
New SBS online documentary recognises Indigenous heroes in Australian true crime story
24 January 2019
News Release
To coincide with 26 January, SBS is releasing a gripping new interactive documentary, Missing, which shares the story of abducted Adelaide schoolgirl Wendy Jane Pfeiffer and the Aboriginal trackers who brought her home.
In 1966, the search made headlines around the country, with more than 150 police and volunteers spending days desperately searching 13,000 acres of dense scrub around Wendy's Adelaide Hills home. Eventually, her abductor was charged with her murder and Pitjantjatjara trackers, Jimmy James and Daniel Moodoo were called in to find her remains. Instead, they followed her tracks through more than 20 kilometres of bushland and finally reunited Wendy with her family.
Missing celebrates Australian history and its unsung heroes as part of SBS's efforts to bring together communities to reflect on and celebrate what it means to be Australian today.
SBS Director of Television and Online Content, Marshall Heald, said: SBS is focused on finding new ways to place audiences at the heart of diverse and multicultural experiences, with the aim of creating a deeper understanding of important, but often untold stories.
We're proud to be able to share this project which recognises the incredible skill and dedication of Jimmy James and Daniel Moodoo as part of SBS's exploration of what it means to be Australian today.
Offering a personal look at one of Australia's most fascinating true crime stories, Missing is told through the dual perspectives of Wendy and Jimmy and highlights the unique nature of their relationship, which endured for years to come.
Wendy Jane Pfeiffer said, I walked 12 kilometres over a 42-hour period, becoming more and more dehydrated and totally exhausted. Today, I'm lucky to be alive. While it is bittersweet to reflect on that time, Missing is a beautiful way to thank Jimmy James, without whom I simply wouldn't be here.
Missing was developed in collaboration with Wendy and the families of Jimmy James and Daniel Moodoo who provided family archives and recordings, as well as assisting in retracing the exact locations of Wendy's abduction and subsequent search efforts.
The interactive documentary recreates the events that took place, with principal photography by award-winning photo artist Tamara Dean captured on location 52 years later. Each scene is a beautiful, stylised landscape mosaic of photographs in the Adelaide Hills that the viewer must piece together to drive the story forward.
The visuals are given context through narration with Adelaide-local Zoe Pool playing 8-year-old Wendy and Mia Jonson providing her voice. Jimmy James is voiced by relative and leading Indigenous actor, Trevor Jamieson.
As Australia's dedicated multilingual and multicultural broadcaster, SBS will feature a diverse range of programing on 26 January, sharing stories from a wide variety of different perspectives, across all SBS platforms.
Missing joins SBS's collection of award-winning documentaries, The Boat, My Grandmother's Lingo and K'Gari which have been recognised both locally and internationally.
Experience Missing when it launches on 24 January at sbs.com.au/missing.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
09/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/04/2026
Yospace exceeded 10 billion dynamically stitched ads in a single month, reaching 11.6 billion as ad-supported streaming surged. Driven by a packed global sports...
09/04/2026
Bitmovin has expanded its Live Encoding and Observability solutions to provide true end to end, real time insights across live streaming workflows, from encodin...
09/04/2026
Leyra has announced the launch of Icelandic public broadcaster R V's streaming service on Samsung and LG Smart TVs. R V is the first public broadcaster to d...
09/04/2026
3Play Media, a global leader in video accessibility and localization, today announced an AI Dubbing solution purpose-built for YouTube creators. The company, wh...
09/04/2026
Big Blue Marble, a provider of broadcast-grade, cloud-native video solutions, has been recognized as an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Managed Services Provider (MSP...
09/04/2026
The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) has officially launched its revamped global streaming service, PDC TV, in collaboration with Cleeng and sports technolo...
09/04/2026
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) pioneer, today announced a raft of new AI agents for its AI Assistant to accelerate decision-making and autom...
