Australia Australia - Leisl Smith, 23, Wallarah, NSW, 19 Aug 2012 *arrest in 2019, died during trial*

[marlywings]

November 13, 20

Police have appealed for public assistance as they investigate the suspicious disappearance of a NSW Central Coast woman three months ago.
Leisl Smith, 23, was last seen leaving her Wallarah home in her Honda Accord early on Sunday afternoon on August 19.
After she failed to return home, family members reported her missing and her car was found abandoned at the Tuggerah railway station car park a week after she was last seen.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2012/11/13/07/01/police-seek-for-info-on-missing-nsw-woman

 

[marlywings]

NSW police report...

Police investigate suspicious disappearance of Central Coast woman
Tuesday, 13 November 2012 04:11:35 AM

Police have renewed their appeal for public assistance as they continue their inquiries into the suspicious disappearance of a Central Coast woman three months ago.

Strike Force WEHL has been formed by detectives attached to Tuggerah Lakes Local Area Command to investigate the disappearance of 23-year-old Leisl Smith.

Ms Smith was last seen leaving her Wallarah home in her Honda Accord about 1pm on Sunday 19 August this year.

Anyone with information about Leisl Smith’s disappearance or current whereabouts is urged to contact Tuggerah Lakes Detectives or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: https://www1.police.nsw.gov.au/.

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/l...nb3YuYXUlMkZtZWRpYSUyRjI2NzAwLmh0bWwmYWxsPTE=

 

[EdinburghLass]

This is pretty local to me. So sad that it's only now getting media attention.

 

[LegallyBrunette]

Any time you hear of a missing person where their phone and bank accounts haven't been accessed since they went missing there should be fears for their safety unless there is very good evidence to do otherwise.
Sadly, this doesn't always seem to be the case. Aoife Phelan in Ireland is the most recent example.
Jill Meagher's case shows how quickly things can move once the media becomes involved in a major fashion.
You just never know who may have seen what.
Let's hope now that Tuggerah LAC have renewed appeals for information about Leisl's disappearance there may be some news.
Anyone who has ever loved a horse will know she wouldn't have gone away when her mare was due to foal :-(

“Leisl is an animal lover and her horse gave birth to a foal in late August. She was very excited about the impending birth and the fact that she missed the event is worrying," Detective Inspector Dave Waddell of Tuggerah Lakes Local Area Command said.

"Leisl's disappearance is very much out of character and police and her loved ones are extremely concerned for her welfare."

‘‘If she is not accessing bank accounts, if she isn’t using her phone, she has to be sourcing money from somewhere,’’ Detective Sergeant Paul Laksa said yesterday.
‘‘She might have picked up some work on a farm somewhere, she might be helping out a farrier.
‘‘We are asking for people in the horse industry to help us out in locating her, because we are convinced – if nothing comes out of this plea – then we will have to start suspecting that something has happened.’’

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/out-of-ch...lover-leisl-20121113-2990i.html#ixzz2CHEUmDev
http://www.theherald.com.au/story/1086762/case-of-missing-woman-suspicious/?cs=305

 

[catswhiskers]

This is pretty local to me. So sad that it's only now getting media attention.

Have been home with the flu, so have had time to sit with the laptop in bed and browse Australian cases. Yes, isn't it strange that this happened in August but is only getting a little attention now? Maybe it does have a lot to do with how much of a fuss is kicked up by family and local community and how media savvy they are themselves - not that I know anything about their efforts in Leisl's case.

The most telling things to me are the lack of phone and bank activity for a person her age, plus the information about her love of animals and missing the birth of a foal which she had been anticipating.

