Leeann Scott went missing just days before her birthday.
Leeann Scott went missing just days before her birthday.
Somewhere in the Far North lies the body of Leeann Scott.
The problem is, no one knows where she is or how she got there.
Nine months after the 48-year-old went missing her family and police said it is very unlikely she is still alive and have renewed appeals for information about her disappearance.
On December 12, five days before her birthday, Ms Scott left her home in Cable Bay. It was 10.15am and she was dressed for her usual walk, a 3km route that took her along a picturesque stretch of beach and over the Oruru River to Taipa.
She was seen at the Taipa shops, then never again.
That afternoon her partner reported her missing and despite a major search by police, Search and Rescue, members of the Mangonui Fire Brigade and Mangonui Lions Club no trace was found.
At the three month mark, after reviewing the missing person file, police started back at ground zero. A three day search was carried out using cadaver dogs.
Extra cops were called north and went door-to-door in the Cable Bay and Taipa areas, desperate for any information that could lead them to Ms Scott. Again nothing was found.
Another three months on Ms Scott's family are fed up and police are frustrated. Both want answers and have none.
The cracks in the relationship between the two have started to appear.
Ms Scott's sister Lillian Mann, who lives on Norfolk Island, has made complaints to the Independent Police Conduct Authority and Police National Headquarters about the investigation. She feels more could have, and should have, been done to find Ms Scott.
Leeann Scott wearing the jacket she was last seen in on December 12, 2014.
They believe there is a very real possibility that Ms Scott has become the victim of foul play and that someone out there knows what happened and who did it.
Police have not ruled that out - but without a shred of evidence to support any theory of what happened to Ms Scott, their hands are tied.
What you need to know about Ms Scott is that she had bipolar disorder, and took other medication to treat a form of epilepsy.
She had been in a relationship with Mick Corden for 21 years and the pair lived together.
In May he told NZME that she had "not been well" before she went missing, but had had everything to live for. She had made a hair appointment, had a job interview coming up, would have celebrated her birthday the week following her disappearance and had family coming up from Auckland.
Mrs Mann told the Herald the same thing.
"She wasn't really in her best health. Yes, she had bipolar but that wasn't the problem," she said. "We are quite a close family and we knew when my sister was going through a bad time in her life... with the bipolar. At that time she wasn't."
'I feel like I'm being treated like I've lost a bike'
Mrs Mann felt the police believed her "was suicidal, bipolar and it was her wish to go off and commit suicide and never be found". Because of this, she did not feel they had done enough to investigate her disappearance.
"I know for a fact she never would have done that. I know my sister is probably dead, and she's somewhere out there. We just need police to do the basics. If they do that then I can eliminate (some theories) and move on to other scenarios."
Mrs Mann hired a private investigator to help find Ms Scott but said any leads passed on to police were ignored.
"I thought police were there to check all evidence. This is a human life and the whole time I feel like I'm being treated like I've lost a bike... I have no faith in them at all.
Mrs Mann has asked police numerous times for a copy of the investigation file so she can see who they have spoken to, what other lines of inquiry have been followed up.
"We just want to check that everything has been done.
"My sister wasn't a crazy person. She was effervescent and you just don't lose someone like that. But everyone's just gone 'oh well' and it's not good enough."
Detective Senior Sergeant Rhys Johnston said the file was still active and every piece of information given to police was followed up.
He had reviewed the case on a regular basis and said there was "plenty being done".
"It may take years, decades to work out what happened. We may never find out," he said. "There is certainly no sign that Leeann is alive and well. Equally, there is nothing pointing to anything else."
Blanks in all direction
Sergeant Johnston would not be drawn on the specifics of the investigation, saying police could not disclose every person they had spoken to and what they had been told as it may impact on court proceedings later on in the case.
"The relevant people have been interviewed and all sorts of other things have been done. It's not a closed case," he said. "We are doing everything that's physically possible on this case, looking at every possible angle."
He could not comment on the IPCA complaint made by Mrs Mann, but was aware of it. But he assured the Herald that police were taking Ms Scott's disappearance very seriously.
"The investigation is reaching blanks in all directions. But it's not like we've been sitting on our bums doing nothing. We have spent thousands and thousands of man hours on this case both investigating and searching.
"We want to know what's happened too. But we can't just say 'hey presto' we now have the answers."
Mr Johnston appreciated how difficult it was for Ms Scott's but he was confident the case would be solved eventually and they needed to trust his investigators to do their job.
"Police are equally frustrated and we are determined to find her. But there is no evidence pointing in any direction right now," he said.
CAN YOU HELP?
If you have information about Leeann Scott's disappearance, or saw her on December 12 or after that date to contact the Kaitaia police on 09 408 6500. Alternatively, to give pass on information anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
