One of Australia’s most high-profile missing persons cases — first reported to police in Byron Bay — has taken on fresh urgency, with a Wollongbar connection again in focus as a $1 million reward is announced.

The NSW Government and NSW Police Force have today increased the reward for information into the suspected murder of Marion Barter, who vanished in 1997.

The case has gained renewed national attention through a series of widely followed podcasts, including one produced by her daughter, Sally Leydon.

Ms Leydon has spent years campaigning for answers, with her website and podcast The Missing Matter continuing to drive public appeals for information.

Ms Barter, then 51, was last seen on June 22, 1997, at a bus depot on Scarborough Street near Railway Street at Southport in Queensland.

Detectives believe she travelled to the airport and left Australia for the United Kingdom under the name Florabella Natalia Marion Remakel, a name she had officially adopted weeks earlier.

Her outgoing passenger card listed her as divorced and intending to live in Luxembourg.

Investigators later formed the view she may have returned to Australia on August 2, 1997, under the same name.

Her incoming passenger card, however, described her as married and residing in Luxembourg.

Family members reported her missing to police at Byron Bay in October 1997, triggering an investigation by the then Tweed-Byron Local Area Command.

Police were told that, in the weeks before her disappearance, Ms Barter had been seen leaving a Southport service station in a red Honda Civic with a tall male passenger.

Inquiries also found an unknown person accessed her bank account after she vanished.

Wollongbar link and key figure

The case has long examined the role of Belgium-born Ric Blum, who had been in a secret relationship with Ms Barter before she disappeared.

Mr Blum has denied any involvement in her death and told both detectives and a coronial inquest he had no knowledge of her fate.

Evidence aired during the inquest indicated that after Ms Barter returned to Australia, she — or someone posing as her — was making daily cash withdrawals in the Byron Bay area.

At the time, Mr Blum was living in Wollongbar with his wife and children.

Financial movements have remained a key focus.

However, the cause and circumstances of her death could not be determined.

On October 14, 1997, Mr Blum opened a safety deposit envelope at the Commonwealth Bank.

The following day, $80,000 was withdrawn from Ms Barter’s Colonial State Bank account in Byron Bay.

Mr Blum said he deposited personal valuables and maintained he did not receive any money from Ms Barter.

The NSW State Coroner, Teresa O’Sullivan, later found there was no evidence Mr Blum was directly or indirectly involved in Ms Barter’s death, but noted he may have held additional information.

A coronial inquest held in Sydney and Byron Bay in June 2021 examined extensive evidence gathered over decades.

On February 29, 2024, the coroner found Ms Barter — also known as Florabella Remakel — was deceased, likely after October 15, 1997.

Ric Blum said he had nothing to do with Ms Barter after she left Australia in 1997 (Image: ABC)

Sally Leydon, Marion Barter’s daughter, has spent years pushing for answers in her mother’s disappearance, with her website and podcast The Missing Matter continuing the public appeal for information.

Listen below:

The Missing Matter podcast

The case remains with State Crime Command’s Unsolved Homicide Unit under Strike Force Jurunga.

Police say the newly increased $1 million reward is aimed at encouraging anyone with information to come forward.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.