I haven't read every available news article but this one in the Newcastle Herald is the first I have seen that says CCTV at the train station showed her walking away from the station after parking there

Case of missing woman 'suspicious'

:moo:

 

[catswhiskers]

Another young Australian woman missing for a week now - her car is missing as well, and very little info available as yet.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190934&highlight=sarah+cafferkey

 

[Donjeta]

What they do know is that on August 19 – a Sunday afternoon – the 23-year-old drove from her Wallarah home and parked her Honda Accord at Tuggerah train station about 1pm and simply walked away.
Closed circuit television cameras show her walking away from the station and not boarding a train.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/1086762/case-of-missing-woman-suspicious/?cs=305
Was she supposed to travel by train somewhere that day? Did she normally use the train and park there? Are there businesses etc. nearby that she could have planned to visit while waiting for her train? Did she intentionally dump her car and disappear?

It seems like she'd have been there for the birth of the foal if she could

 

[Humdinger]

I heard about this the other day but didn't realize she'd been missing for so long

 

[somanto]

Whoops wrong thread...

 

[catswhiskers]

I wish there was some news about Leisl to discuss. Just had a google of Tuggerah and it's a decent sized town, with the train station right in the thick of things. You'd think a local's memory could be jogged about seeing her walking, or a mate could do the right thing if she is ok somewhere.

 

[LegallyBrunette]

I wish there was some news about Leisl to discuss. Just had a google of Tuggerah and it's a decent sized town, with the train station right in the thick of things. You'd think a local's memory could be jogged about seeing her walking, or a mate could do the right thing if she is ok somewhere.

Used to be a place where people had a weekender, and then went there to retire. Central Coast has changed a lot since those days. This is another strange case, cctv shows her walking away from the car - then nothing? Her FB shows a happy girl with lots of lovely animals, but police are saying she may have travelled to Hunter Valley or New England which are horse breeding areas. The trouble with all these cases are that for many reasons police don't release all the information to the public, so you've always got one hand tied behind your back when you're trying to sus things out :twocents:

 

[catswhiskers]

NSW police report...

Police investigate suspicious disappearance of Central Coast woman
Tuesday, 13 November 2012 04:11:35 AM

Police have renewed their appeal for public assistance as they continue their inquiries into the suspicious disappearance of a Central Coast woman three months ago.

Strike Force WEHL has been formed by detectives attached to Tuggerah Lakes Local Area Command to investigate the disappearance of 23-year-old Leisl Smith.

Ms Smith was last seen leaving her Wallarah home in her Honda Accord about 1pm on Sunday 19 August this year.

Anyone with information about Leisl Smith’s disappearance or current whereabouts is urged to contact Tuggerah Lakes Detectives or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: https://www1.police.nsw.gov.au/.

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/l...nb3YuYXUlMkZtZWRpYSUyRjI2NzAwLmh0bWwmYWxsPTE=

Ok ... so I have only just realised that the police info states that Strike Force WEHL was actually formed for this investigation. It looks like just about all of the NSW local police have posted Leisl's story on their individual fb pages - the police are treating her disappearance as serious and suspicious.

I can't believe the lack of media coverage really - most news outlets have just reprinted the police info verbatim when it was released a few days back. The girl has been missing almost 3 months! MSM drives me nuts with their speculation and inaccuracies in most cases, but right about now I would love some investigative journalist to jump on this and print something new! I hope the lack of coverage is not due to the fact that this hasn't unfolded in a big city .... Comments from her mates, family, anything! lease:

:moo:

 

[Makara]

I can't understand why it has taken three months for this girl's disappearance to be brought to the public's attention. Obviously if Leisl hasn't used her phone or accessed her bank account in all that time, something is very wrong. Also the fact that her horse was due to foal and she didn't return home for that special occasion is very worrying IMO.

It was reported that she was seen on CCTV parking her car at the Tuggerah railway station and then walking away from the station. I'm wondering if the CCTV footage also shows another car leaving the carpark soon after? I had a look at Tuggerah railway station on Google street view and there is not much there, just the station, a carpark and a large home centre store. No cafe's etc. where Leisl may have decided to grab a coffee before her train was due.

