Family of man accused of murdering missing Australian campers breaks silence

Greg Lynn has been charged with murdering missing Wonnangatta campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay. Photo / Supplied

The family of a man accused of murdering missing Victorian campers Carol Clay and Russell Hill have broken their silence following his first court appearance.

Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn, 55, was charged with two counts of murder overnight and fronted court for the first time on Friday.

Intimate details of Lynn's past and family have been leaked in the media in recent days, prompting the family to speak for the first time.

In a statement via their lawyers, the family asked for privacy and acknowledged the Clay and Hill families were suffering.

"We accept the media have an interest in proceedings, however, we do request that our privacy be preserved," the family said.

"It has been distressing for our family and the families of the deceased and we are completely traumatised as well by these tragic events.

"We need to deal with the legal proceedings as they arise and try to restore some balance in our lives."

Lynn faced his first court hearing via video-link from his prison cell at Sale police station, in the state's east, on Friday morning.

In a hearing that lasted only eight minutes, the Caroline Springs man was silent as he remained seated inside his cell, wearing a face mask and listening to the court proceedings.

He was remanded to appear at a committal hearing at Sale Magistrates' Court on May 31 next year.

A brief of evidence against Lynn will be ready by April 19.

Carol Clay and Russell Hill.

Soon after the court appearance, a prison van was seen arriving at Sale police station.

Lynn was brought up from his cell and bundled into the truck before the heavy security gates opened and he was driven away.

It will be alleged that Lynn murdered Hill and Clay after the duo – aged in their 70s – embarked on a camping trip to Wonnangatta on March 20 last year.

Hill first left his Drouin home on March 19, before collecting Clay from her home in Pakenham in his white Toyota LandCruiser.

The pair then travelled via Licola, spending one night at Howitt High Plains before heading into Wonnangatta Valley.

Hill – who did not tell his wife he was with Clay – was last heard from the next day via HF radio, stating he was at Wonnangatta Valley in the Victorian Alps.

It will be alleged that other campers found Hill's vehicle the next day with signs of minor fire damage at their campsite, which was completely burnt out, near the Dry River Creek Track.

Since that time, police have conducted extensive searches of the area, including missing persons squad detectives, local police, the search and rescue squad, air wing, dog squad and even the Australian Federal Police.

Lynn was stood down from his job as a Jetstar pilot following his arrest on Monday night where heavily armed officers swarmed a remote campsite in Arbuckle Junction, one-and-a-half hours south of Wonnangatta in the state's east.

Lynn's court appearance was the latest development in the captivating 20-month case, which Victoria Police assistant commissioner Bob Hill previously described as "the most exhaustive and complex" criminal investigations in recent years.

The investigation ramped up a fortnight ago when police unveiled photos of a blue four-wheel-drive towing a trailer they believed could be linked to the case.

Police on Tuesday were then seen towing away Lynn's 4WD to be taken for forensic examination in Melbourne.

Investigators have established a new crime scene in Victoria's greater Alpine region to search for Hill and Clay's remains.

Forensic specialists from the Missing Persons Squad will start scouring dense bush land in the coming days.

Lynn did not make an application for bail.