Missing girl case remains open

File photo / Martin Sykes

The 18-year-old mystery surrounding the disappearance of two-year-old Amber-Lee Cruickshank remains "open and active" after animal bones discovered in the central Otago town of Kingston yesterday spurred speculation she may have been found.

Contractors excavating the foreshore unearthed the remains in a shallow grave about midday yesterday creating a flurry of activity on the lake front.

A Queenstown GP viewed the remains and believed "they could possible be human bones", Detective Senior Sergeant Brian Cowie, of Invercargill, told the Otago Daily Times.

However, just before 6pm it was announced the bones were definitely not human and from some sort of animal, possibly a sheep.

Amber-Lee vanished from the township at the southern tip of Lake Wakatipu on October 17, 1992, aged two and half.

After an extensive two-day search police called it off and announced it was a missing persons case.

She has never been found.

Mr Cowie said the case remained open and active.

"It's Kingston...and this is not the first time we've had similar ... finds up here.

We'll treat each one on its merits."

- NZPA