This may be Australia s most extraordinary missing person s story. It s a tale that takes place under the shadow of two murder trials and traverses the nation - crossing four states and touching multiple families. It s a story of fake identities, a disappearing husband and much-loved father-of-four, and the longing of his now adult children, who can t piece together the puzzle. The twisted tale of Stephen Thompson s vanishing begins just before Christmas, 1965. It began a December day like any other as the Thompson children - Ron, 14, Colin, 13, Judy, 12, and Maree, five - happily bundled off to school. None of them had any inkling that when they returned to the family home in Edgeworth, Newcastle, NSW, their lives would be forever changed.