The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions is considering reopening the case of missing Australian yachtsman Andrew Witton after two potential witnesses revealed they were never interviewed by police.
Andrew Witton disappeared from his yacht, Kaileia, in the Pacific Ocean in 2007. His only crewmate, Simon Golding, was asleep under the deck on the afternoon of January 13. When he awoke, Witton was no longer on board.
The pair were bound for South America, to visit friends, and planned to later make their way to the World Series Cricket in the Caribbean.
Golding claims he searched the waters for two days and two nights after Witton's disappearance. After being hit by a storm he ran into another boat.
He said he didn't want their help, or to travel with them to closeby Easter Island but continued sailing to the Galapagos Islands and reported Witton missing when he arrived.
It was one month and one day since Witton had allegedly fallen overboard.
Witton told the ABC's Australian Story on Monday night that he had nothing to do with Witton's disappearance.
"I did not push Andrew overboard," he told the program.
"I lead an adventurous life. I'm not going to abide by all laws, no. But I do have good morals... people fall off boats, plenty of people fall off boats."
Golding has since been convicted for smuggling nearly half a tonne of cocaine -- with two other men -- into Australia on a yacht from South America. It is one of the biggest drug seizures in the nation's history, with Golding jailed for 30 years in 2010.
Witton’s family is now urging the Commonwealth DPP to reopen the case, with the missing builder’s sister, Louise, telling Australian Story never knowing what happened to her brother "is the hardest part of all.”
"We believe Simon Golding may have wanted Andrew's boat to carry out the importation of drugs in 2007," Witton's sister told the program.
"There's no evidence that a deal was going to be done or was in the planning stages.
"But the fact Andrew went missing in what we believe are suspicious circumstances raises many questions."
Two more witnesses spoke on the program for the first time, revealing they have never been interviewed by authorities despite being some of the last friends to be in contact with Witton.
The Commonwealth DPP never pursued the case, despite the coroner from Witton’s 2009 inquest recommending prosecutors investigate Golding’s alleged involvement in a planned drug deal.
On Tuesday a spokesperson from the Commonwealth DPP told The Huffington Post Australia that they would consider reopening the case.
"Based on the evidence presented at that time, the matter was assessed against the relevant test under the Prosecution Policy of the Commonwealth, and the then Director was not satisfied there was reasonable prospect of securing a conviction against Mr Simon Golding," the spokesman told HuffPost Australia.
“If authorities present the CDPP with new information relating to this case, the CDPP would consider that material."
HuffPost Australia has contacted NSW Police for comment on presenting new information to the Commonwealth DPP.
In 2009 Senior Constable Simon Fitzgerald from the NSW Police Department said in court he was "openly critical" of Simon Golding.