Where was she going to by train? Or maybe she didn't plan on catching a train at all, just used the carpark and then got a lift with someone else. What was she wearing when she was last seen? There hasn't been any information forthcoming about what was found in and around her car. IMO the Police need to release at least some of this information so that their appeal for public help in finding Leisl can perhaps yield new information.

MOO.

 

[EdinburghLass]

I can't understand why it has taken three months for this girl's disappearance to be brought to the public's attention. Obviously if Leisl hasn't used her phone or accessed her bank account in all that time, something is very wrong. Also the fact that her horse was due to foal and she didn't return home for that special occasion is very worrying IMO.

It was reported that she was seen on CCTV parking her car at the Tuggerah railway station and then walking away from the station. I'm wondering if the CCTV footage also shows another car leaving the carpark soon after? I had a look at Tuggerah railway station on Google street view and there is not much there, just the station, a carpark and a large home centre store. No cafe's etc. where Leisl may have decided to grab a coffee before her train was due.

Where was she going to by train? Or maybe she didn't plan on catching a train at all, just used the carpark and then got a lift with someone else. What was she wearing when she was last seen? There hasn't been any information forthcoming about what was found in and around her car. IMO the Police need to release at least some of this information so that their appeal for public help in finding Leisl can perhaps yield new information.

MOO.

Just to give you an idea about the area - it's actually very busy. The home centre backs on to the railway station but to walk there would probably take 15-20 minutes as you need to go around. Directly opposite the train station is a McDonalds and maybe a 5 minute walk away is a large Westfield shopping centre with over 100 shops. The place would have been buzzing at 1pm on a Sunday - the traffic near the station is always bad.

The Westfield is my local shopping centre, so if you have any other questions about the location, I can try to answer them.

 

[Makara]

Just to give you an idea about the area - it's actually very busy. The home centre backs on to the railway station but to walk there would probably take 15-20 minutes as you need to go around. Directly opposite the train station is a McDonalds and maybe a 5 minute walk away is a large Westfield shopping centre with over 100 shops. The place would have been buzzing at 1pm on a Sunday - the traffic near the station is always bad.

The Westfield is my local shopping centre, so if you have any other questions about the location, I can try to answer them.

Thanks so much EdinburghLass. It's been many, many years since I've been to Tuggerah and I probably wouldn't recognise the place now. The railway station certainly looks foreign to me. What are your thoughts on Leisl parking her car in the railway station carpark and then walking away? Could she have been heading to McDonalds or the Westfield shopping centre?

I've checked the train departure timetable from Tuggerah station on the Sunday Leisl went missing and the trains were close to one hour apart. The two destination options were Sydney to the south or Newcastle to the north. Do you know if any of the shops in the area near the station have CCTV? I wonder if Leisl was perhaps a regular at one of the shops in Westfield? It is all so frustrating isn't it?

 

[EdinburghLass]

Thanks so much EdinburghLass. It's been many, many years since I've been to Tuggerah and I probably wouldn't recognise the place now. The railway station certainly looks foreign to me. What are your thoughts on Leisl parking her car in the railway station carpark and then walking away? Could she have been heading to McDonalds or the Westfield shopping centre?

I've checked the train departure timetable from Tuggerah station on the Sunday Leisl went missing and the trains were close to one hour apart. The two destination options were Sydney to the south or Newcastle to the north. Do you know if any of the shops in the area near the station have CCTV? I wonder if Leisl was perhaps a regular at one of the shops in Westfield? It is all so frustrating isn't it?

To get anywhere, she would have needed to cross the road at the pedestrian crossing which would have meant some people in cars would definitely have seen her as she would have had to wait for a green walk light. Such a shame this info wasn't released when she went missing as I doubt anyone would remember now unless she was acting erractically. There is nothing on the train station side of the road that she was on besides scrub.

