Proposed press releases

Day 1

Christine Gardiner missing

Concern is growing over the safety of journalist and broadcaster Christine Gardiner. She has made no contact with her employers for over a week, having told them by email she was going to take a short holiday lasting two or three days at the most. Ms Gardiner, 60, is well known for her freelance reporting on political and topical issues and as host of in-depth interviews for the television programme, One-On-One. She recently completed her latest assignment for the programme on the Malaysian-Brunei border at an undisclosed location in the South China Sea, where she visited Haji Salleh Abdullah, reputedly the world’s richest man. Ms Gardiner was last seen in the port city of Sandakan in north Borneo.

Day 2

No contact with Christine Gardiner

Christine Gardiner, the award-winning journalist and broadcaster is now officially a missing person. International agencies have been alerted.

She was last seen on Tuesday 18 May when a woman answering her description boarded a private vessel in the harbour at Sandakan, north Borneo. She cleared Malaysian immigration, but thus far has not passed through any other immigration check. Ms Gardiner, who lost her left leg to bone cancer in adolescence, is an instantly recognisable figure, and so reports that she left on board a private yacht owned by Haji Salleh Abdullah can be taken seriously. She had previously been staying with Abdullah in his private home off the western coast of Borneo, a visit dedicated to recording interviews for her One-On-One television series. It remains unclear whether Ms Gardiner’s assignment was completed, or whether this observed boat trip formed part of her on-going project.

Haji Salleh Abdullah, reputedly the world’s richest man, is a Muslim convert and long-term British expatriate. He has lived in South-East Asia for over thirty years, but paradoxically he and Ms Gardiner were both brought up in the same north of England town. Both suffered from bone cancer in adolescence and both had legs amputated.

It is assumed that Adbullah and Ms Gardiner were travelling together, but it is not known where they were heading. The Sandakan port authorities, however, were able to confirm that Abdullah has made several recent journeys in the same boat, which is moored permanently in the port and maintained to seaworthiness by a full-time on-shore crew. A member of this maintenance team was quoted as saying that this latest departure of the boat seemed routine, apart from the presence of Ms Gardiner. He also was able to confirm that many of Abdullah’s recent trips had been to turtle nesting islands in the Celebes Sea, territories that form part of the Philippines archipelago.

The coastguard has been alerted, since attempts at radio contact with the vessel have not been acknowledged. Several ships sailing the waters south of the Philippines have recently been subjected to pirate attack.

Day 4

Christine Gardiner’s estranged husband found dead

Anthony Green, husband of broadcaster Christine Gardiner, has been found dead at his home in west London. The alarm was raised by a cleaner who visits the house twice a week. On Tuesday, the home help, referred to by police as Mrs C, could not gain access to Colonel Green’s house, but did not immediately suspect a problem, since Anthony Green has recently been extremely busy working on an assignment for a defence contractor. She left a note advising Colonel Green she had called. But since her visits to the property have been regular for a number of years, she judged the absence more than just surprising and decided to double-check. She thus telephoned Colonel Green on his personal number and was surprised to find that his phone was ringing inside the house, but not being answered. Mrs C then raised the alarm. She reported that she had never known Colonel Green be separated from his personal mobile, and that he was always scrupulous about switching it on and off, to the extent she had never known him miss a call. Having rung the emergency services, Mrs C then tried the front door and was surprised to find it open. She discovered Colonel Green’s body at the foot of the stairs.

Anthony Green was married to Christine Gardiner. The couple had no children as a result of complications arising from Ms Gardiner’s cancer treatment as a teenager. Both led successful careers, Colonel Green in the army, followed by defence consultancy, and Ms Gardiner in broadcasting. The couple had announced some months ago that their relationship had been under pressure. A month ago, just before embarking on her most recent journalistic assignment to South-East Asia, Ms Gardiner had moved out of the family home in what she described as a trial separation.

Ms Gardiner was declared ‘missing’ during the last week. It is not known whether Colonel Green knew of his wife’s difficulties, or whether her disappearance might have contributed to his death. Police refused to confirm whether he had committed suicide, stating merely that Colonel Green had been dead for approximately three days and that no-one else was being sought in connection with the incident.

