Woman who vanished 30 years ago may have been killed by a taxi driver (2024)

A woman who disappeared 30 years ago as she waited for help after her car ran out of petrol may have been murdered by a taxi driver.

Sharron Phillips was 20 years old when she vanished from Wacol, in Brisbane's southwest, in May 1986 after she called her boyfriend to pick her up.

Police began searching for remains near a creek in Carole Park on Tuesday after a tip-off, and now a man has come forward with specific information about herdisappearance.

It is understood a man told police his father, ataxidriver, may be responsible for the 20-year-old's death, The Courier Mail reported.

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Police said that some of the new information provided by the man was able to beverified.

The young shop assistant was last seen at about 11pm at a telephone box near the Wacol Railway Station after her car apparently ran out of fuel on nearby Ipswich Road.

She has not been seen since and is presumed dead.

Police began excavating a section of the roadway at Cobalt Street in the Ipswich suburb of Carole Park, about 19km south-west of Brisbane, on Tuesday morning after a tip-off from a 'credible witness'.

'We're looking for Sharron's remains – the information is specific that she has been buried out here,' Acting Detective Superintendent Damien Hansen of the Homicide Group told reporters at the scene.

'The area that we are interested in is the drains that go under the roadway here.'

Some 100 cubic metres of soil will be removed from drains during the search, which is expected to last about a week.

Detective Superintendent Damien Hansen said the tip-off was credible.

'The aspects of what they say have been verified in a lot of detail from previous investigations,' he said at the site on Tuesday.

'We had not spoken to this person previously ... the person has come forward because of their conscience.'

The cold case took a shock twist earlier this month when three of her siblings called for police to investigate their father's alibi.

Ms Phillips' father Bob, who died last year, claimed he was in NSW picking up a truck on the night - an alibi that has since been questioned by his other children.

Ms Phillips' sister Donna Anderson says for at least five years she has been trying to convince authorities to listen to her doubts.

'We all know that Dad was not honest, I'm sorry,' she told the ABC.

'We all know that Dad was violent and sadly I think there's an even darker side to him.'

Ms Anderson wants a new inquiry into the matter and for authorities to also search land near her parent's home at Riverview.

Acting Det Supt Hansen said police need lawful grounds for the investigation to progress and cannot act on someone's 'gut feeling'.

Retired detective Bob Dallow, who investigated the case, has handed over the diaries of Mr Phillips' wife Dawn, who died in 2010, to police.

The diaries were reportedly included, unknowingly, in a pile of old books given to him by Mr Phillips and contained phrases such as 'I'm sick of telling lies' and 'keep your mouth shut'.

A $250,000 reward remains on offer for anyone who provides information leading to an arrest and conviction.

'We have confirmed previously that any new evidence or information provided to us that could further our investigation would be followed up and investigated accordingly,' added Supt Hansen.

An inquest was held two years after her disappearance - several people have been questioned over the cold case but no charges have ever been laid.