Missing woman probably dead - police

Almost two months have passed since Christchurch woman Emma Campbell disappeared and police believe she is almost certainly dead.

"That would be my estimation of it, but it's only the fact that she hasn't appeared that leads us to that conclusion," said Detective Senior Sergeant John Rae, the officer in charge of the inquiry.

Miss Campbell, 29, has not been seen since she stopped at a petrol station in the city early on May 1. Her car was found abandoned on the Port Hills a couple of hours later. Extensive searches in the area failed to turn up any clues.

The inquiry team was now tracking down people who contacted Miss Campbell in the days before she vanished.

"We've been through her phone records and found several calls made from various people to her and from her, and that's part of our inquiry," Mr Rae told The Press.

One number she had been called from belonged to the Step Ahead Trust in Linwood, which helps rehabilitate people with mental illnesses.

A meeting between police and some of the trust's clients is understood to have been held yesterday.

"If we find she has been there regularly, then obviously we will try to talk to anybody who can give us some information," Mr Rae said.

- NZPA