Day 5

Christine Gardiner’s disappearance not linked to husband’s suicide

Concern mounted further yesterday for the safety of broadcaster, Christine Gardiner, who has not been seen or heard of for approximately two weeks. In a cruel twist, which is not thought to be linked with Ms Gardiner’s disappearance, her husband, Colonel Anthony Green, has been found dead at the couple’s house in Kensington. Details of Colonel Green’s death have not been released, but it is understood that he took his own life some time last weekend, having taken an overdose. There was also evidence he had been drinking heavily, his body being found at the foot of the stairs. Head injuries are believed to have been sustained in the fall.

It is assumed that Ms Gardiner, who had already left the Borneo port of Sandakan on a private yacht before Colonel Green died, knew nothing of her husband’s state of mind. There has still been no contact with Ms Gardiner, nor with Abdullah Salleh, the boat’s owner. It is believed the couple were heading for the southern Philippines.

Colonel Green, 63, was an army officer until retiring after twenty-five years service. Since then he has pursued a freelance career as a defence analyst and consultant. An only child, Anthony Green has no surviving close family. He and Ms Gardiner, married for thirty-seven years, have no children.

Day 6

Wreckage of Gardiner boat found

Fears are growing for the safety of broadcaster Christine Gardiner after wreckage of the luxury yacht in which she was believed to be travelling was discovered on a remote island in the Sulu Sea. She was a passenger on the yacht, Laut Emas, owned by Salleh Abdullah, who had been the subject of Ms Gardiner’s latest filming assignment for her One-On-One series. Port authorities in Sandakan confirm that Abdullah did lodge an itinerary with them, as was his usual practice. The document states the boat’s intended destination was the Turtle Islands, a Philippine archipelago close to the coast of north-east Borneo.

The craft Laut Emas is a recently-built luxury yacht with a full complement of on-board security and safety features. Most of the boat’s fixtures and fittings are embossed with its name and international registration data. Several items, including bathroom fittings, tableware and bedding have been discovered washed up on a beach on an island near to the boat’s declared destination. The boat’s owner, Salleh Abdullah, is also missing.

It is not known whether Ms Gardiner is aware of the fate of her husband, Colonel Anthony, Green, who committed suicide last weekend. Ms Gardiner, 60, is thought to have been researching material for a planned television programme.

Day 7

Christine Gardiner feared dead

Human remains have been found near to where fittings from Salleh Abdullah’s boat, Laut Emas, were discovered yesterday. Local fishermen found human body parts in their nets after trawling sand-beds offshore from the beaches where flotsam from Laut Emas was found. There has been no sign of bodies or indeed the wreck of Salleh Abdullah’s boat. Seas in the area are shark-infested, and currents are both fierce and unpredictable. In addition, nearby is one of the world’s deepest ocean trenches. If Laut Emas foundered in a storm, the wreck may have sunk to depths where it cannot be recovered, or even located.

Day 9

Christine Gardiner dies at sea

Human remains found in fishermen’s nets in the Sulu Sea have been confirmed as those of Christine Gardiner, the award-winning broadcaster. Two individuals were identified after the remains had been subjected to genetic analysis. There was a positive match for Ms Gardiner’s DNA, whose profile was available as a result of her having, just two years ago, devoted a programme to investigating the validity of using DNA profiling in criminal cases. Her own DNA was fully profiled as part of the investigation.

The second individual could not be positively identified, but the remains are assumed to be those of Ms Gardiner’s travelling companion Adbullah Salleh, who was also known as Thomas Cartwright. Salleh had been the subject of Ms Gardiner’s most recent television programmes, One-On-One interviews with reputedly the world’s richest man. No data on Abdullah Salleh’s DNA was available to local pathologists, so no positive identification was possible from the body parts retrieved.

In the absence of either a positive identification of Abdullah, or of any structural debris from his luxury yacht, Laut Emas, authorities would not speculate on events that might have led to Ms Gardiner’s death. Recently, there have been sporadic attacks by pirates on sea traffic in the area, and there have been violent storms associated with the annual monsoon. Abdullah, however, had travelled this coast many times, making regular visits to conservation sites in the region, and was thus fully aware of the dangers.

Christine Gardiner... [continues with contents of pre-prepared obituary sourced from file]