The Missing Matter

Sally Leydon

5.0 (1)
PERSONAL JOURNALS

For more than 25 years, Sally Leydon has been waiting for answers about her missing Mum, Marion Barter. Sally, steps beyond her own story to speak with other families enduring the same, unthinkable reality - the ambiguous loss of a loved one who has vanished without explanation. These raw, intimate conversations about hope that refuses to fade, grief without closure and the strength it takes to endure.

4D AGO

1 Million Dollar Reward

In this final episode, Sally reflects on the emotional announcement that the reward for information into her mum Marion Barter’s disappearance has been increased to $1 million. After nearly three decades of searching, Sally travels to Sydney for the announcement at NSW Police Headquarters, speaks with Ben Fordham, and shares what this moment means for her family. She talks about the impact of Marion’s disappearance, the loss of her brother, the coronial findings, and the ongoing questions around the man identified as a person of significant interest. Sally also opens up about new information still being passed to police, her trip to Japan with Joni to search for records, the importance of correcting errors in missing persons profiles, and why families should be contacted with compassion when possible evidence is found. As the series comes to an end, Sally looks back on the journey, thanks those who have supported her, and explains why the search for Marion does not stop here. This is an episode about hope, grief, persistence, and the belief that someone, somewhere, still knows something. With one million reasons to come forward, Sally makes one thing clear: Marion matters, and so do all the missing.

43 min
4D AGO

Catch up with Joni

To close out the season, Sally and Joni come together for one final conversation about Marion's case, what’s been happening in the background, what new information has come to light, and where the investigation may go next.

39 min
4D AGO

Signs, Searches and the Missing Who Still Matter

A psychic reading sends Sally to Mullumbimby looking for answers about her mum, Marian Barter — but this episode goes further. Sally also shares moving updates on Joanne’s decades-long grief for Andrew Inglish, Jason’s ongoing search for his father Nicola, and the growing momentum behind the Green Seat Project.

59 min
4D AGO · BONUS

Help Find Yvonne

In this urgent bonus episode of The Missing Matter, Sally shares the story of Yvonne Whear, a 73-year-old woman who disappeared from her rural New South Wales property in February 2026 without explanation. As her family searches for answers, the episode explores the final known movements in Yvonne’s case, the growing concerns around missing persons investigations in the Northern Rivers, and the haunting question of what may still lie hidden in local waterways. Joined by Kim Marshall, Sally unpacks the reality families face when a loved one vanishes and why awareness, action, and truth matter more than ever.

53 min
4D AGO

The Power of the Podcast with Hedley Thomas from The Teacher's Pet

Hedley Thomas started his career as a copy boy at 17 and spent four decades chasing some of the world's biggest stories, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the Hong Kong handover, before finding his most powerful tool yet: the podcast. In this episode of The Missing Matter, Sally sits down with the award-winning investigative journalist and creator of The Teacher's Pet to explore how long-form audio storytelling has reshaped the fight for justice in cold cases and missing persons investigations. From reporting on the Dawson case in a Brisbane newspaper library in 2001 to producing a podcast that helped send Chris Dawson to prison, Hedley explains how the freedom of podcasting allows him to go where traditional media can't, unpacking briefs of evidence, finding new witnesses, and keeping cases alive long after the system has moved on. With more than a hundred million downloads and investigations that have driven real-world change, Hedley reflects on what keeps him going, why he believes the criminal justice system has failed victims, and why the missing still matter even when the guilty think they've gotten away with it.

59 min
4D AGO

The Daughter’s Side of the Story - Sally and Ella

In this deeply personal episode, Sally sits down with her daughter Ella to explore what it’s really like growing up in the shadow of a missing person. It’s a raw and honest conversation about family, identity, and the quiet impact of a story that never truly leaves you.

1h 1m
4D AGO

The Justice Tragic: Graeme Crowley’s Fight for the Forgotten

Former police officer turned investigator Graeme Crowley has spent nearly fifty years chasing justice. What began as a career in policing eventually evolved into something unexpected, true-crime podcast investigations that challenge official narratives and reopen forgotten cases. In this episode of The Missing Matter, Sally sits down with Graeme to explore how podcasting has become a powerful tool for uncovering new evidence, questioning flawed investigations, and giving families answers when the system has failed them. From missing persons to suspicious suicides and wrongful convictions, Graeme explains how pulling apart a brief of evidence can reveal cracks in the story prosecutors once relied on. He shares how one podcast investigation helped push police to re-examine a suspicious death ultimately leading to a murder arrest that may never have happened otherwise. Together, Sally and Graeme discuss: Why missing person cases often lose urgency within the system The hidden problems inside coronial investigations The emotional toll on families waiting decades for answers How podcasts are changing the landscape of criminal investigations For Graeme, this work isn’t a job — it’s a lifelong pursuit. Because sometimes the search for truth doesn’t begin with police. And sometimes the answers come from the people who refuse to stop asking questions.

55 min
4D AGO

Leisl Matters.... Missing 4,925 days

When 23-year-old Leisl Smith left home on the New South Wales Central Coast on August 19, 2012, she told her father she’d be back by five to feed her animals. She never returned. In this episode of The Missing Matter, Leisl's mother, Sandi Harvey, shares the story of the quirky, animal-loving young woman who preferred horses and swimming pools to crowded rooms—and the day her life changed forever. What began as a routine meeting near Tuggerah Railway Station would become the start of a mystery that still haunts her family more than a decade later. Leisl was reported missing days after she vanished, and the investigation that followed would stretch across ten years, uncovering disturbing inconsistencies and ultimately leading police to charge the man they believed responsible. With the verdict sealed by law and Leisl still missing, Sandi has been left navigating a grief without resolution. Yet her determination to speak, to push for change and to bring Leisl home has never wavered. Because Leisl matters.

59 min

For more than 25 years, Sally Leydon has been waiting for answers about her missing Mum, Marion Barter. Sally, steps beyond her own story to speak with other families enduring the same, unthinkable reality - the ambiguous loss of a loved one who has vanished without explanation. These raw, intimate conversations about hope that refuses to fade, grief without closure and the strength it takes to endure.

Creator

Sally Leydon
Years Active

2K
Episodes

49
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© Sally Leydon
Show Website

The Missing Matter