Born 1950 Last seen at her Kensington Gardens,
SA unit on Tuesday 23 June
1998.
Description : Caucasian, 157 cm tall, average build, fair complexion, with
short brown hair.
Circumstances:
Christine Redford was last seen at her home address - a unit at Kensington
Gardens, SA on 30 June 1998. Enquiries reveal that she left her handbag, which
contained her purse, and other personal belongings
at her unit. Her keys are missing. There are no clues to her disappearance and no apparent
motivation for her to leave and start another life.
Sunday Mail (28-12-2003)
Anna Merola/ Peter Haran
SHE was a woman of order, apparent from the neatness of her
home unit at Kensington Gardens.
There had been no indication of trouble when she spoke to a friend on the phone
on June 30.
Five days later the mail was overflowing in her letterbox and the message bank
on her telephone was almost full.
She was gone, but her handbag and personal effects were left behind.
A friend reported her missing, but for police that meant almost a week lost in
their hunt for leads, making their task even more difficult.
Christine lived alone and did not drive, but had a wide circle of friends
through her Job as a grief counsellor and voluntary work with the Salvation
Army.
Her bank accounts were untouched and passport checks showed she had not left the
country.
There were no clues to her disappearance and no apparent motivation for her to
leave and start another life.
She had not made contact with relatives. Christine had a sister and mother in
Adelaide, another sister in Perth and a brother in New Zealand.
Police interviewed them all.
A woman who spent her time comforting and helping others had vanished and her
disappearance was categorised a major crime with fears she has been murdered.
Sister Carol Redford said: "If she is dead it would be good to get an answer,
just to get it finished.
"It is like she has fallen off the face of the planet.
Family holds grave fears for missing woman
The Advertiser
June 24, 20092:10PM
POLICE are no closer to finding missing Kensington woman
Christine Redford despite releasing a ``digitally-aged'' photograph of
her.
Ms Redford, 48, vanished without a trace after she spoke to a friend
on the telephone on June 30, 1998.
Friends reported the single woman missing five days later when they
saw her letterbox overflowing with mail.
Her bank account remained untouched and her passport had not been
used.
Her handbag and other personal possessions were still at home.
She did not have a driver's licence and she has made no attempt to
contact family interstate or overseas.
The Missing Persons Unit had a forensic artist create an image in 2007
of how Ms Redford would look aged 57 - nine years after her disappearance.
Ms Redford, a grief counsellor, spent several hours a week as a
Salvation Army volunteer.
Soon after her disappearance, her sister, Carol Redford, said the
family feared the worst.
Her family has previously said they just wanted an answer to the
mystery.
Missing persons police said they were still seeking information about
Ms Redford's whereabouts.
``Police are keen to speak to anyone who may have had any contact with
Christine over the past 11 years,'' a police spokesman said.
The nightmare of not knowing
July 15, 2011
11:30PM
Carol Redford
holding a photograph of her sister, SA missing person Christine
Redford. Source: The
Advertiser
TALES of missing persons are the stuff of nightmares. The
relentless unknowing.
The exhausting mystery. The questions that remain unanswered.
Two missing men have captured the imaginations of South Australians in
recent weeks - Ballarat-bound father Jason Richards, who disappeared in the
SA desert after June 21, and Edward Camilleri, who was last seen by his
family in April.
There were 7789 people reported missing in 2009-10 - most of them
rebellious teenagers and dementia patients wandering off. In missing persons
cases, 90 per cent are solved.
But Carol Redford understands what it's like for families of the other
10 per cent - the people who are never found.
Her sister Christine went missing in 1998.
No sign of her has been found.
Ms Redford said while it was possible to move on, the memory never
faded. "You have days where it's unusual and you have other days where you
think, 'that's life'," Ms Redford said.
"And you get over it and life is normal and then something triggers
it," she said, wiping away tears.
"It would be nice to finish it. It never finishes. I'd rather find a
body, I don't want to know how she died and the why, you'd never know."
Ms Redford said while she and Christine were not close, she could
understand how the Camilleri and Richards families were feeling.
"I think it's probably really hard because they are really close
families," she said.
"Husbands, wives, I think that would be really devastating and when
you've got babies involved that would be gut-wrenching. They don't know
they're not going to see them again so it's a hope. You'll just hope that
you see them. And it is a hope."
Ms Redford no longer has the same feeling.
"I must say, after 13 years, it's not a hope."
The circumstances of Christine's disappearance remain a mystery.
An alternative healer and bereavement counsellor, Christine, who lived
at Kensington Gardens, also volunteered at the Salvation Army. She was last
heard from when she spoke to a friend on the phone on June 30, 1998.
