Photo gives clues to missing man's final hours before disappearance

Jack McLennan jumps into Barambah Creek, Ficks Crossing, hours before he vanished. (Supplied: Chris Duke) Link copiedShareShare articleThe last known photograph of missing Queensland man Jack McLennan has been provided to the ABC. The photo was taken just hours before Mr McLennan went missing in mysterious circumstances at Ficks Crossing, 250 kilometres north-west of Brisbane. The photo was taken and supplied to the ABC by Mr McLennan's workmate, Chris Duke, who has detailed the final moments the two men spent together in a series of exclusive interviews for the ABC's Unravel podcast, "What Became of Jack?". Mr Duke said Mr McLennan vanished from the picnic spot about 10pm on October 4, 2024. He said he turned to do something in his car, and when he turned back, Mr McLennan was gone. The photograph, which shows Mr McLennan on a rope swing above the waterhole, also explains a mystery that had baffled locals: why his hat was found wet and discarded in the town of Murgon, more than 5km away. The photo shows Mr McLennan wearing the hat, and Mr Duke said he was the one who took it to Murgon. "He had the hat on backwards [when he went in the water]," Mr Duke said. Chris Duke says his family and work life suffered after Jack McLennan's disappearance. (Facebook) "I've opened up the boot to clear some of my tools out of the way, so I can put the dog in the boot and here's this bloody wet hat sitting in the back of the car," Mr Duke said. "We all know what wet clothes do in cars. "So, I’ve cracked the shits. I've grabbed the hat and threw it into the hedges. "At that point, I didn’t think he was missing." Mr Duke said once it later became clear Mr McLennan was missing, he was the one who assisted police in locating the hat. The hat Jack McLennan was wearing the day he went missing has been recovered. (Supplied: Queensland Police Service) Mr Duke said he had been subjected to baseless rumours on social media, some of which centred on how he came to be in possession of Mr McLennan's car keys. Mr Duke told the ABC that Mr McLennan must have left the keys in the car the two men drove to Ficks Crossing the night he disappeared. "I found the keys in the passenger side well of my car," Mr Duke said. Jack McLennan's Ford Falcon G6 which was left in Murgon. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Robert Burgin) Mr Duke refuted suggestions that he had harmed Jack. Queensland Police has never declared Mr Duke or anybody else as a person of interest in Mr McLennan's disappearance, and the Coroner's Court of Queensland continues to review the police findings. Mr Duke also revealed that, aside from visiting Ficks Crossing the day Jack disappeared, the two men visited a house in nearby Wondai at least twice to buy methamphetamine, travelling back and forth between the house and the waterhole. What happened after this, when the two returned to Ficks Crossing one last time, has been the subject of a large amount of speculation since Jack disappeared. The ABC has been told that the two returned to the waterhole about 8:30pm. The picnic spot where Jack McLennan disappeared. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Robert Burgin) After relaxing there for a while, Mr Duke said he called out to Mr McLennan, who was head down in his phone about 20 to 30 metres away, and decided to play a small prank. "Me being the shit-stirrer, I'm like, 'Oi! Behind you!'" he said. Mr Duke said he laughed, then turned back to his car for a while, before deciding it was time for the two men to leave. Jack McLennan was last reported seen at Ficks Crossing but also spent time at nearby Murgon, Wondai and Goomeri. (Supplied: Queensland Police Service) "I grabbed the torch out of my car, and I'm spotlighting around everywhere, and I'm yelling out, and then it all started to get weird, you know, very weird," he said. In the initial hours after they became separated, Mr Duke said he suspected the recently single Mr McLennan had left him at Ficks Crossing because he was bored, but he denied that the two had argued prior to Mr McLennan's disappearance. He said he waited until about 1am in case Mr McLennan was planning on returning to the car they had arrived in, before eventually leaving the picnic area himself. Since then, the only traces of Mr McLennan recovered have been his white trainers, his wallet and bank card, scattered hundreds of metres apart in different directions from where he was last seen. Mr McLennan's mobile phone, shirt and shorts have never been found, nor have any human remains connected to his case. Mr Duke said he did not know what happened to Jack, and he feels guilty for taking drugs on the night they spent together. "If I'd just said, 'No, we're not doing that' … it could have been completely different," Mr Duke said. The rope swing used by Jack McLennan at Ficks Crossing. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Robert Burgin) Mr Duke said he hoped his participation with the police and going public with what he knows could help the family find Jack and counte

Photo gives clues to missing man's final hours before disappearance

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Photo gives clues to missing man's final hours before disappearance

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