The Karoonda Highway is a 172 kilometre long roadway that connects the South Australian riverside township of Murray Bridge with Loxton further north, on the cusp of the state’s border with Victoria. Largely desolate, the highway cuts through expansive agricultural landscapes with several remote houses and small towns dotted along the way, including Wynarka.

By mid-March 2015, roadworks along a stretch of the Karoonda Highway two kilometres east of Wynarka were completed. Shortly afterwards, a large, grey suitcase was sighted on the roadside. It appeared as though it had fallen off a passing truck. Sun-bleached, stained, and dirty from having been exposed to the elements for an extended period of time, the Lanza-brand suitcase caught the attention of multiple highway travellers, with one stopping to investigate. Upon partially emptying the bag behind a bush and realising it contained soiled children’s clothing infested with insects, they disregarded the find and dragged the bag back to the roadside.

On Tuesday July 14 2015, a motorist travelling down the highway pulled over to relieve himself. As he made his way into the thick bushland framing the side of the road, he noticed an array of dirty and torn children’s clothing strewn under a patch of trees. In front was the abandoned suitcase. He crouched down to unzip the case and rummaged through its contents for himself, noticing a small human jawbone.