He would stay in either Melbourne or Hobart. He had not decided which one, he told his wife. He did not leave his wife with a contact address. While away, Milson did not write to his wife.
Then, in the newspapers of June 23, 1938, there was a description of a body that had been pulled from the Yarra River.
Although the body had been in the water for some time, its description closely fitted Mrs Milson’s husband.
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When a troubled Mrs Milson contacted police, they shared her concern.
They agreed to have the body identified. They looked up former Benalla residents living in Melbourne.
One, Joe Askew, a shop assistant formerly living in Benalla, said that he had served Milson numerous times when Askew worked in Benalla.
He was familiar with the retired farmer.
He agreed to identify the body.
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On close inspection, Askew confirmed that the body was that of Charles Milson.
Police notified Mrs Milson that the body had been identified as her husband.
Mrs Milson’s brother Martin Long engaged an undertaker and on Saturday, June 25, he and the undertaker set off for Melbourne in a hearse to arrange for collection of the body for burial.
At the Spring St morgue, Long viewed the body and confirmed that it was his brother-in-law.
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However, something nagged at him. He asked the mortuary attendant to check. The boots of the dead man were size sevens. Long knew that Milson’s boot size was nine. Now concerned, Long asked to see other articles of clothing.
As he examined the muddy clothing of the dead man provided to him by the attendant, Long thought they looked shoddy and worn. This was not the quality worn by Milson.
Only then did Long think to ring a friend in Benalla whom he knew had driven Milson from the Salvation Army’s People’s Palace in King St to another friend’s home in Albert Park.
Long obtained the address in Albert Park and took a taxi to the address. When Long knocked on the door, the door was opened by Milson’s friend.
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In answer to Long’s question as to whether or not he had seen Milson, he replied: "Oh, yes, Charles is here and having a hearty dinner at the moment.”
Milson was in jovial health and had a robust appetite.
If Mrs Milson and Long knew about the friend who had driven Milson from the People’s Palace to another friend’s home in Albert Park, why did Mrs Milson or Long not ring these friends before Long made a long trip to Melbourne with an undertaker?
Why had Milson not given his wife an address at which she could contact him? Who was the drowned man found in the Yarra?
There are so many questions about this case, but at a distance of more than 80 years, it is impossible to get answers now.
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