Rockefeller mystery: two more sightings

TWO further Gordon residents yesterday came forward with unconfirmed sightings of Herman Rockefeller, but police would not say if they were investigating the claims.A day after Gordon General Store owners John and Jan Spiteri contacted detectives to report that a man they thought to be the missing Malvern East millionaire visited their shop twice on Monday, two separate farmers told the couple they had also sighted a man thought to be the 52-year-old on Sunday.Mrs Spiteri said one of them, an elderly man, saw a blue car drive past his property, about 2km west of Gordon, a number of times and thought the driver was lost.Mr Rockefeller's blue 2007 Toyota Prius was found locked and abandoned about 10km away in Ballan the following day.Farmers in the surrounding area told The Courier on Monday it had been there less than 48 hours.Mrs Spiteri said the other farmer, whose property is located between Gordon and Ballan, told her a man he thought to be Mr Rockefeller came to his door the same day.She said the farmer told her the man arrived on foot, carrying a hiking stick and asked to borrow some diesel fuel.Victoria Police spokesman Senior Constable Adam West yesterday said he could not confirm whether detectives investigating the disappearance had been told of the new sightings.He also said he could not confirm reports on Melbourne radio that police believed Mr Rockefeller was still alive."Investigators continue to keep an open mind in relation to the circumstances surrounding Mr Rockefeller's disappearance," he said.The father-of-two vanished after disembarking from a flight at Melbourne Airport about 9pm Thursday.His bank account, credit cards and mobile phone have not been used since.A family spokesperson earlier in the week said they had no connection to the Gordon area.Gordon General Store was a hive of activity for much of yesterday as a large media throng camped outside the store.Mrs Spiteri said she had fielded calls from news organisations from across Australia and internationally since news of the possible sighting broke late Tuesday."I still don't know if it was him or not but I'm about 95 per cent sure," she said."I just hope if it is, he reads all this and he contacts someone."She said locals were delighted as a media hungry for any information about the mystery focused its attention on Gordon."The locals are rapt that Gordon is back on the map and people know about Gordon," she said."And they (media) have been buying up big on sausage rolls. It's been a busy morning."The man who visited the Spiteri's store early Monday morning had a sausage roll, a pie and a drink, which he sat and ate at a seat near the window, Mrs Spiteri said."He wanted an egg and bacon sandwich but the grill wasn't on and then he asked for a hamburger but we couldn't do that either, so he settled for a sausage roll and a pie," she said. She said the same man returned later in the afternoon for a small carton of milk.