By the early hours of 21 September 1952, more than 400 police had been drawn into the hunt for Betty Shanks’s killer in Brisbane. Patrol cars criss-crossed the suburbs and officers searched streets and parks through the night. Police leave was cancelled, at least 100 investigators went without sleep, and residents near the Wilston murder scene were warned to lock doors and windows amid fears of another attack.
An early lead came to nought, and after roughly 20 hours of investigation police were still searching without a breakthrough. A description was issued of a man wanted in connection with the killing, following reports of someone leaping a fence near where Betty’s body was found. Despite the massive manhunt, her murder would become one of Brisbane’s most famous cold cases, still unsolved today.