She was reported missing on July 5. Her purse and passport were in her
Sandford St unit. She did not drive. Her bank accounts weren't accessed.
Ms Redford said Christine's life had changed dramatically in early
1998. "She used to keep daily journals and something happened in January,
the journals stopped," she said. "But there were people in her life so
somebody must know what happened.
"She dropped a group of friends, found a new group, found a new
church. It wasn't unusual for her to get a new group of friends because she
moved through phases."
While Ms Redford holds no more hope, she said the police never give
up. "The file is ridiculously thick with all the statements that they've
taken, all the pieces of paper and I just said, 'stop'.
"'It's too long. If she was coming back, she'd be back. If she is
alive, she doesn't want to come back, she doesn't want to be found, just
stop', and they said, 'We don't. We can't. It's open'."
Ms Redford no longer has a plea for Christine.
"I've done that on two TV shows, I find that doesn't work," she said.
But she has a message for the people who know what happened to her
sister.
"If you can turn the rock over for new information, if you can give us
an answer, just give it. Somebody knows. Do it. Get some guts, do it."
Anyone with information should contact BankSA Crime Stoppers on 1800
333 000 or www.sa.crimestoppers
.com.au. Callers can remain anonymous.
Christine Redford disappeared 20 years ago, and police are still trying to
uncover what happened
A caring woman known for helping others, Christine Redford simply disappeared 20
years ago. With no signs of suspicious activity or conflicts with others, police
are still trying to uncover what happened.
Meagan Dillon
November 18, 2018 - 8:20AM
Sunday Mail
"It’s
a mystery.” That’s how Senior Constable Robyn Ferraro describes the 1998
disappearance of bereavement counsellor Christine Redford – a case she has
been investigating for the past 10 years.
“She had alternative views, concentrating on self-awareness, self-enlightenment
and spirituality but she meant well,” Sen-Const Ferraro said.
“Why anyone would want to hurt her? She was such a friendly, caring person.”
Sen-Const Ferraro said police had three theories – that her life was taken by
another, at her own hand or she left and created a new identity.
But there is no evidence that places one theory ahead of the other two.
The 48-year-old went missing from her Kensington Gardens unit on June 30, 1998,
and has not been heard from or seen since.
“The evidence is just not there to explain what has happened which makes it
difficult for the family,” Sen- Const Ferraro, of the Missing Persons
Investigation Branch, said.
“She was a very caring person by all accounts, easily made friends and, as a
result, met a lot of people through her alternative lifestyle.
“She would befriend people and if they were interested in crystals, meditation
or spiritual healing, then she would help them with that.”
Ms Redford was an avid volunteer and dedicated her time to helping others at the
Salvation Army and Mary Potter Hospice.
She had also worked with blind children and in the renal unit at Queen Elizabeth
Hospital. Sen-Const Ferraro said the last contact Christine had was with a
friend who had been in hospital for an operation.
“When this friend tried to ring her back, she couldn’t get in contact with her,”
she said. “She was a bit concerned about that – she tried continuously to reach
her and couldn’t.
“She ended up speaking to another friend who, unfortunately, couldn’t get in
touch with her, either.
“This friend didn’t know any family of Christine’s so, after a few weeks, she
reported her missing to Norwood Police Station on August 5.”
The last confirmed sighting of Ms Redford was at the St Morris Buyers Market,
where she made a lay-by purchase for a chair on June 29, 1998.
Three days earlier, Ms Redford went to the Westpac branch, on The Parade in
Norwood, and made her regular cash withdrawal to pay her rent. Westpac staff
knew Ms Redford well and would often have coffee with her in their lunchbreak.
“They saw her on that afternoon and they commented that perhaps she wasn’t her
normal, bubbly self,” Sen-Const Ferraro said. “But that could have been because
she suffered from a great deal of pain – she had a back injury from an accident
when she was a teenager.
“That was the last time she withdrew money from her account – normal amount,
normal time. Then she’s made her rent payment with some of that money.”
When Ms Redford failed to make her next rent payment, the real estate agent went
to the Sandford St unit to check on her. But she wasn’t there.
“They thought she may have just gone away so they left it at that,” Sen- Const
Ferraro said.
Once she was reported missing by friends on August 5, police got in contact with
the real estate agent who allowed them to enter her home.
“The most concerning thing was all of her possessions were sitting in the unit –
her handbag, her purse, passport, credit cards,” Sen-Const Ferraro said.
