It has been 25 years since 2-year-old Amber-Lee Cruickshank disappeared from Kingston on the shore of Lake Wakatipu. Initially she was presumed drown but quickly police and her mother Nicola suspected something far more sinister happened to the little blonde girl. Video / Mike Scott
• Amber-Lee's family are begging for answers • Her brothers speak out for the first time • It's been a hard 25 years of not knowing what happened • Can you help bring Amber-Lee home?
Amber-Lee Cruickshank has been missing since October 17, 1992.
Since that day there have been no sightings, no clues - nothing to indicate what happened to her.
It has been torture for her mother Nicola and brothers Harley, Danny and Jacob.
In episode six of Chasing Ghosts, a podcast just released by the Herald, Amber-Lee's family share their decades of torture and torment.
Chasing Ghosts is a six-part podcast series examining the 25-year-old cold case. It is the first serialised podcast produced by NZME and was released late last week. Comprising six episodes, it tells the story of Amber-Lee, what happened to her that day at Kingston and how her disappearance impacted on her family.
Amber-Lee vanished on October 17, 1992, at Kingston, a small town at the southern end of Lake Wakatipu.
She was there with her mother Nicola Cruickshank, stepfather James Gill And baby brother Danny.
Despite exhaustive searches of the lake, town and surrounding bush, there has never been any sign of Amber-Lee.
In the final episode of the podcast we hear what the family have gone through in the past 25 years - having their hopes raised and dashed, their fight for answers, their heartache and emptiness.
"I always remember Harley's words too, after all this had happened and he turned round and said 'you know mum if I was with you this never would have happened because I would have looked after Amber'," Nicola Cruickshank said.
"And that broke my heart.
Nicola desperately wants answers and has vowed never to stop seeking them.
"Come forward," she urged the person who took her daughter.
"I have suffered enough, my family has suffered enough, my friends have suffered enough.
"If you wanted to get a message across you got it across loud and clear. We're still paying the price.
"But please, let her come home. Just tell us where she is."
Detective Sergeant John Kean is the current head of Operation Oliver, the search for Amber-Lee Cruickshank. New Zealand Herald photograph by Mike Scott
Detective Sergeant John Kean, the officer in charge of the investigation into what happened to Amber-Lee, is certain someone knows what happened to her.
He encouraged them to come forward and end the family's pain.
"Someone out there holds the key to this, it's as simple as that," he said.
Chasing Ghosts tells Amber-Lee's story in unflinching detail.
Nicola Cruickshank on the shores of Lake Wakatipu near where her daughter was last seen in 1992. New Zealand Herald photograph by Mike Scott
Help bring Amber-Lee home
If you know what happened to Amber-Lee, or have information you have never shared with police that could help the investigation - please come forward. Contact Detective Sergeant John Kean at the Invercargill police on 021 191 5321 or email john.kean@police.govt.nz.
To pass on information anonymously, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or fill out their online form here.
This service is completely confidential and you do not have to reveal your identity. Police have no way of tracing who passes on tips to Crimestoppers.
