A WOMAN who vanished from a Claremont bus stop 46 years ago most likely met with foul play and died not far from where she missed her bus, an inquest has heard.
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The coronial inquest into the disappearance of Lucille Butterworth began in Hobart on Monday.
The focus of the inquest will surround one main person of interest, Geoffrey Charles Hunt, who is a convicted murderer.
Coroner Simon Cooper heard that Mr Hunt last week received an ''insidious'' card from someone purporting to be Ms Butterworth.
''Geoff, our anniversary is this week, I would love to meet you again to celebrate,'' the card read.
It contained pictures of Ms Butterworth, and his murder victim Susan Knight.
The inquest heard an alleged police interview with Mr Hunt where he admitted to strangling Ms Butterworth to death went missing.
Counsel assisting the coroner Simon Nicholson said the timeline around the last direct sighting of Ms Butterworth would be crucial to the inquest.
Mr Nicholson said the ''contemporary hypothesis'' was that Ms Butterworth became alarmed when she thought she missed her bus to New Norfolk and accepted a ride, and the person who gave her the ride was involved in the foul play.
Mr Nicholson said the original investigation had many deficiencies, including a lack of resources and direction.
The investigation was initially classed as a missing person, with senior police believing she ran away.
''There was, and is, no basis for that,'' Mr Nicholson.
Ms Butterworth was last seen in August 1969 when she was waiting for a bus to New Norfolk to meet her boyfriend John Fitzgerald.
The inquest is expected to run for a month, and will hear from 40 witnesses and about 200 items of evidence.