Oz man arrested 45 years after his wife disappears

More than four decades after a young wife and mother from South Australia disappeared, her husband has been arrested.

He’s expected to be charged with her murder.

Colleen Adams was 24 years old and a mother of two young daughters when she disappeared in 1973.

At the time her husband, Geoffrey, told police she’d packed two suitcases and left the house on the morning of 22 November with a middle-aged woman he hadn’t recognised.

A month later, on 19 December 1973, Colleen’s mom, Vera Killbank, reported her slim, brunette daughter missing, News.com reports.

The police report states Colleen was a housewife and she was born on 16 September 1949 in Wallaroo. In her statement to police Vera wrote Colleen’s destination was unknown and the reason for her disappearance had been domestic conflict.

Six years later Colleen hadn’t made contact with anyone or accessed any of her bank accounts, so her disappearance was upgraded to a major crime.

A recent spike in interest in the case caused police to reopen the investigation into Colleen’s disappearance. A television crew confronted Colleen’s husband Geoffrey Adams (70) on camera.

And on 17 September police returned to Colleen and Geoffrey’s former home for a new search.

On Wednesday, 45 years after his wife’s disappearance, Geoffrey showed police where her body had been buried under a concrete slab at the couple’s former home in Maitland, on the Yorke Peninsula.

Geoffrey’s expected to be charged with murder soon.

He still owns the house he used to share with his wife but leases it to a young couple. Dylan Walker, one of the tenants, says he hopes it brings closure to Colleen’s family and she can now rest in peace, Daily Telegraph reports.

The Australian police’s head of major crime, Des Bray, told 9NEWS he’s confident the case will now speedily be resolved.

‘I DIDN’T DO IT’

In an interview with 9NEWS shortly before his arrest, Geoffrey confirmed police had told him he’s a suspect as “all husbands are suspects”, but maintained his innocence.

He said he believed Colleen had left of her own free will because, “She was going through a bit of a difficult time, she was finding it hard to cope.” He told the channel he believed his wife was still alive, saying, “I just hope that she's well and enjoying life.”

Despite maintaining his innocence, he’d “assisted” the police later that same day by pointing out to them where Colleen’s bones had been all these year.

Heather Johncock, Colleen’s sister, never believed her sister had left voluntarily. She’d found it hard to believe someone who’d love her children – at the time three years old and 18 months old – so much would leave them of her own accord.

Now Heather’s hoping for closure after 45 years of futile hope.