She could have walked along the track side of the road towards Wyong (away from the shopping centre) and I am not sure about the CCTV coverage there. If she did cross the road though and head AWAY from the Westfield, there are shops (including petrol stations that would surely have CCTV?) for a fair way - I'd estimate a few kms at least.

Another option is that if she was trying to 'throw' anyone off her scent, she could have walked to Wyong train station and got a train from there. It's a 4km walk (probably would have taken her 45 mins as it's all flat road).


This is unrelated, but a few years ago a woman went missing from the Westfield Tuggerah. She was seen on CCTV footage leaving the shops and was found dead a considerable amount of time later close by. I am trying to find the article.

 

[EdinburghLass]

I found the article - the other missing woman was called Cassandra Girkin


A BUSHWALKER has stumbled on human remains about 200 metres from where a Central Coast mother of three disappeared on Valentine's Day.
The last sighting of Cassandra Girkin, 30, of Chittaway Bay, was on closed-circuit television footage as she left the Westfield Tuggerah shopping centre at 10am on February 14.
http://www.findpersons.com.au/find-persons-articles/2005/8/5/find-in-bush-offers-clue/

 

[Ausgirl]

Reading this, I am pretty concerned for this young woman's safety.

It's too bizarre that she'd just up and run away, if she'd been expecting a foal to arrive. I know no good horseperson who'd abandon their animals like that, it would have to be an extreme situation...

Was she duped into meeting someone closeby to the station? Did she answer an ad on Gumtree for horse gear something? I know several hobbyists and animal lovers who'll meet up somewhere public to swap or purchase items, young women included.

If she has not been abducted, then there --has to-- be a very very good reason for her to leave her life, her animals, her new foal, her bank accounts, etc, and simply vanish. If somebody was scaring her that much, somebody would have to know about it, surely?

I hope she turns up safely, and gets to see her beloved horses again soon.

 

[Makara]

To get anywhere, she would have needed to cross the road at the pedestrian crossing which would have meant some people in cars would definitely have seen her as she would have had to wait for a green walk light. Such a shame this info wasn't released when she went missing as I doubt anyone would remember now unless she was acting erractically. There is nothing on the train station side of the road that she was on besides scrub.

She could have walked along the track side of the road towards Wyong (away from the shopping centre) and I am not sure about the CCTV coverage there. If she did cross the road though and head AWAY from the Westfield, there are shops (including petrol stations that would surely have CCTV?) for a fair way - I'd estimate a few kms at least.

Another option is that if she was trying to 'throw' anyone off her scent, she could have walked to Wyong train station and got a train from there. It's a 4km walk (probably would have taken her 45 mins as it's all flat road).


This is unrelated, but a few years ago a woman went missing from the Westfield Tuggerah. She was seen on CCTV footage leaving the shops and was found dead a considerable amount of time later close by. I am trying to find the article.

Thanks EdinburghLass. so it seems that there are plenty of shops etc. that may have CCTV cameras. Let's hope that is the case and Police have more information than they've released to the public.

Leisl has a FB page. Her last entry was on 17 August this year. She doesn't seem to be a shy girl.

https://www.facebook.com/steven.hunter.794#!/leisl.smith.9

 

[LegallyBrunette]

Reading this, I am pretty concerned for this young woman's safety.

It's too bizarre that she'd just up and run away, if she'd been expecting a foal to arrive. I know no good horseperson who'd abandon their animals like that, it would have to be an extreme situation...

Was she duped into meeting someone closeby to the station? Did she answer an ad on Gumtree for horse gear something? I know several hobbyists and animal lovers who'll meet up somewhere public to swap or purchase items, young women included.

If she has not been abducted, then there --has to-- be a very very good reason for her to leave her life, her animals, her new foal, her bank accounts, etc, and simply vanish. If somebody was scaring her that much, somebody would have to know about it, surely?

I hope she turns up safely, and gets to see her beloved horses again soon.

Agree, agree, agree
I would never leave my animals.