Man Claims Ivan Milat Picked Him Up as Teenager; Police Traffic Stop May Have Prevented Harm
Steven Clark, now an adult, has submitted testimony to a New South Wales parliamentary inquiry stating that serial killer Ivan Milat picked him up while hitchhiking in the mid-1970s when Clark was 14 or 15 years old. Clark describes unsettling behavior from the driver and believes a police traffic stop for speeding may have prevented him from becoming a victim. Milat was convicted of murdering seven people between 1989 and 1992 and died in prison in 2019.
Steven Clark has told a state parliamentary inquiry into unsolved murders that he believes Ivan Milat picked him up while hitchhiking near Wollongong in 1974 or 1975. Clark recalls the driver exhibiting disturbing behavior, including asking intrusive questions about who knew of their whereabouts and offering to take them further than requested before suddenly accelerating. A police officer pulled the vehicle over for speeding near Windang, during which the officer asked about the two teenage passengers; the driver identified them as hitchhikers he had picked up. Clark says the driver's demeanor changed after the traffic stop, and he drove them safely to their destination. Years later, after seeing news coverage of Milat's arrest, Clark recognized the driver from his distinctive protruding teeth and moustache. The inquiry is examining potential historical links between Milat and various unsolved missing persons cases; Milat was convicted in 1996 of murdering seven people between 1989 and 1992 and died in prison in October 2019.
What's missing
The article does not provide details about whether police records from the 1974-1975 traffic stop have been located or examined to corroborate Clark's account, nor does it explain the specific criteria or methodology the parliamentary inquiry is using to evaluate submissions linking historical incidents to Milat.
What different sources said
- ABC AustraliaCenter
How police may have inadvertently saved this man from Ivan Milat
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