In the heart of the Australian outback, a man and his canine companion
mysteriously seemed to vanish into thin air. With no clues, authorities are
baffled but as time goes on it appears that there were many bitter battles
between neighbours and foul play is suspected.
How could a man and his dog suddenly disappear from a settlement of only 11
residents? Tonight on Dark Curiosities, The Lost Companions of Larrimah: The
Vanishing of Kellie and Paddy Moriarty. The hamlet of Larrimah lies in
Australia's Northern Territory, 158 km south-east of Katherine and over 400 kilometres from Darwin - the capital
of the territory, on the edge of the Stuart Highway, notorious for the 2001
disappearance of Peter Falconio, a British tourist who was later found to
have been murdered. The stretch of road is also linked with numerous other
mysterious disappearances. With eleven people residing in Larrimah and the
average age being almost 70 it seems very much like a peaceful place to live,
however there have been strong suggestions that the neighbours feud
constantly with one another and interestingly, Australian Aborigines
refuse to visit or live there, adamant that the place is haunted. There are
only two places where the public could gather. The hotel and pub named the Pink
Panther and a cafe called Fran's Devonshire Teahouse, both businesses according to
locals and journalists are perpetually at war.
It was a 16th of December 2017, when 70 year-old Irish born labourer, Paddy
Moriarty and his red Kelpie cross named Kellie, travelled to the Pink Panther where
he was a regular customer. Kellie had only been with Paddy for three months
following the death of his beloved dog, Rover. Paddy's close friend Barry Sharpe
was the publican of the establishment and well-known for owning many exotic
creatures including rare birds, snakes and a saltwater crocodile named Sneaky
Sam, who became the main attraction of the Pink Panther. On that humid Saturday
in December 2017, Paddy had several rounds of alcoholic beverages and then
at some point estimated between 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
departed to return home, having also made an arrangement with Barry to collect his
lawn mower the next morning. He drove his quad bike to his residence which had
been a disused service station and put a leftover chicken which had been gifted
to Kellie by a tourist into the microwave. Sharpe and Moriarty followed a ritual
which they called 'going to church' which was just an event where they would meet
up in the front room of the Pink Panther to watch Landline, a television programme
which discussed issues in farming, fisheries and mining in Australia,
whilst drinking beer. Concern was raised when Paddy didn't appear to watch the
programme on the Sunday and never appeared to pick up the lawn mower.
Searches were carried out on Monday the 18th of December and authorities
conducted a further three-day search midweek yet these turned up no clues or
even a speck of evidence. The Territory Response Group also carried out a search
shortly after Christmas but there was no trace of Paddy Moriarty or his faithful
dog. When police investigated his home, nothing seemed out of place.
Barry Sharpe visited the home soon after realising his friend was missing but
upon seeing the house neat and tidy, he assumed Moriarty had gone to stay with a
friend. The date on the calendar had been
crossed off, his bed was made and his dinner was on the kitchen table ready to
be prepared to eat. On the table lay his hat which he was never without, his
keycard and glasses beside it. Since his disappearance, his bank account has also
been left untouched. Detective Sergeant Matt Allen who is leading the
investigation, says that police are treating Paddy and Kellie's disappearance
as suspicious, considering that no evidence has been
uncovered despite an extensive land and air search. He believes it is likely that
Moriarty is no longer alive. Following an incident many years
previously where he acted in revenge by feeding pet peacocks to his crocodile in
retaliation for a Buffalo being made into pies,
there were also whispers that Barry Sharpe may have fed Kellie and Paddy to
his croc, Sam, but this is widely regarded as fictitious. Friends Karen
Raynor and Barry Sharpe described Paddy as "a good bloke," "a gentleman", "always
cheerful and laughing" and would always inform others of his future plans. He
helped with various errands at the Pink Panther and was, according to Barry, "the
type [...] you wouldn't think would have an enemy in the world."
