
...she would've reached
out to us.
Wouldn't
have felt guilty.
She wouldn't have felt
the burden of that.
She wouldn't
have been isolated.
How do you feel
towards Brett now?
lf he was around the corner
l'd throttle him.
He seemed like a nice guy.
He was nice.
We'd speak.
He was never mean.
He had a pool
at his place.
We used to swim there
sometimes.
Yeah, in summer.
You could go to his place
and swim there.
I was really bewildered
about what happened.
It took a lot to believe it.
l had no idea
that Alice would...
Be with somebody.
l know.
A complete surprise.
We never thought
she'd do something like that.
Why do you think
Alice had the tape?
She didn't want them
to have it.
Why is that?
Didn't trust them
anymore, l think.
He must've been really
desperate to get the tape.
From the moment
they'd heard...
...of Alice's death,
they must've been living...
...in constant fear
of being found out.
l'm glad he couldn't find it.
l'm glad he knows
it's not over.
Had a lot of dealings with the
Palmers during this time...
...as part of the investigating
team trying to locate...
...Brett and Marissa Toohey.
Initially,
we were optimistic...
...that they would be found
and charges laid...
...but unfortunately,
the case dried up...
...so investigation stalled.
The police advised us...
...that even if
the Tooheys were caught...
...they'd get off on
a suspended sentence...
...by claiming the sex
was consensual.
A claim supported
by the video.
Did you know about Alice's
involvement with Brett?
No. No one did.
Obviously l didn't.
We wouldn't have gone out
if l had any idea. No.
l thought we were
pretty good.
It left so many
unanswered questions.
Why was she involved
with him?
When did
the relationship begin?
Was he in love with her?.
I just don't know.
The Tooheys sold
their house and moved...
...six months
after Alice died.
Alice kept secrets.
She kept the fact
she kept secrets a secret.
lt does change the way
you see somebody...
...when you realize they did
hide things from you a bit.
I think I knew one Alice,
her mum knew another...
...and there was another one
that none of us knew.
I found Ray's business card
taped to Alice's diary...
...on the page
marked 1 2th July, 2005.
Why'd you come
to see me, Alice?
Can you interpret dreams?
Sometimes.
How do you feel when
you wake up from them?
They scare me a bit.
Alice came to see me
She called me on the radio
a few times...
...and then we made
the appointment.
Take a deep breath,
close your eyes.
Imagine you're standing
outside your house.
Tell me what you see.
-Okay?
-Yeah.
I want you to go inside
the front door.
Go into the house.
Tell me what you see...
...where you are.
Ray, why didn't you tell June
you'd met Alice before?
It was not a case
of hiding something.
I was honoring Alice's
request for confidentiality...
...but it was damned if you do,
damned if you don't.
The living room
is straight ahead.
Then you go to the right...
...and my room is in
the back part of the house...
...as you go
towards the kitchen.
Do you see anything
unusual or different?
No.
No, we didn't feel
we could trust Ray anymore...
...for whatever reasons
he may've had...
...of keeping that
information to himself.
lt still felt like a betrayal.
I wanted to help June
and the family.
I think they wanted me
to help them.
I wouldn't have been able
to do it had they known.
There was a bit of resentment.
Mathew wouldn't
even speak to me.
What l think hurt them
more than anything...
...was what they saw
as my failure...
...to see Alice's
imminent passing.
Looking back,
it's kind of strange...
...that someone would be
as close to us as he was.
I think he needed us
as much as we needed him.
Alice came to see me
because she was upset.
She was a very
troubled person.
''I had a dream last night.
I was cold and wet.
I felt heavy...
...like I'd been drugged.
When I woke up,
the sensations didn't go.
I was feeling sick
and confused...
...and I was starting
to get scared.
I needed to see Mum,
to talk to her.
I stumbled to her room
and as I stood there...
...over the bed
watching them...
...I was overcome
with this intense sadness.
Then the sadness turned
to fear.
l just stood there
paralyzed with fear...
...and l saw there's nothing
that they could do for me.
l'd never felt
so utterly alone.
Everything felt wrong.
My body...
...the way things looked,
then l realized...
...there was something
wrong with me.
I started to cry,
standing there at the bed. ''
Lake Mungo is in Southwestern,
New South Wales...
...and that was the location
of the school camp...
...that Alice went on from
August 2nd to 5th, 2005.
When she came home...
...she said she'd had
a good time.
I particularly remember it.
She came home without
her mobile phone...
...which we'd bought her
a month previously...
...and her favorite
bracelet and watch.
Other than that,
you know...
...she didn't really talk
about it much.
Wait up, guys!
Kate didn't show me
until a year after...
...she got back from camp
the stuff she'd taken.
Why did you decide
to tell June?
lf we didn't tell June...
...it'd be like we were
hiding something.
So, l don't know why.
l don't know why but...
...why not?
Jason told us about
the film footage...
