Couple Returns From Vacation To Find Homicide Press Conference On Front Lawn

You know your mother and father's orders about calling if you were going to be late? It turns out mom and dad should have taken their own advice. A Melbourne, Australia (left) couple found that out the hard way.

Angela Ostell had good reason to worry about her parent's sudden disappearance. She hadn't heard from them since Thursday and when she came to their house, she was equally alarmed. William and Heather Ostell were gone, the family dog was inside alone and unattended, the couple's car was missing and most ominously of all, the front door was unlocked.

Not knowing what else to do, she called police, who began an investigation into the strange vanishing act. They're weren't prepared to call it a murder but they admitted things looked suspicious. So they set up a press conference on the front lawn, asking anyone who knew what happened to the Ostells to call them.

And someone did know - the couple themselves. As the press conference was underway, the bewildered duo turned into their driveway to see a slew of cameras and squad cars on their property. They got out and asked what was going on - and so did police, who questioned them about where they'd been.

It turns out the pair had simply decided to take what Heather calls a "spur of the moment" holiday and hadn't been able to reach their daughter to let her know. "We had decided on Friday morning (to have a break) and we just let a couple of people know," she explains.

And what about those suspicious signs that had so alarmed her offspring? It turns out they'd asked a neighbour to watch the dog and the normally careful William had simply forgotten to lock the door. "I'll blame my husband for that," Heather responds. "We're pretty security conscious. We just wanted to get out on the road and to get out of here."

The couple apologized for the misunderstanding and say they'll try to make it up to their daughter for the worry they caused her.

There's no word on whether she plans to tell them they're grounded.