The wife of missing camper Russell Hill knew he wasn't coming home when the airwaves went dark.
Robyn Hill told Daily Mail Australia her husband would routinely broadcast on amateur radio at the same time every night while he was away - but this time there was sudden silence.
Mr Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, went camping in the remote Wonnangatta Valley in Victoria's Gippsland region on March 19 and have not been heard from since.
As detectives prepare to take another look at the Toyota 4WD Mr Hill left abandoned at the scene, Mrs Hill said she has begun the grim task of packing up her husband's belongings.
'I don't think that he will still be alive,' she said on Monday.
Mr Hill (above) had recently retired and was an experienced outdoorsman who reportedly knew the remote Alpine region of the Gippsland well
Mr Hill's car has been returned to his home where specialist detectives hope to examine it again for further clues
The pair went missing in the Wonnangatta Valley, more than 200km north east of Melbourne
Mr Hill had been a keen amateur radio enthusiast and made his last broadcast from the bush in the days before his disappearance.
'That was our communication because the phones don't work out there in Wonnangatta. Normally radios would get out because that's what they would use when they were logging up there,' Mrs Hill said.
In those days, Mr Hill would communicate to his work home base in Heyfield via radio.
'And not hearing him on the radio here - because I can't talk on it because I'm not licensed - I was starting to get a bit worried,' Mrs Hill said.
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The 71-year old said her husband had never gone missing before this trip.
'He's always been on the radio. He didn't call for quite a few days and then I started to get worried and thought "I've got to do something now".'
Mrs Hill said her husband would routinely broadcast at the same time every night when his other radio chums were on the air.
'They all get on at the same time and once I heard Russell I knew, on the Friday, that he was fine. But then I didn't hear him again,' she said.
With little to do but ponder the great unknown, Mrs Hill has started to sort through her husband's possessions.
'I'm just cleaning up now. It's just all the radio stuff - the antennas,' she said.
Detectives planned to take a closer look at her husband's vehicle on Monday, which was found partially damaged from fire where the pair went missing.
Their campsite was discovered burned out, but arson investigations suggest the fire was not deliberately lit.
Police released images of the couple's burnt out campsite with Mr Hill's car parked beside it (pictured) in a remote area of bushland in Victoria's Wonnangatta Valley
Specialist missing persons investigators are now probing the mysterious disappearance of the two elderly campers.
'They're going to come pick it (the car) up today,' Mrs Hill said.
Mr Hill's Toyota four-wheel-drive sustained damage in the fire, but was still able to be driven away from the scene.
Police had found it at the burnt out camp site with possessions belonging to the couple still inside the vehicle.
While police believe the blaze may have been started by a mobile phone charger that overheated inside a tent, Mrs Hill said she had her doubts.
'I don't know about that. I hear so many different stories. There are too many different stories and I'm not saying anything about it,' she said.
'I'm letting the police do their investigation because they're trying really hard. They just haven't stopped.'
Mrs Hill said she feared her husband was dead.
'I don't think that he will still be alive,' she said on Monday.
'Well, it's been a month since he's been away and he was only going away for a week - or a bit more.
'They're both lost. So let's hope they find them. They've got to find them. One way or the other.'
Officers in the Wellington Shire Crime Investigations Unit have been baffled by the mysterious circumstances surrounding the case.
Two major search operations involving drones, helicopters, mounted police, search dogs and ground crews have come up with nothing.
The case shares eerie similarities to the disappearance of David Prideaux almost nine years ago.
Mr Prideaux was the head of Victoria's maximum security Barwon Prison when he vanished.
Barwon Prison boss David Prideaux went missing on Mount Stirling while on a hunting trip in 2011. His body has never been found
Tomahawk Hut on Mount Stirling. Mr Prideaux signed the guest book there before heading out to hunt deer. He never returned
Like Mr Hill, the 50 year old was an experienced bushman who went on a trip with his brother-in-law in Victoria's rugged Alpine National Park on Mount Stirling and simply vanished.
Mrs Hill said she was aware of Mr Prideaux and others who had appeared to have simply dropped-off the face of the earth.
One theory was that Mr Prideaux's body was never found in the thick bush off the Buckland Spur Track because it had been consumed by wild animals.
'There are so many that have gone missing,' Mrs Hill said. 'If he fell, and got injured, well there may be nothing left to find.'
Mrs Hill told Daily Mail Australia her husband was familiar with the terrain where he was believed to have gone missing.
'He knows the area,' she said. 'He used to work out there. But it was a long time ago and he was a lot younger.'
Mr Hill had been a professional logger back in the day where he worked in some of the country's toughest bush.
'It's unbelievable actually,' Mrs Hill said of his disappearance.
Police are also examining the possibility the pair disappeared of their own free will, while the scenario they met with foul play has not been ruled out.
Ms Clay (above) was Victorian President of the Country Women's Association and known for beautiful, elegant clothing
Expert hikers (pictured) as well as helicopters and drones had been deployed to look for the pair in Victoria's Wonnangatta Valley, but the search has proved fruitless
A search for the pair in Victoria's Wonnangatta Valley (pictured) has been called off, with the pair presumed dead
Mrs Hill reportedly had no idea her husband was with another woman when he went missing.
She said her husband had been friendly with Ms Clay for decades but was unaware they were travelling together.
While specialist detectives move to rule out foul play, Mrs Hill said she was coping as best as she could while being kept in isolation due to the COVID-19 crisis.
'Some days are better than others,' she said. '(Family) have been coming up a little bit, but the virus is keeping people away. I'm a bit of a loner so it's not to bad.'
Acting Sergeant Scott Wilkinson who was part of the team looking for the pair, said the search was substantial, but ultimately fruitless.
'We were searching every bit of bush and terrain in the immediate area,' he told Nine News.
'The subsequent search has got nothing in the way of evidence, no signs at all of the missing people.
'We are disappointed, we would like to get some result, particularly for the families of the missing people.'
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