A Moment In Crime Podcast: Chasing Ghosts - the mysterious disappearance of Southland toddler Amber-Lee Cruickshank

Senior Journalist - crime and justice·NZ Herald·

16 Jan, 2021 04:00 PM5 mins to read

Nicola Cruickshank near the place where she last saw her toddler in 1992. Photo / Mike Scott

In October 1992, Amber-Lee Cruickshank vanished at Kingston, a small town at the southern end of Lake Wakatipu near Queenstown.

The two-and-a-half-year-old was there with her mother, stepfather and baby brother, a stop with friends on their way to a new home and a new life.

It was supposed to be their fresh start, but the trip marked the beginning of a nightmare that has now spanned almost 30 years.

Despite exhaustive searches of the lake, town and surrounding bush, there has never been any sign of Amber-Lee.

The last photo taken of Amber-Lee with her mother and brothers before she vanished in 1992. Photo / Supplied

She is one of around 450 people listed as missing in New Zealand.

Each year thousands of people are reported missing to police and most are found within days.

However, hundreds of families are still waiting for answers - some still searching years after their loved ones were last seen, still desperate for news and pleading for information.

In the Herald today senior journalist Anna Leask looks at those missing people - who they are, where they were last seen - and speaks to one heartbroken family making a plea for information about their missing brother, son and dad.

This month's episode of Leask's podcast A Moment In Crime also centres around a missing person - the ongoing search for Amber-Lee.

Episode 15 goes back to Leask's first true-crime podcast Chasing Ghosts, which was produced to mark the 25th anniversary of the child disappearing.

Episode 15 is available on the Herald website today - and you can listen on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.

Leask investigated the famous cold case in a bid to generate some answers for the toddler's family.

It was the Herald and NZME's first true-crime podcast.

A Moment In Crime is written, hosted and produced by Anna Leask with help from the NZME sound and vision team.

The bach where Amber-Lee Cruickshank was last seen at Kingston. Photo / Mike Scott

Leask has been covering crime and justice for the Herald for more than a decade and has reported on most of the major incidents and events over that time.

"Each month I'll take you inside some of our most infamous incidents, notorious offenders and behind the scenes of high-profile trials and events to show you what's really happening in your backyard," she said.

"Heroes and villains battle for justice to be done, and it seems no matter how horrifying the story, we always want to know more.

"If you want to know more about the cases that have shocked and shaped our nation - from murders and massacres to violent villains and the utterly unbelievable - join me for A Moment In Crime."

In our first episode, we looked back at the Christchurch terror attack - what unfolded on March 15 and how it changed New Zealand.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO EPISODE 1 OF A MOMENT IN CRIME

The podcast has also delved into the cold case murder of Kayo Matsuzawa, the murder of Feilding farmer Scott Guy, the cold case of schoolgirl Alicia O'Reilly, double killer Jason Somerville - infamous for the Christchurch House of Horrors, and the Lundy and Crewe family murders.

NZME has a raft of other podcasts produced by journalists and broadcasters from the Herald, NewstalkZB, ZM, The Hits and others - all available on iHeart radio.