Hours before she mysteriously vanished in the Outback, a missing mum of six made a desperate phone call to her partner, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Trisha Graf, 41, disappeared on December 12 from the remote outback opal-mining town of Andamooka, 600km north of Adelaide, which has a population of just 250.
No trace of her has been found since her 4WD was found abandoned in the desert.
Now new details have emerged of Ms Graf’s final urgent call to her partner Tony Gregory in the hours before she vanished and her son’s last touching message to her.
The latest revelations come as South Australia Police raided the last home where she was known to have been seen alive, amid a renewed search of nearby mineshafts.
Ms Graf’s son Max, 12, revealed details of his mother’s disturbing last call when he phoned in to a live YouTube true crime podcast, Nights with Ping.
Speaking with the permission of his father, he told the host how his mum had called Mr Gregory in a panic from a pub in Roxby Downs, 30km away, just minutes before it closed.
Max said Ms Graf asked his father to transfer money to her bank account so she could buy him a pack of VB beer to enjoy at their Andamooka home 20 minutes away.
Police have resumed searching for Trisha Graf in Andamooka, South Australia
Trisha made an urgent phone call to her partner Tony Gregory before she vanished
On Monday, police attended a residential address within the tiny opal-mining town
‘Dad had earlier forgotten to transfer money to the card that mum had, and it was declined when she went to the pub,’ he said.
‘Mum called Dad and was like, “There’s no money on the card, hurry up, quick, before (the pub) closes”.
‘And then Dad did the money [but] when he transferred the money, it was too late.’
It was the last-known contact between the family and Ms Graf who was seen on CCTV footage at the Roxby Downs Tavern at 12.19am.
A mystery man is reported to have stepped in and paid for Ms Graf’s beer.
She left a short time later in a white 2012 Ford Territory accompanied by her friend Kymberley Conniff, who also lived in Andamooka.
On the drive back towards Andamooka, Ms Graf hit a kangaroo just outside the town, police said.
Despite the accident, Ms Graf and her friend continued into town and visited a house in the north-western area.
Trisha’s partner Tony Gregory wants to ‘spread the word’ about her disappearance
The mum of six’s white Ford Territory was discovered just out of town
The vehicle was near Blue Dam which Trisha had not visited before
Shortly before 2am, Ms Graf left that address to make what should have been a five-minute trip home. She was last seen driving along Dunstan Drive in Andamooka.
Mr Gregory woke up to find her missing, and said he went to her friend’s place looking for her.
Just after midday on December 12, Mr Gregory and a friend found her Ford Territory perched on a dirt mound near the Blue Dam, east of the township.
The vehicle was damaged from the collision with the kangaroo and could not be driven. The pack of VB was still in the back seat, with one bottle missing.
Police and SES initially conducted ground and aerial searches as divers checked the nearby dam, and detectives went door-to-door in the dusty mining outpost.
Max told the podcast he had been sleeping at a friend’s house in Andamooka on the night his mother disappeared.
And he revealed his heartbreaking final text to her before falling asleep: ‘Goodnight Mum, I love you.’
When he woke the next morning, he told the show his friend’s mother told him: ‘Dad wants you home.’
Police converge on Andamooka, six hours north of Adelaide, on Monday
Police have declared Trisha’s December disappearance a major crime
Mr Gregory, who appeared alongside his son, said he was fine with his son speaking publicly because he wants to ‘spread the word’ about his partner’s disappearance.
Mr Gregory has previously refused to comment to media and requested privacy.
‘She’s done runners before, but she’s always kept in contact,’ Mr Gregory said.
The family fear Ms Graf may have met with foul play and police have classified her disappearance as a major crime.
Ms Graf’s mother, Anne, who lives 600km south of Andamooka in the Barossa Valley, said Trisha would never leave her children ‘in a million years’.
‘Trisha was a big girl. You’d have to have someone else involved,’ she said in December.
‘The bad thing is there’s that many mines out there, I don’t know if police will be able to find her.
‘They’re going to have to be smart about it. I think she’s been left in one of those.’
CCTV footage showed the missing mum at Roxby Downs Tavern around 12.20am on December 12
Max revealed he still has many questions over the timeline before his mum vanished, and said his mother wasn’t particularly close with Ms Conniff.
‘She met Kym maybe two times. They weren’t best friends, just knew each other to have a few drinks,’ Max said.
He also revealed that his dad was filmed on the family home’s CCTV sitting on his front porch at the time of Ms Graf’s disappearance.
But he added that the video had ‘overwritten itself’ and when police went to view it ‘Dad didn’t show up,’ he said.
Daily Mail does not suggest Mr Gregory nor Ms Conniff are involved with Ms Graf’s disappearance.
On February 14, Daily Mail revealed a potentially crucial detail in the weeks leading up to Ms Graf’s disappearance.
Ms Graf had been advertising valuable uncut opals worth thousands of dollars, listing them for sale on a Facebook trading group for gemstone collectors.
Photographs show two large stones laid out on a plate, yet with almost no description provided.
Trish Graf had listed $2700 worth of opals for sale on Facebook
Trish’s daughter Montanah told Daily Mail she didn’t know her mum was selling opals
One opal, described as a ‘Squid Fossil opal’, was listed for $2000, while a second ‘Cockle shell opal’ was priced at $700.
It remains unclear whether either of the gemstones were sold before Ms Graf disappeared, but both listings remain visible online and apparently still for sale.
Daily Mail has since spoken to Ms Graf’s daughter Montanah, who said she had no knowledge that her mother owned the opals or had listed them for sale, describing the revelation as ‘strange’ amid the growing mystery surrounding her disappearance.
Daily Mail forwarded the information to SAPOL.
‘All lines of enquiry are being followed up,’ a spokesperson said.
In January, SAPOL Major Crime detective superintendent Darren Fielke described Ms Graf as a very good mother ‘for all intents and purposes’.
‘Clearly, we’ve looked through the house at Andamooka, the house is clean, it’s in pristine condition, she’s obviously a very house-proud person,’ he added.
‘So it is out of character for her not to be in contact with her children, to not be in contact with her partner, her bank accounts not having been touched. She just doesn’t disappear from Andamooka; she’s lived there for some time.’
SAPOL Major Crime boss Darren Fielke described Ms Graf as a good mother
Andamooka, population 250, is a desert opal-mining outpost in South Australia
A community page stated Ms Graf was wearing black pants and a black top at the time of her disappearance, with her hair in a plait, pulled away from her face.
Ms Graf also has a nose piercing, lip piercing and ear piercings as well as a skull tattoo on her upper right arm and a mermaid tattoo on her lower forearm.
Anyone with information about Ms Graf’s whereabouts or her movements leading up to her disappearance is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
