Above Right - A digitally enhanced image of what Kathleen may look like as an older woman

Kathleen - song by Michelle Cashman (Kathleen Harris - Missing since 1999)

Suspicious disappearance of Kathleen Harris

Police investigating the disappearance of a 15-year-old girl from her South Coast home 13 years ago have welcomed the announcement of a $100,000 reward by the NSW Government.

Kathleen Harris was last seen at her home by her friend Clinton Hanlon about 9pm in Huskisson on Sunday 31 May 1999, Mr Hanlon was a member of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang and Kathleen’s home adjoined the clubhouse.

She had planned to meet with friends the following day but never arrived. She was subsequently reported missing by her father and Mr Hanlon.

Police are treating her disappearance as suspicious and have not ruled out that Kathleen may have been murdered.

Detectives from the Shoalhaven Local Area Command continue to investigate Kathleen’s disappearance under Strike Force Jerrett and hope the reward may encourage someone to come forward.

“Kathleen’s disappearance was completely out of character,” Shoalhaven Local Area Commander, Superintendent Joe Cassar, said. “Her personal belongings, including her purse and keys, were located in her home, and family and friends have not heard from her since she went missing.

“Kathleen had been in Australia since 1995 since moving here with her father from her native Costa Rica, but she had always kept in close contact with her relatives and friends back home. “No-one has been able to shed any light on why she would disappear without a trace, and that’s why we believe she may have met with foul play.

“However, someone out there knows what happened to Kathleen and we do hope the incentive of a $100,000 reward may encourage them to come forward.

“By providing that information to police, they could help bring some closure to her family who just want to know the truth.”

Superintendent Cassar said a renewed appeal for information three years ago had led to the forensic examination of a vehicle.

“That certainly remains a line of inquiry, but what we really need to move forward in this case is further information from the public,” he said.

Kathleen was 160-170cm tall, with a slim build, brown to blonde collar-length hair and an olive complexion. She was last seen wearing brown corduroy jeans, a white long-sleeved top and a pair of brown strap-up boots.

Anyone with information about Kathleen’s disappearance is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Information can be provided anonymously.

The reward of up to $100,000 is payable for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for Kathleen’s suspected murder.

Ten year anniversary of teenage girl's disappearance - Huskisson

2009-06-19 10:24:16

NSW Police continuing to investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl on the state's South Coast 10 years ago are renewing their appeal for public assistance.

Kathleen Harris was last seen at her home at Keppel Street, Huskisson, about 9pm on 31 May 1999.

At the time of her disappearance, the 15-year-old was in good spirits and had made arrangements to meet with friends the following day, but never showed up.

Police have genuine fears for her safety and have been told her disappearance is completely out of character. Investigators would like to speak to anyone who can provide them with information about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.

Kathleen has made no contact with family and friends in Australia and overseas in the past 10 years and there are grave concerns for her welfare.

Kathleen was born in Costa Rica. At the time of her disappearance she was 160-169cm tall, with a slim build, brown to blonde collar-length hair and an olive complexion.

She was last seen wearing brown corduroy jeans, a white long-sleeved top and pair of brown strap-up boots. All of her personal belongings and clothing were found at her unit by police.

Anyone with information about Kathleen's disappearance or with knowledge of her whereabouts is urged to contact Nowra Detectives on (02) 4421-9699 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Police renew appeal for information into historical missing person case - Huskisson

2009-06-26 05:32:21

Police are renewing their appeal for information into the disappearance of a teenage girl on the state's South Coast 10 years ago.

Sunday 31 May 2009 marked the 10-year anniversary of the disappearance of Kathleen Harris, who went missing from her Keppel Street home in Huskisson.

At the time of her disappearance, Kathleen was 15-years-old and was last seen at 9pm after making plans to meet with her friends.

Following last week's appeal in which police released a digitally enhanced image of what Kathleen Harris may look like now, police received some strong leads with detectives seizing a vehicle which was allegedly seen in the area at the time.

The vehicle will be examined by specialist forensic officers for any clues into the teenager's disappearance.

Investigators hold grave concerns for Ms Harris's safety and welfare as her disappearance is said to be out-of-character and she has not made contact with her family or friends since 1999.

Police would like to hear from anyone who might have vital information which could solve the puzzle into Kathleen's disappearance.

Kathleen, who was born in Costa Rica, was 160-169cm tall, with a slim build, brown to blonde collar-length hair and an olive complexion.

She was last seen wearing brown corduroy jeans, a white long-sleeved top and a pair of brown strap-up boots. All of her personal belongings and clothing were found at her home by police.

Members of the public with information about Kathleen's disappearance are urged to contact Nowra Detectives on (02) 4421 9699 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. People can be assured that their call will be treated in the strictest confidence and they may remain anonymous.

