Dad welcomes investigation

THE father of a man who disappeared more than 20 years ago has welcomed police investigations into the movements of convicted killers in a bid to close unsolved murder and missing persons cases.

Kevin Jones's 20-year-old son Anthony John Jones was last heard from on November 3, 1982, when he phoned his family in Perth from a Townsville payphone.

He had told them he planned to meet his older brother Timothy in Mount Isa. At the time Tony had been on a hitchhiking journey of Australia, and Tim had been touring the country on bike.

Mr Jones yesterday said he had always believed Tony had been murdered by a serial killer.

A coronial inquest last year into Tony's disappearance found he had been murdered on or about November 3, 1982. Coroner Ian Fisher slammed the investigators at the time of the disappearance for not treating the case with more urgency and ordered police to continue investigations.

Mr Jones said police investigating Ivan Milat had called for his son's file three times. Milat was never charged over the disappearance.

He said yesterday's Townsville Bulletin story about the Cold Case Squad set up to look at the whereabouts of serial killers, murderers and other violent criminals at the time of unsolved crimes and disappearances had given him hope of finding his son's body.

"I was convinced right from the start he was dead," Mr Jones said. "But I think it will only be if someone stumbles across the skeleton or someone admits to it, that we will know. "I think anything like that (the Cold Squad Case) is great, I have always been positive about it."

Mr Jones said the 1980s were "hell" for his family. His wife Beres was diagnosed with leukaemia in 1986 and died in 1990. But he said his son's disappearance no longer haunted him.

There is a $100,000 reward for anyone with information about Tony Jones's disappearance that leads to an arrest.

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Townsville Police on 4759 9777.