The Unsolved Disappearance of Patrick “Paddy” Hildebrand: He Vanished in the Bush During A Hike With Family

In 1987, 9-year-old Patrick “Paddy” Hildebrand disappeared during a family hiking trip in Victoria Wilson’s Promontory National Park in Australia.

Even after authorities and volunteers conducted extensive searches, Paddy was never found.

His disappearance remains one of Australia’s most puzzling unsolved mysteries. 

Background 

In June of 1987, Paddy's family, including his mother Christine, his older brother Joe (who is now a well-known journalist), and some of Paddy’s cousins, went on a bushwalking trip.

The family planned to walk the popular Lilly Pilly Gully track in Wilsons Promontory National Park.

The track is just a small section of the roughly 50,500-hectare (about 124,500-acre) National Park.

The trail is famous for its dense rainforest and variety of plant life, including the Lilly Pilly tree, which gives the track its name.

The trail is about 4 km long and has a moderate level of difficulty. 

While the track is moderate, it's well-marked and maintained, making it a safe hike for people of all ages and fitness levels.

Pictures of Wilsons Promontory National Park.

Moment of Disappearance 

Paddy was an adventurous and energetic boy who loved bushwalking.

His brother Joe also confirmed this in his 2013 book, "An Average Joe — My Horribly Abnormal Life."

While the family was hiking through the dense bushland, Paddy wandered off to explore.

This happened just ten minutes into their walk.

He went around a bend, and that was the last time they saw him. 

When his family called out for him, there was no response. 

They searched the nearby area, but he was nowhere to be found.

In what might have been a critical mistake, Christine, Paddy’s mother, gathered the kids and left the area after searching for a while.

When they returned to the car and found that Paddy wasn’t there, they went to the nearest ranger station and reported him missing

Search and Investigation 

The search for Paddy quickly intensified, with hundreds of volunteers and police joining the search.

Searchers were lifted in and out of helicopters during the search.

By the fifth day, an experienced searcher said the area had been walked over so much that it was completely trampled.

The search went on for days and weeks, but despite the extensive effort, no trace of Paddy was found.

The only clue was his yellow hat and a bed of ferns.

Paddy Hildebrand, though energetic, had some disabilities and suffered from epilepsy. 

Some believe he might also have had an undiagnosed type of autism.

His brother Joe recalled a strange incident that had occurred once.

He remembered Paddy pointing at the TV when it was just static and saying that’s what it was like inside his head.

As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, the search for Paddy was called off, and the case slowly went cold.

The Hildebrand family was left without answers and faced a lifetime of heartache.

Theory and Ongoing Effort

Despite extensive media coverage, investigations, and searches, the only thing ever found was the little boy’s yellow plastic rain hat.

For Paddy’s older brother Joe, the mystery of his brother’s disappearance never fully left him.

As a journalist, he spent years searching for answers, but to date, no new information has emerged. 

The official theory is that Paddy got lost and died in the wilderness, but neither the family nor the authorities have ever found his body.

“He must be there,” said Shane Cunningham, a senior volunteer searcher with over 25 years of experience.

"The vegetation was incredibly thick, but by the fifth day, the entire area was completely trampled. We didn’t know what more we could do" said Shane. 

Joe Hildebrand

Shane wasn’t the only one who found it hard to believe that Paddy’s body was never found.

One of the senior sergeants at the time had a son around Paddy’s age. 

After the search ended, he would go to the area on his own for years, walking around. 

He experienced a breakdown because he couldn’t accept that, despite all the efforts, Paddy was never found.

Paddy’s mother was left completely heartbroken, and many of the searchers were in disbelief. 

However, some people said the situation was all too common in the bush.

They said that some people who go for walks or hikes sometimes tend to get lost, and some never return.

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The pain and anguish experienced by the Hildebrand family are immeasurable.

Paddy may have had mental and physical issues that affected his behavior in ways the search and rescue teams didn’t expect. 

But the question remains: why has his body never been found?

How come nothing has ever been found that would even offer a clue as to what happened that day?

The lack of concrete evidence and the passage of time have made it difficult to investigate Paddy’s case.

Paddy would have been 48 in 2024, likely living with a happy family and children. 

However, he remains missing, and his case continues to be one of Australia’s most puzzling unsolved mysteries.

We strongly believe that the authorities remain open to any new information that could help solve the case.

If you have any information about Paddy's disappearance, please contact the nearest police station as soon as possible.

You can also read about Quyen Tu, who disappeared after stealing an ATM card. 

After his disappearance, his friends stole over $4,000,000 from the stolen ATM card

Click here to see more details on that case.

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