Mystery still surrounds young mother's disappearance one year on

By ELIZABETH BINNING

A year ago today, Sara Niethe's three young children got out of bed and wondered why their "nan" was helping them get ready for school instead of their mother.

Eileen Marbeck was also wondering where her 30-year-old daughter was.

Sara had occasionally stayed at a friend's place rather than drive home late at night or after drinking. She would be home soon, apologising profusely, Mrs Marbeck reassured herself.

But, when Dion, Danielle and Simone arrived home from school at 3pm and Sara had not even called, her mother knew something was wrong. An intense search for Sara Niethe got under way.

Police spoke to friend Mark Pakenham, who said he and Sara had spent most of Sunday, March 30, drinking at his home in Kaihere, 35km northwest of Morrinsville.

When Sara decided to leave early on Monday morning for the 10-minute drive to her home in Kerepehi, he advised her against driving, but she insisted on going.

No one has seen her since, and her missing person file remains open.

Tomorrow Sara's family will place a plaque in a pebble and cactus memorial garden they have created at the back of their small home.

Detective Sergeant Glenn Dunbier said there had never been any evidence to indicate anything sinister happened to Sara.

Until he found otherwise the investigation would not be upgraded to a homicide case.

In the early days, police thought Sara Niethe might have had an accident as she drove home in her distinctive blue-green Honda Civic hatchback.

They combed canals and riverbanks in the Hauraki Plains area but found nothing - not even a sign of her car, which is still missing.

As the days wore on and daughter Danielle celebrated her 10th birthday, suggestions that Sara could have left home were also eliminated.

She had planned her daughter's birthday party down to the last detail, and would not have missed it for the world.

As weeks drew into months the family's hopes for Sara's safe return faded and were replaced with a strong desire for closure.

Today, that "not knowing" is still one of the hardest things for Sara's family.

When a woman with bright red hair walks by they want it to be her. They take a second glance but know deep down that it is not Sara.

Mr Dunbier, a police officer for nearly 20 years, also struggles with the lack of closure.

"It's the one matter that hasn't had a conclusion for me in the whole time that I have been in the police."

Despite the lack of new information, Mr Dunbier continues to visit Mrs Marbeck and the children. Each time, he hopes the next visit will be with something positive, something conclusive, to tell them.

* A free police information line, 0800 OP SARA (0800 677-272), remains open.

Mystery

* Sunday, March 30, Sara Niethe and friend Mark Pakenham spend most of the day drinking at his Kaihere home.

* Early Monday morning, Sara decides to drive home in her blue-green Honda Civic hatchback.

* Neither she nor the vehicle has been seen since.