Marilyn Wallman's bicycle was discovered by her brothers on March 21, 1972, after she left to catch a school bus in Mackay, north Queensland, at 7:42am. A fragment of her skull was found two years later at McGregor Creek, about 40km from where she was last seen.
During the inquest this week in Mackay, Noel Morris was named as a person of interest. On Friday, his uncle Barry Morris told the court via video link that he remembered seeing Noel "hauling coal from the coal face" at Goonyella mine, about 145km south-west of Mackay, on the day Marilyn disappeared.
The 81-year-old said he also saw his nephew playing cards in a break room, though he did not speak to him. "[There] was sort of no need for me to have any recollection on it, except that Noel told my wife, which she told me when I got home, that Marilyn had been missing," he said.
Barry Morris said he could not remember where Noel was on the days before and after March 21 and did not know anyone else alive who could have seen his nephew at work that day.
The court heard there had been friction in the wider family in the years following Marilyn's disappearance. Barry said his brother, Lionel Morris, told family members at a gathering, "Noel done it", referring to Marilyn's disappearance. Questioned why he did not defend his nephew, Barry said: "I knew it was crap."
Witness Jenny Goode told the court she had known Lionel Morris to be a heavy drinker who "always exaggerated things". Ms Goode said she could not recall if Noel had visited them in Mackay that week, but noted his wife Ann had stayed with her after giving birth five days before Marilyn vanished.
The inquest continues.