Kellie Ann CARMICHAEL
Kellie Ann CARMICHAEL
Kellie and her family
| Name: | Kellie Ann CARMICHAEL | Sex: | Female |
| Year of Birth: | 1977 |
| Age when missing: | 24 | Height (cm): | 180.0 | Build: | slim |
| Hair Colour: | Brown | Eye Colour: | Blue | Complexion: | |
| Nationality: | Racial Appearance: | Caucasian |
| Circumstances - Kellie Carmichael left her home in
Victoria and travelled on holiday to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains of NSW. She has not been seen since
Sunday 29th of
April, 2001 When Kellie left the Katoomba Lodge, she told staff she would be back later that day to collect her belongings.
|
The NSW Government today offered a $200,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person(s) responsible for the disappearance and death of Kellie Ann Carmichael.
The 24 year old Geelong woman was last seen by staff at a hostel in Katoomba on the 29th April 2001.
Minister for Police Michael Daley said that when Kellie left, she told staff she would be back later that today to collect her belongings.
“Tragically, that was the last time she was seen alive,” he said.
“Her parents, John and Margaret, contacted hostel staff on May 5th and after discovering that her belongings were still at reception, they reported her missing to Katoomba Police Station.
“Around May 12th Kellie’s parents travelled to Katoomba where they collected her belongings – which included her ID, wallet, mobile phone, bankcard, Medicare card, camera and toiletries.
“Her parents spent two days searching for their daughter, and were later joined by their son Danny for another unsuccessful week.
“Since then, they’ve wondered what happened to their youngest daughter.”
In 2004, State Crime Command Homicide detectives took over the investigation.
Despite numerous inquiries police have so far been unable to arrest any person they believe is responsible for this crime.
Mr Daley said police believe people in the community may have information about Kellie’s disappearance and this substantial reward may encourage those people to come forward.
“The person responsible for this crime deserves to be behind bars – and police will not give up until they are,” Mr Daley said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Information can be given anonymously at anytime of day or night.
Any information you have about this is worth giving to police, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem.
You can provide information to police via any of the methods below:
Any information provided will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Your help may give police the clue they need to close this case and provide some comfort for the families of victims.
IT WAS a reaction that stunned John Carmichael and his wife Margaret when they arrived at Katoomba to look for their missing daughter Kellie.
It was 3˝ years - during which time the family did its own investigation - before the family learned that police had received information her death was a murder and the homicide squad was investigating.
Now the family has said they would never have closure but the case being solved - or at the least, her remains being found - would bring them some comfort after eight years of pain and frustration. But Kellie's mother still cries almost every day.
A CORONER has recommended police set up a task force to reinvestigate a string of missing young women cold cases over fears they have been murdered.
Homicide squad commander Detective Superintendent Geoff Beresford said police had yet to make a decision on whether to establish a task force.
A spokesman for Mr Scipione said police would look closely at the recommendations and seek advice from the head of the homicide squad.
Fears Geelong woman may be victim of serial killer
November 2nd, 2009
MISSING Geelong woman Kellie Ann Carmichael may be the victim of a serial killer.
A New South Wales coroner wants police to re-open her cold case and check to see if a string of other similar disappearances are connected.
And school friends of the former Sacred Heart College student have pledged their support, offering to write to Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione and urge him to set up a special taskforce to investigate the mystery.
"I went to high school with Kellie and some friends from school would like to write to the police minister and commissioner in support of them taking on this investigation," former classmate Karina Potter wrote in an email to the Geelong Advertiser.
Another, named Sari, left a heart-felt note on a missing-persons website.
"You were a beautiful glowing young woman with a magical quality," Sari wrote.
"I think about you everyday. I have cried so many silent tears that I imagine there are none left but still they flow ... perhaps you would be married with children, maybe you would be travelling the world as we dreamed when we were young.
"Kellie at the prime of your youth an amazing young woman now disappeared without a trace.
"It has been gut wrenching without you, without the chance to have a memorial and to say our goodbyes.
"I am living like you would want me to Kellie, but always with my heart aching for your safe return."
Earlier this year NSW Deputy State Coroner Carl Milovanovich wanted police to set up a taskforce to reinvestigate a string of missing young women after learning the possible murder of Ms Carmichael was treated as a suicide for more than three years.
Ms Carmichael, 24 at the time she vanished, was last seen checking out of a lodge in the Blue Mountains on April 29, 2001.
She was due to fly home to Geelong later that day but was never seen again.
When her parents reported her missing, it was classed as a potential suicide because she had earlier been diagnosed with a mental illness.
Three years later police were given a tip-off she had been murdered but her body was never found.
Unsolved Homicide Squad head Detective Chief Inspector John Lehmann said his group of specialist cold-case detectives would review Ms Carmichael's file before making any recommendation to re-open the investigation.
"If it's recommended that we look at these in new ways to investigate the matters it becomes an active investigation," Insp Lehmann said.
"One of the first things we do once we decide to investigate with those new avenues is we notify the parents and next of kin and explain what we are doing and how we are going to do it."
He said the paperwork from the coroner was yet to make its way to his office.
A $200,000 reward has been offered to try to solve the disappearance of a Victorian woman in the New South Wales Blue Mountains.
Kellie Ann Carmichael was last seen nearly a decade ago when she left a hostel at Katoomba.
The 24-year-old had travelled from Geelong in Victoria to seek help from friends for her schizophrenia.
Police initially suggested she committed suicide but her parents say they never believed it.
Three years later officers got a tip off that Ms Carmichael had been murdered.
Her mother Margaret is pleading for new information.
"Anything at all, you know, we will be thankful because our life is never going to be the same," she said.
Police say the case will remain a mystery unless someone comes forward.
The Police Minister Michael Daley is convinced someone in the community knows what happened to her.
"Please give her family the closure that they deserve. Please come forward with information," he said.
"And understand that if you have been responsible for doing harm to Kellie Ann, the police will never close this file.
"They will hunt you until the day you die."
John and Margaret Carmichael are certain their daughter, Kellie Ann Carmichael, was murdered, despite the fact her body has never been found.
Today, they welcomed the state government's announcement of a $200,000 reward for information that leads to police solving the case.
Ms Carmichael was 24 years old when she travelled to Katoomba from her home in the Victorian city of Geelong.
Personal items she took with her have been found, but Ms Carmichael has not been seen since April 29, 2001.
"I feel like we've been robbed of having our daughter, grandchildren," Margaret Carmichael told reporters in Sydney.
"We've never had the chance to have our daughter ... our family has never been the same."
Mr Carmichael admitted the agony of his daughter's disappearance had not faded, despite the passing of time.
Police initially investigated the possibility Ms Carmichael took her own life, in part because she was suffering from schizophrenia.
The homicide squad first launched an investigation in 2004, three years after her disappearance.
In 2009, deputy state coroner Carl Milovanovich recommended a dedicated police strike force be set up and a reward offered to help solve the mystery.
Mr Milovanovich ruled Ms Carmichael had died, but was unable to record a verdict as to the exact date, location or circumstances of her death.
She was last seen checking out of the hostel where she was staying, and her parents say it was not unusual for her to take trips.
Homicide squad Detective Inspector Russell Oxford said it had been a tough case to investigate.
Leads have previously been investigated, but dismissed.
"It's important, somebody must know where this young girl went," he said.
"It's always difficult with a missing person when you have scant information.
"Now it's an opportune time to look at it again."
