Toorak great-grandfather found dead after disappearing in 1967 sedan
The body of a Toorak great-grandfather has been found in the wreckage of a car 12 days after he went missing on a long drive to a vintage car club meeting.
Ronald McMaster, 95, left his home in his 1967 Vanden Plas sedan on the morning of Saturday, May 4, to drive to Bermagui on the NSW south coast, but never made it.
Passers-by spotted a vehicle at the foot of an embankment off Freestone Creek Road in Moornapa on Thursday about 9am. Moornapa is about 75 kilometres north of Sale, in heavily wooded, hilly country.
Emergency services found the body of an elderly man in the car and police believe the body is that of the great-grandfather of seven.
Mr McMaster left his Toorak home for the vintage car club meet-up on May 4, police said.
It's believed he filled his car up in Nar Nar Goon at 9am that day, before he was seen by fellow Wolseley Car Club members driving through Rosedale.
His family raised the alarm with police when he didn't arrive in Bermagui on the Sunday.
Mr McMaster's death is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
The full tank of petrol Mr McMaster bought in Nar Nar Goon gave police a massive area of about 400 kilometres to search.
In the days before Mr McMasters' body was found, Detective Samantha Russell from the Crime Investigation Unit told The Age the hunt was taking place "on the ground, in cars, air wing, water police".
Speaking earlier this week, son Ian McMaster said Ronald was a “fiercely independent person”, with a passion for cars and classical music.
Despite his age he maintained a strict, regular routine that included cooking his own meals and renting videos from the library.
“One of the reasons for his longevity was he almost knew what was coming the next day,” Ian said.
“He loved his family. That was the most important thing to him.”
The footage of Mr McMaster at the petrol station in Nar Nar Goon on that Saturday morning is of very good quality.
“He looked as happy as Larry,” his son said.