Rebecca Franks - Daily Telegraph

 

THE mother of missing Maroubra surfer Karl Melo-Richards is urging him to seek immediate medical attention after tests revealed high levels of heavy metals and traces of uranium in his blood.

Mr Melo-Richards, 25, was last seen by his mum Vanessa at 1.45pm on Friday, September 2 at the family home in Broome St when she left to go to work.

Earlier that day, the keen surfer had spoken to a long-term girlfriend and they had decided to “step back from each other” so they could both move on with their lives, Mrs Richards said.

“He was having so many depressive episodes,” she said. “In the last year he had been very, very sick. He was almost getting better and then would crash again.

“We were looking at all kinds of possibilities.”

Mrs Richards said a few days ago the results of hair follicle tests revealed “off the chart” levels of heavy metal toxins including lead and traces of uranium in his blood stream which would explain his depression, anxiety and insomnia.

“It seems that my family does not have the ability to eliminate these things,” she said.

“The results were so bad, there were so many of them and they are so high.

“All these metals cause anxiety, depression, insomnia and confusion and pretty much exactly what he has.

“If he treats this it would change his health and life.”

Mrs Richards, who also has two younger children, said her son’s insomnia had “come back to haunt him constantly” this year and he had not slept for four days prior to his disappearance.

She said he needed to urgently go to a doctor to give blood and would be given medication to draw the metals ‒ which may have formed deposits on his brain ‒ out of his blood stream and detox his body.

“He was training to be a plumber for three years and was almost qualified,” Mrs Richards said.

“During that time, he would be working with copper piping, welding and soldering ‒ all kinds of activity where he could ingest heavy metals from.

“I think it’s through work but I don’t know how on earth anyone could be exposed to uranium.

“It’s very, very odd that it was there.”

Mrs Richards said her son was very sporty, surfing every day at Maroubra and she wondered whether run-off from the old landfill site at Malabar Headlands contained toxic metals that may have got into the water at the south end.

Concerns have been raised by South Maroubra SLSC that work undertaken to collect run-off from the Anzac rifle range may not entirely capture all of it after heavy rain and believe it may contain heavy metal pollutants, although tests have so far failed to confirm this.

The day Mr Melo-Richards went missing, his sister arrived back from school at 4.50pm to find the front and back doors open.

Her older brother’s keys, wallet and car were still there but his mobile phone had gone and since then it has been switched off and his family has heard nothing from him.

Mrs Richards said she hoped to speak with a woman who worked at Tweed Heads and lived at Byron Bay who met her son earlier this year and may know his whereabouts.

Missing posters have been erected around the eastern suburbs asking anyone with information to contact police.

Mr Melo-Richards is described as being of caucasian appearance, 175-180cm tall, broad-shouldered with a fit build, close-cropped brown hair and brown eyes.

When he was last seen he was wearing a T-shirt or long sleeved, dark lightweight jersey, dark blue jeans and closed-in shoes, and carrying an “SDS” brand blue and grey backpack.

Anyone who saw Mr Melo-Richards between 2pm and 5pm on September 2, particularly in the South Maroubra area, near Broome St or the surf club, is urged to call Maroubra Police on 93499299.

'If you can't return, just to let us know that you're out there': A mother's emotional plea to her 22-year-old son who vanished after splitting up with his girlfriend  

• Karl Melo-Richards was last seen on September 2 on Broome St in Maroubra 
• His mother, Vanessa, has made an emotional plea for his safe return
• In the video, she urges him to see a doctor regarding his recent blood tests 
• The high levels of metals and uranium in his blood contributes to his depression
• He was having depressive episodes and split up with his girlfriend 

By Tanya Li for Daily Mail Australia

PUBLISHED: 01:32 +11:00, 16 December 2016 | 
 

A mother has made an emotional plea to find her son who vanished from their family home in south-east Sydney. 

Karl Melo-Richards was last seen by his mother at the family home on Broome St, Maroubra at 1.45pm on September 2 when she left for work. 

His family returned home that afternoon to find him gone, with the front and back doors open. 
 

Mr Melo-Richards' left his keys, wallet and car behind but took his mobile phone, which has since been switched off. 

Earlier that day, he had split up with his long-term girlfriend and had been suffering from frequent depressive episodes in the last year. He had not slept for four days before his disappearance.

His mother, Vanessa, addressed her missing son in an emotional video, urging him to seek immediate medical attention after results of tests performed before he went missing revealed high levels of heavy metals and traces of uranium in his blood.

'They can make anxiety, insomnia and depression a lot worse and you can be detoxified from those,' she says in the video. 