...that the girls had
taken at Lake Mungo.
The girls were looking
so happy...
...but she looked
quite forlorn.
I was worried.
l was convinced that something
had happened to her.
Kate's phone footage
was taken later that night...
...once the girls had
spread out.
Anytime. Anywhere.
It's like Africa.
Like the desert.
There was an image
of Alice...
...very hard to decipher
at the bottom of the frame...
...kneeling under a tree.
It was only after viewing
the clip several times...
...that we realized
what she was doing.
She was burying something.
Did you know what
would've happened...
...that night with Alice?
No.
l knew she'd lost her phone.
l knew she was upset...
...because that was
pretty obvious...
...but l didn't know
why she was upset.
She didn't say that
she'd seen anything...
...she didn't really say
anything to me.
I didn't really take it
that seriously at the time.
lt was like context.
We were just having
a good time...
...and l just thought
she got a bit upset.
It started simply enough.
Alice left the group...
...and started walking off
by herself...
...but it was obviously,
something was distressing her.
We wanted to try
and find out what it was.
We understood
from the footage...
...that she had
buried something.
We had no idea
where that tree was...
...because of what
we could see in the video.
We didn't really wanna
go down during the day...
...because we didn't want
to be digging...
...where tourists were.
We decided to go at night.
June and I started digging
and after a bit...
...June said she'd found
something...
...and pulled out
a plastic bag.
Inside the plastic bag
there was...
...Allie's favorite necklace,
her ring, her watch...
...her mobile phone.
Her most precious things...
...buried out here
on a school camp.
We didn't know
why she did that.
We knew from the video
that she'd buried something...
...but we didn't know
what it was.
lt was low on battery.
You scared of dying?
Yeah, of course
I'm scared of dying.
Isn't everyone
scared of dying?
Would you like to tell me
what happens in the dreams?
I feel like something bad
is gonna happen to me.
I feel like something bad
has happened.
It hasn't reached me yet
but it's on its way.
And it's getting closer...
...and I don't feel ready.
I feel like
I can't do anything.
At some point,
this figure came towards her...
...from out of the darkness.
I recognized the face
as soon as I saw it...
...on the phone video.
It was the same face...
...of the body I had
identified at the dam.
It was Allie's body.
Allie's face.
There's absolutely
no rational explanation...
...for what she saw
on that phone.
Oh, my God!
It's raining!
I'm convinced Alice knew
she was going to die.
I'm convinced of that.
I think the figure
at Lake Mungo...
...was an omen for her.
The burial of her possessions
was symbolic...
...it was a ritual.
I was never convinced
that Allie knew she'd die.
She had morbid thoughts,
sure, but who doesn't?
She had nightmares
that upset her...
...enough to consult Ray.
l don't know that anybody
is really convinced...
...that they're going to die.
What about the image
of Lake Mungo?
How do you think Alice
would've explained that?
How could she have
explained it?
l think Allie saw a ghost...
...but she wasn't to know
it was her own.
l believe she recorded
a ghost.
l believe she recorded
the future coming to get her.
We found out
about the Tooheys...
...Ray and what had
happened at Lake Mungo...
...and by the time
we returned home...
...the house felt different.
lt was calm.
I think Alice...
...wanted us to know
more about her.
She wanted us to know
who she really was...
...before she, you know,
before she could leave.
In the weeks and months
after Lake Mungo...
...we started to feel
like a family again.
It just crept up
on us, really...
...we were a bit wobbly...
...but a family all the same.
-Hello there.
-Russell, nice to see you.
You too. Come in.
Ray called out
of the blue...
...and said he'd be
coming through town...
...and asked if it was
alright if he could visit.
Six months had gone by
and I just felt...
...under the circumstances,
it couldn't do any harm.
I think we all felt
better after Mungo.
In a way,
it had been closure.
For each of us
it was different.
We made our own peace.
It seemed strange to me...
...that Allie should
withdraw so abruptly...
...and we didn't help her,
we didn't change anything...
...I think we collectively made
a decision to move forward.
Moving was a big part of it.
Starting all over.
It will be difficult
to leave the house.
Sometimes, you know,
l just forget that...
...she's not coming back.
l forget.
Okay, close your eyes.
Imagine that you're standing
outside the house.
Can you see it?
Go inside the house.
I'm going through
the front door.
I'm walking down the hall
towards Alice's room.
Someone's there.
I think someone's coming
down the hall.
The door is open.
Do you know who it is?
Do you wanna go inside?
Yeah.
Okay.
What do you see?
It's my mum.
What's she saying?
She's not saying anything.
l don't think she knows
l'm there.
Alice isn't here.
She's not here.
What's happening, Alice?
You talking to her?
ls she talking to you?
No, she's going now.
She's leaving the room.
She's gone.
Open your eyes.
She's going now.
She's leaving the room.
She's gone.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday,
dear Mathew!