In November 2011, Craig Stanley and Rebecca Michels left a note for family and friends saying they were heading to central Victoria to pan for gold. They loaded their gear into a rental car at Ballarat and then vanished. 

But behind the scenes, police were fairly sure they knew why the Langwarrin couple had left home in a hurry.

Two weeks after their disappearance, on November 8th, 2011, detectives revealed that Stanley and Michels were wanted for “serious criminal offences”.

They were both charged with child pornography offences, and Stanley was also accused of an indecent act with a child. They pleaded guilty, and on July 5th Stanley, 28, was sentenced to 10 months in prison and placed on the sex offenders register for life, while Michels received an 18-month community corrections order and was also placed on the register.

Among the thousands of child abuse images found on Stanley’s computer were a number created by the same person. Some showed the serious sexual abuse of a young girl, but another showed a couple holding a sign with the name of a nudist website and a username on it.

With the girl in the picture clearly at serious risk, Detective Leading Senior Constable Simon Fogarty knew he had to work fast. 

Using the nudist website and username as a starting point, he discovered the couple in the photo were in the United States, and was able to unearth some personal details, including email addresses.

On the afternoon of Friday, August 17th, Detective Fogarty reached out across the world and contacted agents from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency in Philadelphia.

As Assistant Special Agent in Charge William Walker told Fairfax Media last week, agents worked through the night and over the weekend to identify the people who created and sent the images, coming up with two names: Patrick Mergen and his girlfriend, Laura Shauger.

On Tuesday, August 21st, they swooped on Mergen and Shauger, charging them with producing and possessing child pornography.

More importantly, they rescued two children, including the girl from the photographs found on Craig Stanley’s computer. 

Patrick Mergen pleaded guilty in April and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Shauger pleaded guilty last week and faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison.