Missing woman was in custody battle

A Northland woman missing for a week was involved in a custody battle for her four-year-old son which had contributed to her feeling down, a friend and police said today.

Cristel De Vetten had been uncharacteristically quiet leading up to her disappearance, they said.

Her sister Nicki and friend Carmen, who did not want their surnames known, appeared at a press conference in the Bay of Islands town this morning, and begged her to come home.

The pair said 2005 had been a stressful year for Ms De Vetten, 30. She had struggled through a still-unresolved battle for son Jaxon.

She was normally a bubbly friendly person and it was out of character for her to go quiet, then to go missing.

She had been increasingly withdrawn in recent weeks, police said.

Police revealed her current partner realised she was missing, when he found Jaxon alone in their home at noon last Friday. He had seen her two hours before.

Police said they were keeping an open mind as to what had happened to Ms De Vetten.

- NZPA