One of Bendigo's longest-running cold cases has finally been resolved after a man who vanished during a 1952 school excursion at the Central Deborah Goldmine was discovered last week by a group of visiting schoolchildren.
Ted Scranton, now 88, had been living undetected in the mine for 73 years.
The school tour that discovered him reportedly screamed in terror when they found a gollum-like man emerging from a dark tunnel, still wearing his original school uniform.
His mother, 105-year-old Elma Scranton-Schwartz, was thrilled. She told The Bendigo Standard, “Good, now he can give me my 10 shillings back.”
According to reports, Scranton, then 15, went missing after he briefly stepped away to look at water coming out of a rock. Classmates didn’t notice his absence for the entire bus ride home because Ted was quiet. Police later confirmed that math teacher Mr Pye had forgotten to conduct a headcount, despite being trained to do so.
Authorities described Scranton’s re-entry into modern society as “rocky, confused, and mildly aggressive.”
Mobile phones have been particularly distressing for him. After learning they can also take photos, he demanded one be destroyed, believing it was spy equipment.
Scranton refuses to use an electric kettle, saying water boils too quickly, and won’t go within 2 meters of a microwave because of radiation concerns. When shown a flat-screen TV, he reportedly backed into a corner and whispered, “Where’s the rest of it?”
Bendigo Tourism has announced the Ted Scranton Mine Experience, allowing visitors to relive Scranton’s extraordinary survival journey, complete with a tour guide who can explain how to survive 73 years on Vegemite sandwiches and Bendigo Creek water.
