Child of cold case fugitive calls for national manhunt

A child of a fugitive wanted over the cold case murder of a young woman found at the base of a Sunshine Coast cliff says there should be a national manhunt for him.

A child of a fugitive wanted over the cold case murder of a young woman found at the base of a Sunshine Coast cliff says there should be a national manhunt for him.

Keith Lees, 70, has been missing for more than 100 days, disappearing the same day police announced they were reinvestigating the 1997 death of 25-year-old Meaghan Louise Rose.

Police at the time also announced a $500,000 reward was on offer to anyone with information leading to a conviction.

Ms Rose’s body was found at the base of Mooloolaba’s Point Cartwright cliffs, with police initially determining her death was a suicide.

She had been in a relationship with the much older Mr Lees but had told her family she planned to break it off.

Queensland police have previously revealed a life insurance policy was taken out for Ms Rose that had a 13-month waiting period before it paid out on suicide.

Her body was found 13 months and three days after the policy was set up, police claim.

Detectives from the homicide cold case team visited Mr Lees on June 25 to speak to him about the fresh investigation.

The next day, his car was found abandoned at his hometown of Portland in Victoria.

A search-and-rescue operation began but Mr Lees slipped through the net when, police claim, he gave them a fake name.

Keith Lees and Meaghan Louise Rose

The last confirmed sighting of Mr Lees was on June 27 at Waurn Ponds shopping centre and then at Shepparton train station, where he was captured on CCTV.

Police have since taken out a warrant for his arrest for the murder of Ms Rose and are seeking the public’s assistance in locating him.

Mr Lees’s child Wren told The Courier-Mail they hadn’t spoken to their father since around 2001, but had lived with Ms Rose for the duration of their father’s relationship with her.

“It’s all about justice for Meaghan’s family,” Wren said.

“He is going to (be found) no matter what eventually. I don’t think he realises this. The cops aren’t going to give up … I’m not going to give up.”

Wren warned their father should not be approached – an instruction also given by police.

“He does have a taste for young women and I worry that he might be using that,” they said.

“My concern is that he’s in a position where he might be able to manipulate somebody (or) he might be exploiting connections.

“Or not – he might just be going up to people and trying to get them to give him food and shelter and money, medicine, whatever else he needs.”

Wren said they did not believe Mr Lees was dead but was most likely working cash-in-hand handyman jobs.

Wren said it had been difficult for Ms Rose, who was very young when Mr Lees moved into her home with four of his children.