The Mysterious Murder of Julie Ward and the Search for Answers

The tragic murder of Julie Ward spawned a decades-long search for the truth that's still ongoing.

In 1988, Julie Ward set out on the trip of a lifetime. Taking a long break from her job in England, she was going to Africa to photograph wildlife in Kenya. A week before she was set to return home, she made one last journey into the Maasai Mara game reserve to photograph an annual wildebeest migration.

She would not return.

On Sept. 6 she was reported missing. Nearly a week later, her own father found her remains at the game reserve.

Ward’s father has been determined to find out what happened to his daughter. But resistance from the Kenyan government, rumors, and alleged coverups leave the death of Julie Ward a mystery to this day.

Julie Ward was born on April 20, 1960 to British parents John and Jan, who also had two sons.

As an adult, Ward was a publisher’s assistant in Suffolk, England. But she loved photographing wildlife. So much so that at 28-years-old, Ward decided to take an extended break to pursue her passion and quench her thirst for adventure.

Julie Ward Sets Out On A Journey

In February 1988, Ward left her home in England for a seven month trip to Kenya. She was staying in the capital of Nairobi. But in September she left the city for a trip to the Maasai Mara game reserve. She wanted to capture photographs of the annual Great Wildebeest Migration, where giant herds of wildebeest, gazelles, and zebras travel across Tanzania and move through the Serengeti and Maasai Mara.

Ward was accompanied by her Australian friend, Glen Burns. The two were driving a Suzuki jeep, which broke down during the journey. Burns had to return to Nairobi, so Ward spent the night alone at the Mara Serena lodge while the vehicle was getting repaired.

The next day, Sept. 6, 1988, she drove the jeep to the nearby Sand River camp they had been staying at to gather her camping equipment. It was the last time she was seen alive.