 

She then tells him to go to a doctor who performs chelation to detoxify and remove heavy metals or minerals from the body, which will gradually lift the depression.

'If you can hear this message please go to a doctor that does chelation. I hope then that you may be able to think more clearly and return to us some day,' she says, tearing up. 

'If you can't return, just to let us know that you're out there and you're okay would be a great comfort. We miss you so much.'

 

Missing posters have been placed in south Maroubra and surrounding suburbs.

Mr Melo-Richards had just completed his carpentry. He spent the last three years working as an apprentice plumber and was almost qualified.

He is described as being of Caucasian appearance, 175-180cm tall, broad-shouldered with a fit medium build, olive skin, close-cropped brown hair and brown eyes.

When he was last seen he was wearing a T-shirt or long sleeved, dark blue fleecy lined hooded canvas jacket, dark blue jeans and closed-in shoes, and carrying an 'FCS' brand backpack.

Anyone who saw Mr Melo-Richards between 2pm and 5pm on September 2, particularly in the South Maroubra area, near Broome St or the surf club, is urged to call police.

 

AFP appealing for information on missing people

Connie Agius reported this story on Friday, December 30, 2016 08:15:00

KIM LANDERS: More than 38, 000 people are reported missing each year in Australia. 

Ninety-eight per cent are found within a week or two, but the Australian Federal Police wants public help to solve the long-term cases as part of their Summer of Hope campaign. 

Reporter Connie Agius spent time speaking to the family of one of those missing people.

CONNIE AGIUS: Thousands of people were reported missing in 2016. Karl Melo-Richards is one of them.

His mother Vanessa Richards last saw him on September the second.

VANESSA RICHARDS: He was quiet that morning. I had to be at work by two o'clock. I said goodbye to Karl. I was in a huge rush and we just hugged and I said see you in the morning. He didn't say too much. I drove to work and the next thing I heard was that my daughter who she came home from school and she found that the whole house was wide open. Karl's keys, his wallet, his car, everything was still there. The front door was wide opened, but he wasn't there. 

CONNIE AGIUS: Karl Melo-Richards battles anxiety and depression. 

His mother first noticed something was wrong when he was in primary school. 

VANESSA RICHARDS: He would be trying to complete some kind of a task and at the same time, he would be getting rapid fire, random thoughts, that would be just popping into his head. They were completely unrelated to what he was doing and it would cause a big disruption to his concentration. That is why he was unable to learn. 

CONNIE AGIUS: It got more serious in his teenage years. 

VANESSA RICHARDS: It wasn't until he was 16 at the time when he had his first major depressive episode when he did take a lot of sleeping pills. 

CONNIE AGIUS: Karl Melo-Richards was diagnosed with clinical depression.

He tried a variety of prescribed medications and therapies before finding a combination that worked for him. He finally found stability. 

He started dating, moved out of home and became a carpenter. 

But that stable life came crashing down at the end of 2015.

VANESSA RICHARDS: He and his long term girlfriend they'd decided that they probably wouldn't be together long-term. 

His state of mind I suppose steadily worsened to the point in April where we got a call that he had put himself into the psychiatric emergency care at Prince of Wales. 

Since that point he returned home and he'd been living here with us. He has been up and down ever since.

CONNIE AGIUS: Karl Melo-Richards went missing on two occasions, but was quickly brought home. 

There was no one to stop him walking out the door in September. 

Vanessa Richards feels like a piece of her is missing. 

VANESSA RICHARDS: You're living in the same place every day. You're used to seeing your child sitting in the lounge room every time you come home. You think maybe he'll be sitting there. Maybe I'll see his style in the surf. Maybe I'll see him driving his car. But then you wake every morning, it's just like a nightmare or a dream that does not end.

CONNIE AGIUS: Commander Chris Sheehan from the Australian Federal Police says mental illness is one of many reasons why people go missing.

CHRIS SHEEHAN: Some of the key causes are things like mental illness. Alzheimer's and dementia in particular can be causes for someone to go missing and not let their family know where they are. 

But there's also other reasons. Some of them are more sinister. Things like homicide, domestic violence, drug and other substance abuse can also be triggers for people going missing.

A very big percentage of the people who go missing are young people in the 0 to 17 age group. So we tend to find those people very very quickly.

CONNIE AGIUS: But Karl Melo-Richards is a long term case.

The message his mother has is one police hear often. 

VANESSA RICHARDS: All I need to know is that you're there and you're okay. Your brother and sister would love to have you back. We love you and we miss you so much. 

KIM LANDERS: Vanessa Richards the mother of missing man Karl Melo-Richards ending that report by Connie Agius.

And if you or anyone you know need help. You can call Lifeline on 13 11 14.