Other residents of Larrimah would dispute this however. Two residents were
particularly vocal about their qualms with Paddy - Fran Hodgetts, the owner of the
tea house and Richard Simpson, a single time bartender at the Pink Panther,
labeled as being 'unpredictable and unpleasant'. Upon these accusations,
Richard claimed he had nothing to do with the disappearance and the
authorities should be turning their attention to Hodgetts, of whom he described
as "short, fat, abrupt, rude, overbearing unless you're doing something for her or
are doing her a favour". Fran was the owner of the Devonshire tea house and a
controversial character. Her business sold mostly tea, scones and pies to
passing travellers and she frequently boasted about her apparent success
however online reviews would contradict her claims, the food being described as
'overpriced' and of 'terrible' quality. She had argued
many times with Paddy Moriarty and Barry Sharpe, the latter realised that Sneaky
Sam was not enough to attract customers to the Pink Panther pub and therefore
began baking his own meat pies, selling them for half the price of Fran's, which
caused friction between the pair. Paddy lived just across from the tea house and
his relationship with Fran turned sour over the years, Paddy complaining about
her customers parking by his property and placing a sign outside advertising
Barry's pies, writing, 'Larrimah Hotel Best Pies In Town'. Residents of Larrimah said
that Paddy often told them to avoid eating any food made by Hodgetts as they
were never fresh or homemade. Moriarty even suggested that his dog wouldn't
even eat any of the products. Paddy gave her a nickname - the bush pig - which caught
on with several others who lived in the hamlet, much to the disgust of Fran who
sought a protection order from the courts but was unsuccessful in her
request. She told the police that she saw Paddy Moriarty four days before he
vanished and she also accused him of throwing a dead kangaroo near her house,
thieving from her and damaging her property. Rumours circulated about Fran
who apparently said she wished Paddy dead but she denies this. At an inquest
in June 2018, 75 year-old Fran Hodgetts stated that authorities investigated her
house four times and didn't find any evidence and suggested it would be
physically impossible for someone of her age to kill and dispose of any bodies. An
employee at the tea house, Bobby Roth, suggested that Hodgetts had shown her
death taste for Moriarty in the past, quoting Fran as stating "I'll kill Paddy."
Furthermore, there was speculation that she had slain Paddy and Kellie
and cooked them in the pies she sold at the tea house.
Hodgetts turned focus to the gardener of the tea house, 71 year old Owen Laurie,
who had supposedly argued with Paddy about his dog who had been barking in
the middle of the road, just three days before they vanished. Laurie is speculated
to have said for Kellie to "shut up or I'll shut it up for you!".
Owen confessed that he did have a bad temper but denied any involvement. Barry
Burke, another resident known as Cookie, disliked Paddy as well, saying he would,
"make trouble in an empty house", was "his own worst enemy" and stated "I'll be
honest with you, I felt like breaking the guy's neck sometimes but it never
happened." He did say however that he is innocent and has "no time to do stupid
things like that". As of late 2018, Paddy and Kellie's fate remains unknown and
nobody has been charged with any crime. Moriarty's house had security cameras
installed in order to check for any suspicious activity and a missing poster
hangs outside, featuring the question 'What happened to Paddy?'. Patrons of the
Pink Panther regularly speak about Paddy, who had such an impact on the
community of Larrimah and will be deeply missed by those who cherished him. With
small settlements, gossip tends to twist the tale and police are certain the
death was not by misadventure or suicide but something more sinister. Authorities
have been unable to trace any relatives of Paddy Moriarty or next of kin in
Australia and Ireland. In February 2018, Detective Sergeant Allen reached out to
the public in the search to find Kellie, the red Kelpie cross who would have been
approximately 12 months old at the time of his appeal, describing her as having
'big ears, a white chest and a small white patch on the nose'. He believes that if
Kellie is found alive, she could hold vital clues as to what happened on that
December night and what became of her master.