Events in the final hours of Rachelle Childs’ life, taken almost 24 years ago, remain tightly wrapped in rumours and unconfirmed sightings despite extended efforts to find out who killed her and set her body on fire.

In her last known moments, Rachelle, 23, seemed her usual self – cheery and chatting with her rapid-fire charm.

We know her remains were found nine hours later in Gerroa, to the south of Sydney, more than 100km from her home.

Her death is one of the country’s most perplexing murder mysteries, because we cannot say how she got there, who she was with, or why she was killed for no good reason.

It had been a quiet Thursday at her work, as a used car saleswoman at Camden Holden, until a customer and friend, Cath Thelander, arrived before 4pm to test drive a car for her mother.

Rachelle was described by Mrs Thelander as “a ray of sunshine” who “always looked really happy to see you”.

LISTEN TO EPISODES 1-4 OF THE PODCAST BELOW:

Rachelle played with Mrs Thelander’s children while the customer test drove the car.

It was dusk, after 5pm, on Mrs Thelander’s return.

Rachelle asked her the time, before hurrying to the converted train carriage which served as the sales office at the dealership.

She reappeared a few minutes later.

Rachelle appeared hurried, and Mrs Thelander apologised for holding her up.

“That’s okay, I’m meeting someone for drinks,” she replied, and left work in her 1978 Holden Commodore VB.

CAR SIGHTINGS: SEE WITNESS ACCOUNTS FROM THE NIGHT RACHELLE DIED BELOW

On the road to Bargo, where Rachelle lived, a cigarette was seen to be tossed out of her car, prompting a council fine in the mail after her death.

One or two minutes later, Rachelle rang her sister Kristy, who was on the phone at the time and promised to call her back.

Poor Kristy tells the newly-released Dear Rachelle cold case podcast she has ever since wished she had. For this is the moment where the facts end and the speculations begin.

Rachelle had earlier told a friend that she was going to the Bargo Hotel. It seemed a strange choice of venue, given it was a topless barmaid night.

It appears that Rachelle arrived home, changed her clothes, and left again, leaving the lights on.

Did she go into the Bargo Hotel? Her family and other observers think not.

Shown a photo of Rachelle, some pub patrons said that they saw her there that night, though it’s suspected their recollections may have been corrupted by the shocked chatter across the region after Rachelle’s death.

MORE WITNESS ACCOUNTS FROM THE NIGHT RACHELLE DIED BELOW

Her car was found in the pub’s carpark about 30 hours after her remains were discovered. Had it been there since early Thursday evening?

Several pub patrons, arriving and leaving the pub together that night, thought they saw her Holden parked there after 6pm and again after 10pm.

But conflicting evidence brings these sightings into question.

WATCH RACHELLE CHILDS’ INVESTIGATION VIDEO: KILLER’S THREE ‘PANICKED’ MOVES

Unclear CCTV footage from two service stations near Nowra, more than 90 minutes’ drive from Bargo, could depict an older Holden Commodore that night.

In one scene, a woman, in a dark top and light pants, appears to be blonde. When the car reverses, a male appears to be in the front passenger seat.

Car witness accounts more than an hour’s drive to the south of Bargo tend to place Rachelle’s car in Gerroa, about 30 minutes from Nowra.

David Oxley was driving about 200m south of the site of Rachelle’s final resting place on the Crooked River Rd when he saw a parked car on the road’s edge.

It was about 10.20pm. The car’s tail lights were on.

A former owner of Commodores, Mr Oxley identified a dark blue vehicle as an early model VB or VH Commodore from the tail light configuration.

Within the next 40 minutes, Robert Wilson saw a blue VC model Commodore parked across from the Seven Mile Beach caravan park, further north and on the opposite side of the road to the vehicle seen by Mr Oxley.

He slowed, thinking it might be a friend.

The boot was open.

He reported a person with dark hair lying on the ground, and a person with sandy hair standing next to that person.

Husband and wife Dallas and Maria Ackroyd passed a parked car on Crooked River Rd between 11.30 and 11.45pm.

The car, lights off, sat on the roadside where Rachelle’s body was later found.

The driver appeared to be slumped at the wheel, either asleep or seeking to hide their face.

“That seemed strange,” Mr Ackroyd said to his wife.

Shelley Hetherington was driving home late from work in North Sydney to her south coast home.

Just past Gerroa, she saw fire in the bush to her left, and thought its purple/blue hue suggested the use of accelerant.

In front of her, a car no more than 20 metres ahead made a u-turn. She described an older, square-shaped vehicle, similar to an old Holden.

The car drove past her heading north, its headlights off.

It was about 2.05am.

Had she almost crashed into Rachelle’s killer leaving the scene? It seems plausible, given the near absence of traffic on the road at that time of night.

About 15 minutes later, security guard Craig Duck saw the same flames, pulled over, made his gruesome discovery and rang triple-0, triggering what is now a 24-year mystery.

For more information about our investigation, visit dearachelle.com.au

If you have any tips or confidential information, please contact investigative journalist Ashlea Hansen at dearrachelle@news.com.au.

You can also join our Dear Rachelle podcast Facebook group.