Disappearance of Eloise Worledge

Eloise Worledge, c. 1975

Abduction

Eloise Anne Worledge (8 October 1967 – 12 January 1976) was an 8-year-old girl who was abducted from her home in Beaumaris, Victoria, Australia, on 12 January 1976.

No one has ever been arrested in the case, which has gone cold.

Investigation

Eloise's brother raised the alarm when he noticed she was not in her room at 7:30 a.m. He later told police that he had heard "robbers" who had kidnapped his sister — but was too scared to say anything because he thought they would take him too. There was no sign of a struggle.

Police believed that Eloise was lured from her bed by someone whom she knew and trusted and had simply left the house via the front door, which had been left unlocked. Another possibility was that she may have been abducted by a prowler known to be in the area at the time.

A dark green car speeding down Scott Street at 2 a.m. was reported by a neighbour. Bark from a tree outside Eloise's window was found on her bedroom floor. A small hole had been cut in the flyscreen of her window, but forensic tests revealed that it had been cut from the inside. Police believed the hole was too small to have been used by the abductor, and scientific evidence found it unlikely that Eloise was taken through her open bedroom window.

Both parents were initially treated as suspects.

Despite a very extensive search and a $10,000 reward posted in 1976, no trace of Eloise has ever been found. Homicide cold case detectives reinvestigated the case in 2001, but to no avail.