Ten years have passed since a teenage girl went missing on the South Coast, but police are still on the case, renewing calls for anyone to come forward with information.

Police have genuine fears for Kathleen Harris, 15, who was last seen at her home in Keppel St, Huskisson, about 9pm on May 31, 1999.

Her disappearance was out of character and all her personal belongings were found at her home by police.

Kathleen was born in Costa Rica but has made no contact with family or friends overseas or in Australia in the past 10 years.

When she disappeared, she was approximately 160-169cm tall, with a slim build and brown to blonde collar-length hair.

She was last seen wearing brown corduroy jeans and a white top.

Police have issued a digitally enhanced image of what Kathleen may look like today.

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Nowra police on 4421 9699.

Missing person

Name: Kathleen Harris

Age: 15

Address: Keppel Street, Huskisson

Last seen: May 31, 1999

Breakthrough in 10-year-old mystery of missing teenager

A CAR has been seized and police are awaiting the results of scientific tests as they continue investigating the 10-year-old disappearance of Huskisson teenager Kathleen Harris.

While police would not reveal the type of car or the area from which it was seized, the vehicle represents an important breakthrough in the case.

And it prompted a renewed call for public assistance to help find out what happened to the 15-year-old Huskisson girl, who has not been seen by family or friends since May 31, 1999.

She left her Keppel Street home at about 9pm on the day, but did not keep plans to meet up with friends the following day in an act described as completely out of character.

She had made no contact with any of her known friends or family in the 10 years since then and police admit they hold grave fears for her safety.

At the time of her disappearance Kathleen was well known within the Huskisson community and had a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.

Shortly after the 10-year anniversary of her disappearance police made an appeal for information about what happened to Kathleen, bringing forward a number of new leads including information about the car.

Scientific officers in Sydney are examining the car for any clues to Kathleen’s disappearance.

Police are also following other lines of inquiry prompted by the call for information, and on Friday Shoalhaven Local Area Commander Superintendent Wayne Starling made another appeal for public information on Kathleen’s whereabouts in the hope of uncovering more clues.

Anyone with information about Kathleen’s disappearance is asked to contact Nowra Police on 4421 9699, or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Bikie suspected of killing missing teen

August 12, 2013 — 1.49pm SMH

In the 14 years since teenager Kathleen Harris vanished, rumours, speculation and fear have swept through the small NSW community of Huskisson.

Much of it relates to the main police suspect, Rebels bikie associate Clinton Hanlon.

He was allegedly sleeping with the south coast 15-year-old and had her "under his control", a Sydney inquest into her disappearance and suspected death has heard.

Community members have told police different and horrifying versions of what they claim Mr Hanlon said he did to Kathleen.

He took the teenager out on his boat, slit her throat and dumped her body in the ocean, Detective Sergeant Paul McCann told of one version to Glebe Coroners Court on Monday.

Another is that he hit her over the head with a motorbike helmet before burying her body in dense bushland.

Mr Hanlon, who was in court for the inquest, has denied having anything to do with the teenager's disappearance on May 31, 1999.

He was the last person to see her alive near the unit she was renting from him located next to the Rebels motorcycle gang club house in Huskisson.

The inquest has heard allegations Mr Hanlon was sleeping with the Costa Rican-born teen who had moved to Australia with her father a few years previously.

Police describe her as a "mixed-up young woman" who had dropped out of school and was leading a "high risk" life involving illegal drugs.

But they believe it's unlikely she killed herself or disappeared.

Instead, suspicion rests on Mr Hanlon, a married man who says he last saw Kathleen at the clubhouse that night about 9pm.

He kissed her goodbye and left.

His movements for the rest of the night have not been established, counsel assisting the coroner, Senior Sergeant Daniel Maddocks said.

"She feared no one as much as Mr Hanlon," the officer told the court.

He added there was evidence Mr Hanlon was possessive of Kathleen and that she owed him money for rent and drugs.

The witnesses who told police about Mr Hanlon's alleged admissions did so in spite of their fear of retribution from bikies.

"It was common knowledge throughout the community that Mr Hanlon was in a relationship with this young girl, so why would anyone else step in and do harm to her," Det Sgt McCann said.

The inquest heard some of Kathleen's personal items were discovered in Mr Hanlon's home 10 years after her disappearance, including handwritten notes, a dream catcher and the coat she is believed to have been wearing on the night she was last seen.

One of Kathleen's close friends, Arianne de Casanove, said Kathleen appeared withdrawn the last time she saw her.

"It was like she had grown up and distanced and withdrawn (from me)," Ms de Casanove said.

"And now when I think about it, I think this poor girl was calling out to me and I

was too immature to see it."

The inquest continues before Deputy State Coroner Derek Lee.

