The girls at the college are desperate to hear news about the missing persons. Mrs. Appleyard tries to suppress gossip by forbidding the girls and the staff from going to church, but gossip spreads quickly nonetheless. Doctor McKenzie comes to see both Edith and Mademoiselle de Poitiers. Edith is unable to tell anything of value to the doctor or to Constable Bumpher, the detective assigned to the case, who comes to talk to Mrs. Appleyard and the people who went on the picnic.

Many people search the rock, including Albert and Mike. They are each interviewed by the police, and explain that they saw the girls pass their picnic and jump across the creek. The police bring in a Black tracker from Gippsland.

Constable Bumpher takes Edith, with Mademoiselle de Poitiers, back to Hanging Rock in the hopes that she will be able to remember more once she is there. Edith recalls that she saw a strange red cloud, and that she saw Miss McCraw striding up the base of Hanging Rock in only her underwear. The constable is shocked by this new information.

Having received no leads or news, Mrs.