“That was quite alarming. The only thing missing were her keys – there were
dishes in the sink still drying, food in the fridge, so there was no indication
she didn’t intend to come back.
“If you’re only taking your keys, you’d think they’re only going for a short
time.” Investigators examined her phone records, calendar and diary in a bid to
figure out where she may have gone.
“But, unfortunately, there was nothing conclusive to come out of that,” Sen-Const
Ferraro said. “It’s a bit of a mystery as to what happened or where she planned
to go.”
Over the years, police made numerous pleas for information from the public to
help solve the mystery but unfortunately, those appeals shed little light on the
baffling case.
“It’s a mystery – there is no paper trail, no remains, nothing to indicate any
suspicious activity took place, no break-in, no signs of violence,” Sen-Const
Ferraro said.
When asked if she believed Ms Redford’s life had been taken, Sen-Const Ferraro
said: “There are a number of possibilities. She could have gone to ground,
created a new identity; she could be living somewhere in Australia – we just
don’t know.
“It’s quite exceptional circumstances for the family to go through, as well.
We’ll never stop investigating, even if her sister, Carol, says stop, we will
continue to try and locate her.
“It’s tough because it’s in a bit of limbo land where we don’t know ourselves,
so it’s hard to try and console the family, liaise with the family, and give
them answers when we don’t know ourselves.”
But Sen-Const Ferraro said it was not a crime to go missing, so if Ms Redford
was still alive and living a new life, police just wanted her to let them know
she was safe.
“She doesn’t have to tell us where she is – if missing people don’t want contact
with the family, we abide by their wishes,” she said.
Superintendent Des Bray, the officer in charge of the Major Crime Investigation
Branch, said the possibility of foul play was investigated in any missing
person’s case.
“If you have someone go missing, the response from the start, in your mind, is
‘Has this person gone missing, has this person gone off to suicide, has this
person been murdered’,” he said.
“The reality is there’s no evidence to prove that any harm has come to Ms
Redford at her own hand or anyone else’s hand. But you never know.”
Supt Bray said other similar cases often had an element of domestic violence to
them.
“You look at other cases and there’s clearly a sinister aspect,” he said. “But
Ms Redford was not in conflict with anybody, and that’s what is different about
it.
“Those normal red flags are not there with her lifestyle – she’s not into drugs,
not an alcoholic, not in an abusive relationship, not really an at-risk person.
She was a good person, and lived a blameless life. She volunteered in a range of
different things and always meant well.”
Supt Bray said it was unlikely Ms Redford would have created a new identity.
“It would be unusual, you’d think, for a lady her age with no criminal past to
be able to set up and sustain a covert lifestyle for all that time,” he said.
“As time goes by, that’s less and less likely – we could all do it for a short
time but the longer it goes, for somebody like that, the less likely that has
happened.”
Supt Bray said recent cold case breakthroughs, including the Colleen Adams case,
showed the smallest detail could be vital.
ANYONE WITH INFORMATION IS URGED TO CALL CRIME STOPPERS ON 1800 333 000.
Family of Christine Redford, who vanished in 1998 from her
Kensington Gardens home, still searching for answers
Carol Redford still recalls the last conversation with her
sister Christine. They argued after a family holiday. Eight
months later, the grief counsellor vanished. That was in 1998 —
and Carol is still looking for answers.
Meagan Dillon, The Advertiser
|
CHRISTINE Redford was a free spirit, alternative healer and was forever
searching this world.
“She was always searching, but I can’t tell you what she was searching for,” her
sister Carol Redford told The
Advertiser.
“She was always helping people, everything she did had that concept of helping.
And she tried many different things — I don’t know whether she found her niche,
she wasn’t quite sure of her potential.”
Her disappearance has remained a mystery for the past 20 years and has baffled
investigators, her family and friends.
Police have
three theories — her life was taken by another, at her own hand or she
created a new identity and started a new life.
But there is no evidence to put one theory ahead of the other two.
Ms Redford said her sister took a very different path in life to her three
siblings and would constantly join self-healing groups held in church halls
across Adelaide.
“Our mum was a teacher so that’s where I went,” she said.
“Our other sister Michelle knew exactly where she wanted to go — she got into
research in Western Australia and had mapped her life.
“And my brother went straight into the Air Force. Chris was just lost.”
She said Christine never found her true passion and held a lot of different
positions but one constant was her willingness to help others.
Her sister volunteered for the Salvation Army, had worked with blind children
and was part of the Renal Unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. She also became
an alternative healer and bereavement counsellor.