09/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/04/2026
New Charging, Connectivity, and Mounting Solutions Now Available
LAS VEGAS, APRIL 8, 2026 Pliant Technologies will highlight a range of new accessories at th...
09/04/2026
As live production continues its shift to IP, the challenge is no longer adoption it's reliability. At NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2033), Media Links will demon...
09/04/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, launches its new AI-powered add-on for its StudioPro p...
09/04/2026
The Hive Group has published a new white paper, No Safe Harbor: Why the FCC's Upper C-Band Auction Demands Early Action from Broadcasters ahead of NAB Sho...
09/04/2026
Saranyu Technologies today announced the renewal of its Optimizer VoD subscription with VisualOn. The announcement coincides with NAB Show 2026, taking place Ap...
09/04/2026
Doireann N Ghlac in returns as presenter, with the first episode airing this Friday at 8.30pm on RT One and RT Player
The beloved walking series Tracks & T...
09/04/2026
A timeless story of grit, faith and rebellion takes center stage as Samson: A Ty...
09/04/2026
New technique for synthesizing branched molecules could accelerate the development of future medicines Scripps Research chemists solve a longstanding problem in...
08/04/2026
The deadline to enter the 18th Annual SVG College Sports Media Awards in association with NACDA is rapidly approaching! Submit your entries to this year's c...
08/04/2026
The Pittsburgh product helps lead more than 100 annual ESPN broadcasts as part o...
08/04/2026
Dynamic ad insertion, AI-based technologies, programmatic advertising are some o...
08/04/2026
Seven Fellows Selected for Second Year of Residency in Honor of Social Justice L...
08/04/2026
On March 7, Bad Bunny made history with his first-ever performance in Asia, taki...
08/04/2026
El 7 de marzo, Bad Bunny hizo historia con su primera presentaci n en Asia, subi...
08/04/2026
New channel strip plug-in revealed
The latest plug-in to be added to the Fuse Audio Labs line-up emulates a selection of vintage hardware units, combining c...
08/04/2026
Guitar & bass multi-effects software overhauled
Blue Cat Audio's flagship guitar and bass multi-effects software has recently received a significant upd...
08/04/2026
PanNoir mixer integration, Dolby Atmos Renderer & more
Merging Technologies have just launched Pyramix 16, the latest major update to their renowned DAW sof...
08/04/2026
Applicable Products Part number Description
QUARTZ-22-LTE (EU) Dual Port Dual SIM LTE Router (EU)
QUARTZ-COMPACT-11-LTE (EU) Single Port Compact LTE ...
08/04/2026
The September 19, 2025 YEP Newsletter highlights a group visit to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, where participants explored exhibits showcasing the art...
08/04/2026
The L3Harris HBTSS satellite is proven on orbit, successfully demonstrating trac...
08/04/2026
Image Credit: NASA. Artist rendering of a space communications satellite in orbit, representative of the resilient, multiband infrastructure supporting mission ...
08/04/2026
Latest evaluation validates image quality, Inertial Navigation System performance and long-range tracking in operational flight conditions....
08/04/2026
New Gracenote study finds behavioral change well underway, but trust in AI-gener...
08/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/04/2026
Integration eliminates ingest bottlenecks by ensuring content is immediately usable across cloud and hybrid editorial workflows. See it at NAB 2026.
Nevada Cit...
08/04/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the commercial availability of Dalia, its media-aware, agentic AI...
08/04/2026
Leading video software provider Synamedia today announced Senza Ignite, a cloud-based platform that transforms existing connected devices through a single firmw...
08/04/2026
Modernised architecture increases operational control and agility, while reducing cost and simplifying nationwide media transport across affiliates and news bur...
08/04/2026
Company to Feature DMX Dual Relay, High-Density 48-Channel Relay Panels, and New Private Label Power Program
LynTec, a leading manufacturer of innovative ele...
08/04/2026
Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE), a European media technology and services partner, today announces a technology partnership with BCNEXXT, a Netherlands-based c...