WA Missing prospectors' friend speaks out

The last known person to see Ray and Jennie Kehlet alive has spoken out about the trip they took before one turned up dead and the other vanished.

The Kehlets were with Graham Milne on a prospecting trip in WA in March and after they were reported missing Ray's body was discovered in an old mine shaft.

Milne has made a public appeal for information about the fate of the prospecting couple he last saw in Sandstone, WA.

"If anybody, if anybody knows anything please come forward and tell the police …. it’s gone on too long," Graham Milne told Sunday Night.

Ray, 47, and Jennie, 49 lived in Beverley and both had kids from previous marriages.

Jennie had three, Darcy and his two younger sisters Kelly and Britney.

While the family grieves over Ray's death, there is still hope for Jennie.

Ray, Jennie, their dog Ella and Graham began the 700 kilometre journey deep into the goldfields on March 19.

They didn’t tell anyone where they intended to go — such is the nature of prospecting.

"Graham's a very nice man. They met at work and they just became great friends you know. He would come out here all the time. He was the one who taught them to prospect out on their
property … they were just really close friends," daughter Britney said.

Graham was the last person to be with the couple at their camp and told Sunday Night when he returned after a solo walk on March 22 and packed up.
"I was out for all day and most of the night. And got back to camp early hours"

When he arrived back in the early hours of March 22, He saw the dog Ella and thought Ray and Jennie were asleep in their tent, then left at around 3am without saying good bye to return to Perth.

No one knew anything was wrong until Ella the Great Dane wandered alone – dehydrated and emaciated - into the Sandstone Caravan park.

"I don’t know. I’ve run through all sorts of different scenarios and possibilities, and nothing makes sense, just nothing makes sense at all," Graham said.

The alarm was raised by Ray and Jennie's family and a search party began.

"Immediately we knew something was wrong because Ella's always with them," Britney said.

Back at the campsite rain had washed away any tracks but they did find Ray’s loaded rifle on the back seat of his vehicle.

"For him to leave a riffle unboxed, loaded on a seat of the back of a car is 100 percent out of character. That's not something that would happen in a normal environment," Darcy said.

Then, after more than a week of searching, police found a body at the bottom of a 15 metre mine shaft.

"We found out from the news. We were waiting for a phone call but the news said it first. So that's how we found out," Britney said.

Police are uncertain about how Ray died and how he ended up in the mine shaft.

Sunday Night has also obtained new information that gunshots were heard in the area.

Police now want anyone who was shooting or heard those gunshots to come forward and also to speak to people driving a white four wheel drive seen in the area at the time of Ray and Jennie’s disappearance.

If you have any information, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 1800 333 000.