The Disappearance of Margaret Clement – Lady of the Moor (7 photos)

Modern mystery lovers continue to puzzle over the mystery of the disappearance of this woman, who remained in history as the Swamp Lady.





Was it murder? Or an accident? These and other questions still arise in the case of the disappeared Australian Margaret Clement, who went down in history as the Lady of the Swamp.



Margaret and her sisters

Margaret's life turned out well thanks to chance. Her father was a simple shepherd. On occasion, he acquired several shares in a gold mine. Securities rose sharply in price. Suddenly the family could afford a lot: expensive things, travel, the best schools for the children.

Tullari mansion on the swamp





Clement family house surrounded by swamp

Her father died in 1890. And in 1907, Margaret and her sister bought Tullari, a mansion with two dozen luxurious rooms in South Gippsland. It was really chic, but its location was quite specific - remote and surrounded by swamps.

Margaret traveled widely and enjoyed a wealthy life until the 1920s, when it turned out that the people the women had entrusted with managing their assets turned out to be fraudsters who had run away with most of the funds.

There was no other way out: the bulk of Tullari’s property had to be sold for debts. As a result, the situation worsened, and Margaret and her sister had to eat the cheapest food and watch in pain in their hearts the desolation of their once luxurious mansion.

Hard times



Margaret

By the 1950s, the money had practically run out. By that time, her sister had passed away, and Margaret was left alone in the mansion. Although there was not even electricity in the house, not to mention basic household items.

Eventually the situation became so dire that Margaret was almost forced to sell the land. The woman moved to a small house on the estate. Here she spent her time reading books and taking care of her beloved dog.

On May 22, 1952, Margaret mysteriously disappeared. The only creature close to us, a beloved dog, had been found two weeks earlier with its throat cut.



Unsuccessful searches

Did she wander into the swamp and perhaps become a victim of its inhabitants? Did she commit suicide? Or, as circumstantial evidence shows, was the woman killed?

The most significant evidence turned out to be a simple but important thing - a wooden cane, without which Margaret never left the house. The cane remained in place, at home. That is, Margaret did not leave the house of her own free will, wherever she went, since she did not take her cane with her.

A local resident was suspected. But no one was ever brought to justice because no body or other clear evidence was found.

Swamp Lady never found



Margaret with her beloved dog

The Australian media made a fuss about Margaret's mysterious disappearance. One of the reporters called her the Lady from the Swamp, and every slightest clue or guess found a lively response in society and gave rise to a lot of new versions and theories.

The skeletal remains discovered in 1978 were found to be those of an Aboriginal woman, not Margaret. The Swamp Lady is missing - that's a fact. Where and why? It was never possible to obtain answers to these questions.