Out from the Cold: Searching for Elaine cover art

Out from the Cold: Searching for Elaine

Out from the Cold: Searching for Elaine

By: Happy Tuesday Productions
Listen for free

It was early 1980 when Elaine Johnson left her family home in southern Sydney.

The eldest of five children, Elaine had lived in Kurnell and Cronulla after her family moved to Australia from the UK as Ten Pound Poms.

She grew up riding bikes, sunbaking and watching Monty Python on TV.

In the weeks leading up to her disappearance, Elaine left home after an argument over a house party.

It is believed she stayed with her friend, Kerry Anne Joel.

Neither Elaine nor Kerry has been seen since February 1980.

For more than 40 years, Elaine’s family has been searching for answers. This is their story.Happy Tuesday Productions True Crime
Episodes
  • The Informant

    The Informant
    Nov 18 2025
    Everything is thrown into uncertainty over the June long weekend in 2024, when Elaine Johnson’s younger sister, Helen, receives a stream of unexpected text messages.

    An informant — someone we’re calling Roger — has come forward with information he says is so sensitive it could affect an active investigation.

    Roger tells Helen he reached out because a friend of his knew Elaine and Kerry.

    That friend can no longer speak for himself; he died many years ago.

    But before he passed, Roger says, the man told him the girls had been taken to a property in the NSW Southern Tablelands, where something happened to them.

    Roger says it was his friend’s dying wish that this information be passed on to Helen.

    Searching for Elaine is a series from Out From The Cold, part of Happy Tuesday Productions.

    If you have information about Elaine Johnson or Kerri Ann Joel, you can get in touch at Help Find Elaine Johnson or contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

    Searching for Elaine was produced by Kate Kachor and Sally Spicer, editing by Dan McHugh and Matt Haywood, artwork by Nic Watts.

    'Wildflowers' by Jess Ribeiro.
    Show More Show Less
    24 mins
  • Lack of investigations

    Lack of investigations
    Nov 13 2025
    The year is 2004. It’s the year NSW Police made what Elaine Johnson’s family believe was the first official contact they had with them about her disappearanc.

    As far as the family know, before then, police hadn’t realised that Elaine and Kerry’s disappearances were likely connected.

    Elaine was reported missing to Cronulla Police Station, while Kerry was reported missing to Miranda Police Station — just one suburb over.

    Checks for the girls were made through national police missing persons databases, electoral rolls, Centrelink, Births, Deaths and Marriages, major Australian banks, and Interpol. Medicare and the Australian Tax Office were also checked.

    There were no records of either girl after they went missing. There might be a good reason for that.

    Official documents shared by Elaine’s family show that police checks — made between 2004 and 2006 — included searches under the wrong name and the wrong date of birth.

    Searching for Elaine is a series from Out From The Cold, part of Happy Tuesday Productions.

    If you have information about Elaine Johnson or Kerri Ann Joel, you can get in touch at Help Find Elaine Johnson or contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

    Searching for Elaine was produced by Kate Kachor and Sally Spicer, editing by Dan McHugh and Matt Haywood, artwork by Nic Watts.

    'Wildflowers' by Jess Ribeiro.
    Show More Show Less
    26 mins
  • The Others

    The Others
    Nov 4 2025
    Elaine and Kerry’s disappearances were not the first to unsettle The Shire.

    Sadly, other young girls have also gone missing from Cronulla and nearby areas — cases with striking similarities to Elaine and Kerry’s, and which, like theirs, remain unsolved to this day.

    In this episode, we look at some of those cases. They were chosen for the same reason Elaine’s sisters know them so well. At first, it was to see whether they could be linked.

    But even when it became clear that a single perpetrator was unlikely, there was still valuable insight to be gained. The way missing persons reports were handled, how families were treated, and how early investigations unfolded all have the potential to shed light on what went wrong when Elaine and Kerry disappeared — and why, 45 years later, the people who love them still don’t have answers.

    A culture of victim-blaming and a pattern of inaction may hold part of that answer.

    Searching for Elaine is a series from Out From The Cold, part of Happy Tuesday Productions.

    If you have information about Elaine Johnson or Kerri Ann Joel, you can get in touch at Help Find Elaine Johnson or contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

    Searching for Elaine was produced by Kate Kachor and Sally Spicer, editing by Dan McHugh and Matt Haywood, artwork by Nic Watts.

    'Wildflowers' by Jess Ribeiro.
    Show More Show Less
    26 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c
No reviews yet