Man sought in child mystery
New information in 30-year search for Amber-Lee Cruickshank
Police investigating the disappearance 30 years ago of 2-year-old Amber-Lee Cruickshank want to trace a man who was at the lakeside house from which she vanished.
Three decades after the rosycheeked child went missing from the small town of Kingston on the lakefront of Lake Wakatipu, police have revealed on TVNZ programme Cold Case that new information has led them to investigate the actions of one man. Detectives want to speak to him again to clear up ‘‘inconsistencies’’ in his information to police.
Amber-Lee was last seen at a house on the southern lakefront of Lake Wakatipu, on October 17, 1992.
About 10 people known to the little girl’s mother and stepfather had gathered there for a barbecue.
Amber-Lee’s parents each thought the other was watching her, and she vanished within 20 minutes of them last seeing her.
Last year police announced a $100,000 reward for help on the case and received more than 75 tips and new information.
One piece of information from a credible source led police to look at the actions of a Kingston man who was at the house.
Detective Inspector Stuart Harvey said the man had given inconsistent information to police. In his first statement he stated that he did not see Amber-Lee when he arrived at the address but later talked about seeing her playing with the dog in front of the bus.
This did not mean he was responsible for abducting her, ‘‘but it certainly creates a situation where we need to dig further into those statements’’.
Harvey thought there was a good chance the mystery would be solved.
Amber-Lee’s mother, Nicki Cruickshank, appeared in the programme and said she would not stop looking for her daughter until the day she died.
‘‘It’s the not knowing of where she is or thinking that she’s out there alone lying in some dark hole.
‘‘She doesn’t deserve that.’’ She did not believe the people who lived in the house were involved but had no idea about the others who were present.
She still held a glimmer of hope that Amber-Lee was alive, and had been contacted by people claiming to be her.
Police said they had not been able to match any DNA with that of Amber-Lee.
From early in the investigation, police suspected foul play, retired Detective Senior Sergeant Warwick Walker said.
‘‘You can’t just go missing in a small town like that. We had to think that someone had taken her.’’
Extensive searches convinced police she had not ended up accidentally in the lake.
They could not rule out that she was abducted by a stranger, but it was considered highly unlikely.
Nicki Cruickshank said she had done everything she could think of in the last 30 years to find her daughter.
‘‘I have relived that day many, many, many times..’’
She hoped ‘‘against all odds’’ to be able to bring Amber-Lee home.
Amber-Lee’s family held a vigil in Kingston to commemorate the 30-year anniversary of her disappearance and erected a cross in her memory, Nicki said.
‘‘If someone knows something, I’m begging you to somehow, some way, let us know where she actually is, so we can bring her home.’’