Nagging questions after bones of Geelong backpacker Kellie Ann Carmichael found in Blue Mountains

The parents of a Geelong backpacker have reacted with disbelief at the discovery of her bones 23 years after she disappeared, as questions linger about her final hours in the Blue Mountains.

The human remains of Kellie Ann Carmichael, who went missing in NSW in 2001, have been located in Katoomba.

The parents of a Geelong backpacker have reacted with disbelief at the discovery of her bones 23 years after she disappeared, as questions linger about her final hours in the Blue Mountains.

Kellie Ann Carmichael was 24 when she vanished without a trace from a Katoomba hostel in April 2001.

Revelations about the discovery of her remains, in scrub near the popular NSW tourist location, have rocked her family along with Geelong and Melbourne-based mates, as the Unsolved Homicide Squad ramps up its probe into how she met her end.

Kellie Ann Carmichael disappeared from the Blue Mountains in 2001.

Her distraught mum, Margaret Carmichael, said she was adamant her “beautiful girl” did not end her own life and had been killed.

“She would never have committed suicide,” she said.

“We know that, and everyone who knew her knows that.

“She wasn’t well at the time but she loved life and was a beautiful girl.”

Dad John said the grim developments in recent weeks “had been tough”.

Mrs Carmichael said she now hoped to “put it to rest” and wanted answers over her daughter’s vanishing.

“We want to take her home where she belongs,” she said.

“They had evidence right from the word go that something wrong had happened here.”

Her cousin, Andrew Carmichael, said confirmation of her demise had “come as a complete shock.”

“There are a lot of what ifs, what happened?” he said.

“We just have never-ending questions.”

Peter Vandenberg, 51, said a tight-knit group of her “beach friends” was also determined to learn the truth about her death.

“We are absolutely stunned,” he said.

“It’s just something that has never left us.

“She gets brought up every single year.”

Margaret and John Carmichael, parents of missing Kellie Ann Carmichael, speak during a press conference in Sydney, Jan. 31, 2011. Picture: Zozan Balci/AAP

Kellie would holiday at Kennett River, between Lorne and Apollo Bay, annually with Mr Vandenberg and other families.

A group of her friends have continued the tradition to this day.

“She was absolutely gorgeous,” he said.

“It came as a shock back then, obviously when someone goes missing you hope they will turn up again.”

A school friend, who did not want to be named, remembered Kellie as the “brightest person with the most beautiful energy”.

“It’s so sad,” she said.

“I do hope the family get some answers now.”

Kellie Ann Carmichael (R) with her father John, mother Margaret, brother Danny and sister Karen.

A post-mortem examination will be conducted on her bones to offer any insight into her death.

It’s understood her remains were first seen by someone abseiling down a cliff face in Katoomba in an unrelated police search last month.

Forensic testing later revealed they were hers, the first breakthrough in a 23 year mystery.

Detectives will now prepare a brief of evidence for the coroner.

Kellie, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia at 21, checked out of her accommodation on April 29, 2001, telling staff she would return later that day to collect her belongings.

She was never seen or heard from again.

Her disappearance was a baffling cold case.

Her parents, who now live in Queensland, reported her missing after learning her personal ID, wallet, phone, camera, toiletries and cards were all still at her accommodation, unclaimed.

Police initially believed she may have taken her own life, a theory that upset Mr and Mrs Carmichael.

Their daughter was last seen 10 days before they arrived in Katoomba to look for her.

Her father said officers told them at the time “people come from all over the world to commit suicide here”.

Kellie had an evening flight booked at Sydney Airport to return to Geelong the day she went missing.

She had travelled to Katoomba, near the popular Blue Mountains about 90 minutes drive from Sydney.

“All her belongings were there – possessions she wouldn’t go without – photos of her brother, just personal things,” Mr Carmichael said when discussing the case in 2009.

The NSW homicide squad took over the investigation into her disappearance in 2004.

It’s understood detectives got a tip off that she may have been murdered.

That line of inquiry sparked speculation a serial killer could have been operating in the Blue Mountains, largely due to a number of missing persons reported in the area in the 1990s and early 2000s.

A coronial inquest was ordered in 2009, which resulted in a recommendation a dedicated police strike force be set up, and a reward offered.

A $200,000 reward for information was then offered by the NSW government in 2011.

Kellie the youngest of three siblings, would have been 47.

Lifeline: 13 11 14

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Originally published as Nagging questions after bones of Geelong backpacker Kellie Ann Carmichael found in Blue Mountains