Kellie Ann CARMICHAEL
| Name: | Kellie Ann CARMICHAEL | Sex: | Female |
| Date of Birth: | 15 Apr 1977 | Age Now: | 29 |
| Age when missing: | 24 | Height (cm): | 180.0 | Build: | Thin |
| Hair Colour: | Brown | Eye Colour: | Complexion: | ||
| Nationality: | Racial Appearance: | Caucasian |
| Circumstances - Kellie, left her home in
Victoria and went to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains . She has not been seen since the 26th of
April, 2001 *Also in Victorian section |
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.
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."