Gemma Bath

We're dropping back into your ears with an important and shocking update on the case.

First, some context.

As you heard in our episode, The Australian Family Cult That Vanished Overnight, Chantal MacDougall, Simon Cadwell, their daughter Leela, and friend and housemate Tony vanished from Nannup, a small WA town, in 2007.

Simon was known as somewhat of a cult leader who believed in a doomsday and moving to a higher plane once you die.

He had followers online, but those under his roof were most under his control.

When the four disappeared, they left a note on their front door saying they'd moved to Brazil.

However, no trace of that happening was found.

Their passports weren't used to leave the country.

In 2018, an inquest heard about a family suicide pact Simon had been discussing online, suggesting another dark answer as to potentially what could have happened to the group.

Medical records from before they disappeared showed that Chantelle, Tony and Simon obtained strong sedatives and anti-anxiety medications.

Simon was also prescribed an antipsychotic and opioids, which can be fatal when combined with sedatives.

The inquest also revealed that Simon was living under a false identity.

He grew up in the UK and his real name was Gary Felton.

Ultimately, the coroner ruled that he couldn't find beyond reasonable doubt that any of the Nanop 4 were dead or alive.

In 2026, ABC journalist Dominique Bayens has been re-investigating this case.

And last time we had her on, she hinted that she was sitting on some pretty huge news in this case.

She's ready to tell us about it.

Here's Dom with an update on the missing Nanop 4.

Dom, thanks for joining us back on True Crime Conversations.

I want to pick up our chat with two very dogged police officers, retired detectives.