Bikie suspect accepts he may have had sex with missing girl

AUGUST 16 2013 - 4:00AM Illawarra Mercury

Police have suspected Clinton Hanlon, who was a Rebels bikie associate at the time, of being involved in the disappearance of Kathleen Harris in 1999.

Mr Hanlon told a Sydney inquest into her disappearance that Kathleen was renting a room from him in front of the bikie clubhouse at Huskisson.

He said he woke up one day with both of them naked in bed after a night of drinking at the clubhouse.

"It could have happened," Mr Hanlon told Glebe Coroners Court yesterday.

"I couldn't say a definite no."

Mr Hanlon was the last person to see Kathleen alive.

He told the court he dropped her off at the clubhouse on the night of May 31 after taking her to a touch football game.

He said that in the car the teenager had told him about a distressing pap-smear result. He said he then dropped her back at the clubhouse and briefly went inside, where she gave him a shoulder massage before he left.

Mr Hanlon told the court that he was crying and distraught after her disappearance, despite letting friends stay in her room days after she went missing.

Earlier this week, the inquest heard allegations Mr Hanlon was sleeping with the Costa Rican-born teen who had moved to Australia with her father a few years earlier.

Detective Sergeant Paul McCann told the court he believed Mr Hanlon had some involvement in her disappearance.

Kathleen's personal items were discovered in Mr Hanlon's home 10 years after her disappearance, including handwritten notes, a dream catcher and the coat she is believed to have been wearing on the night she was last seen.

The court heard that members of the community came forward to police with different stories of what they said Mr Hanlon told them he did to the girl. AAP

Kathleen Harris, who disappeared 20 years ago may have been pregnant, friends reveal

ABC Illawarra

By Nick McLaren

Posted

Friends of a teenager who disappeared 20 years ago from the New South Wales south coast are still searching for answers and calling for a memorial to celebrate her short life.

Kathleen Harris was just 15 and still at school when she disappeared from the picturesque coastal town of Huskisson in Jervis Bay.

But Kathleen was not your average teenager.

A migrant from Costa Rica, Kathleen had recently moved away out of her father's home, while her mother and sisters still lived overseas.

Further setting Kathleen apart from her schoolmates, she was close friends with a member of the Rebels Outlaw Motorcycle Club and living in his property, adjacent to their clubhouse.

"She is very missed," friend Shauna Jeanie said.

"We were happily going to school with her and the next minute she was just gone," fellow friend Patricia Hollis said.

Father of two and bikie Clinton Hanlon was the last person to see Kathleen and reported her disappearance to police.

It was widely believed at the time he may have been sleeping with her and this was canvassed in some detail at her 2013 coronial inquest, including information supplied by police.

But Mr Hanlon denied this in both police interviews and during the inquest.

Mr Hanlon referred to the relationship as "just good friends" and said he felt sorry for her family situation.

Coroner refers case to missing person's unit

Deputy State Coroner Derek Lee believed Mr Hanlon's assertion that he was not having a sexual relationship with Ms Hanlon and was primarily motivated by concerns for her welfare.

"I am unable to find, on balance, that the relationship was anything more than that described by Mr Hanlon," Coroner Lee concluded at the time.

In a new revelation, friends Shauna Jeanie and Patricia Hollis have revealed they believed Kathleen was pregnant when she disappeared.

"She actually told me she was pregnant," Ms Jeanie said.

"I want it investigated."

Ms Hollis had a similar recollection.

"I was under the impression she was pregnant," she said.

"She kept saying she didn't want to drink because she was sick."

Clinton Hanlon was not the only man Kathleen was close to in the lead up to her disappearance.

Shauna Hollis said Kathleen had a boyfriend similar to her own age prior to her becoming close to Mr Hanlon, but left him.

And medical records submitted to the 1993 inquest suggest she told the Nowra Sexual Health Clinic she had a number of sexual partners in the lead up to her disappearance.

Push for memorial

A $100,000 reward, first offered in 2012, remains in place for information that leads to a criminal conviction or arrest in relation to Kathleen's disappearance.

"The Homicide Squad's Unsolved Homicide Unit has carriage of the 1999 disappearance and suspected murder of Kathleen Harris," a NSW Police statement said.

"The matter is expected to undergo a formal review under the new framework in the coming months."

Whether or not further progress is made in the investigation, friends want a seat built in Huskisson to remember her by.

Together with Patricia Hollis they are trying to raise funds for the seat.

"Either along Moona Moona Creek or in between the high school and the primary school somewhere," Ms Hollis said.

"Somewhere she can come back to if she ever finds her way home."

Kathleen Karina HARRIS
DOB:	1983
HAIR:	Brown
CIRCUMSTANCES:
15 year old Kathleen Harris has been missing from her flat at Huskisson since 31 May, 1999. She had a medical condition for which she took regular medication. She did not keep an appointment at Nowra Hospital on the day she disappeared.
Reported missing to: Huskisson Police Station.