Australia's Most Bizarre Missing Persons Case Where Is William Roach?

It’s been nearly 30 years since the uni student claimed he’d been cursed by a witch before disappearing – now police have issued a new plea for help

It’s the disappearance that has left police baffled for nearly three decades. Now investigators hope a $1 million reward could finally unlock the mystery of what happened to William “Bill” Roach.

A “death curse”, witchcraft and possible links to the local drug scene have been considered factors in the 25-year-old’s disappearance on New Year’s Eve in 1993.

Last seen late in the afternoon or early evening on Barney Street in Armidale, NSW, Bill was living in an alternative community outside the town with his girlfriend – who called herself a practising witch – before he vanished.

SECRET CEREMONY

In the days before he was reported missing, the university student told friends he thought he’d been “cursed” by another witch after attending a secret ceremony. Speaking to the media, New England Police District Commander Detective Superintendent Steve Laksa revealed police were keeping an open mind but couldn’t say whether lines of inquiry involving witchery and drugs were linked.