“She is complicated,” Ms Redford said. “She was 18 months older than me but a
very complicated person, very different. I don’t know if she had middle child
syndrome but she did a lot of different work, she didn’t stay with one place for
too long.”
But Christine was a good artist and cook.
“She was into arts and crafts — she could put her hand to anything but sewing,”
Ms Redford said.
“She could crochet, she could draw — and she did a few comical pieces for me.”
Ms Redford said Christine took after their father in terms of her creative
nature and ability to paint.
“Our dad died early, when we were in our mid-teens, and I think it would have
been good to have some direction at that age,” she said.
“We needed someone to say, ‘you’ve done your studies and this is where you can
go’.
“Michelle would have been a good influence on Chris because they got along so
well but they lived in different states — they were separated by the tyranny of
distance.
“Chris and I didn’t get along as well. That has been hard for the police, two
siblings live interstate and the one in South Australia didn’t know anything.”
When Christine was reported missing and the police knocked on the front door of
the family home to seek answers, Ms Redford said they found it “unbelievable”.
“We were trying to find out what was going on but it was hard not knowing much
about her life at that time,” she said.
“Mum was a strong person so she put her daughter’s disappearance in a box and
would say, ‘if that’s what Chris wanted, then that’s OK’. I’m not sure what she
thought, it’s something we didn’t talk about much.”
She said in her final years, her mother did make a comment that she believed her
daughter got “mixed up with the wrong people”.
Her mother died in 2012.
Christine was an avid writer and was encouraged by her self-healing group to
etch her thoughts in ink. She kept journals.
But Christine stopped writing in her journals in February. That was about four
months before her disappearance.
“Chris was always writing and with the groups she got into, they would encourage
her to write,” Ms Redford said.
“When she went to the various self-healing awareness groups, that’s where the
idea to journal came from.”
Ms Redford read all of her sister’s journals about 18 years ago and hasn’t
opened them since.
“I just read them and then placed it in the past,” she said.
“There were a couple of things that came out of them that I had to deal with.
“I know with Chris, a lot of her anxiety was to do with the fact that a lot of
the self-help groups she was going to were designed to repair some damage she
perceived had been caused by mum.
“I did go to one with her once because she invited me. I went but I actually had
to stop and leave. These groups were not my thing.”
Ms Redford said the self-healing sessions were held in a church hall and
involved the group standing in a circle holding hands and sharing their personal
problems or thoughts with one another.
She stopped short of calling the groups a cult, but described them as
“evangelical and controlling”.
“Chris did get involved with a cult when she was 18, but she got out when she
met a nice boy,” she said.
“She didn’t tend to stay in the groups for very long, and would move on to the
next one.”
Ms Redford said the last time she saw her sister was during a family holiday on
the October long weekend in 1997 — about eight months before she disappeared.
But she said the Port Willunga vacation was cut short because Christine had a
fight with their mother.
“On the last day, she had an almighty fight with mum, as she usually did, and I
took her home,” she said. “That’s the last time I saw her and I gave her a piece
of my mind, telling her not to treat mum that way.
“As they say, the last conversation is not the one you want to remember. Funny
in the later years you look back and feel you should have stayed in touch
better, but that was our family way.”
She did not speak to her sister again. Her mother had one further conversation
with Christine following that holiday.
When asked what she believed happened to Christine, Ms Redford said: “She
trusted something she shouldn’t have, and I don’t know what that something is,
or she trusted someone she shouldn’t have.”
She believes her sister would not have been capable of taking her own life and
if she did, she would have needed help. “There would have been a body,” she
said.
And as for starting a new life, Ms Redford said Christine would not have had the
contacts or resources to create an identity and stay hidden for so long.
“Somewhere along the line, you surface again. She hasn’t been seen for 20
years,” she said. “She was an ordinary person.”
But she said the family didn’t know too much about Christine’s personal life in
the later years as she became more and more estranged.
“We weren’t like one of those families you see on TV who can provide police with
vital information about a missing person,” she said.
“We couldn’t because we didn’t know who to go to. Initially we knew a lot about
her personal life, we knew about her two fiancees, but as time went on I
couldn’t tell you who she had in her life.”
If her sister had created a new life, she wanted her to know her mother had
passed away and their other sister Michelle was unwell.
“Even though it has been such a long time, whoever knows something, please just
let the police know. We don’t even need to know where she is, just that she is
safe.”
If she was taken from them, Ms Redford said: “I don’t think we care to know who
did it or why because it has been too long.
“It would be justice for us to find her body — that would be enough.”
ANYONE WITH INFORMATION IS URGED TO CALL CRIME STOPPERS ON 1800 333 000.
