Missing Melbourne mum Karen Ristevski: Crucial new clues emerge in police probe
EXCLUSIVE: VITAL new clues have surfaced in the police investigation into the case of missing mum Karen Ristevski as police continue to probe her June 29 disappearance.
Law & Order
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THE mobile phone of missing mum Karen Ristevski was tracked to 40km northwest of her Melbourne home hours after she vanished.
The Herald Sun can reveal crucial new clues as police continue to probe her June 29 disappearance.
It is understood mobile phone data shows that Mrs Ristevski’s phone “pinged” — was detected by transmitter towers — on the Calder Highway near Gisborne that day.
On the same day, the phone of her husband, Borce, was pinged on the Calder near Diggers Rest, about 20km northwest of their home in Avondale Heights.
Data also reveals that his phone was switched off for about two hours on June 29.
When asked what he was doing on the day his wife disappeared, Mr Ristevski told detectives last month he had forgotten to mention that he had driven her 2004 Mercedes-Benz coupe that day.
He claimed its fuel gauge had been faulty, so he took it for a spin up the Calder.
When he hit a bump the fault corrected itself, so he had then returned home, he told police.
It is understood police have taken samples of soil from two cars at the Ristevski property in Melbourne’s northwest.
Vasko Ristevski, the missing woman’s brother-in-law, said earlier this week he believed she had fled overseas.
Mrs Ristevski was last seen at 10am on June 29, leading police to hold grave concerns for her welfare.
Her husband has maintained to police that she left their home to go for a walk to “clear her head” after a row over money.
Mr Ristevski says staff at the Bella Bleu boutique, which the couple ran at Watergardens shopping centre in Taylors Lakes, rang him later that morning to say Karen had failed to show up for work, leading him to call her frequently on her mobile phone without getting any reply.
Experts say mobile phone data can be crucial in helping police find missing people — but the technology can have complications.
Victoria Police revealed on Thursday that missing persons squad detectives were focusing their efforts on a “rural area” northwest of Melbourne.
“Investigators are appealing for anyone that resides in this area to consider checking their properties for any changes or any suspicious activity since the disappearance of Karen,” Acting Sergeant Melissa Search said.
Detectives are treating Mrs Ristevski’s disappearance as suspicious as the 47-year-old has not accessed her phone and bank accounts.
Both Mr Ristevski and his son from a previous relationship, Anthony Rickard, have been interviewed by police.
When questioned on July 8, Mr Ristevski, 52, denied any involvement in her disappearance. He has since stopped co-operating with police. The couple’s 21-year-old daughter, Sarah, is also understood to have ceased helping police, in support of her father.
Mr Rickard has denied any part in the disappearance, saying he believes a family conflict led her to flee.
Mrs Ristevski is described as being about 1.6m tall, of slim build and with shoulder-length brown hair. She was last seen wearing a black jacket and jeans. It is believed she was carrying a Coach handbag and purse at the time she went missing.
Mr Ristevski did not respond to Herald Sun requests for comment on Friday. Police have asked anyone who may have any information to call 000 or contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
READ MORE:
KAREN LINK TO NORTHERN VICTORIA PARK RULED OUT
KAREN RISTEVSKI’S STILL ALIVE, CLAIMS BROTHER-IN-LAW
KAREN PLANNED TO LEAVE HUSBAND, STEPSON SAYS
STEPSON REVEALS FAMILY CONFLICT
THE TRACE IS ON ... but mobile tech ‘tricky’
MOBILE phones can prove a crucial tool in analysing the movements of suspects in a criminal investigation.
But experts warn the tracking technology isn’t the complete “smoking gun” that many believe, and is complex.
Prof Reg Coutts, who often serves as an expert telecoms witness in court hearings, told the Herald Sun that phone company records only captured the location of a mobile phone tower where a call originated, even if the caller was on the move.
The area where a call was terminated was only captured if the conversation was between mobile phones.
Each tower typically covered three sectors — which could each extend as far as 15km — and calls did not necessarily connect via the nearest tower.
“It’s not a very good indicator of a specific location,’’ Prof Coutts said. “It could be several kilometres away.
“It’s very useful in, shall we say, the rough-and-tumble of a police investigation.
“But then unfortunately, too many of those cases get to court and it actually does not constitute evidence.”
Tracking where a phone had been was also hard as information about what towers the device made contact with while on standby typically wasn’t retained.
And a mobile phone made no such contact when it was switched off.
“Nothing works when a phone is off,’’ Prof Coutts said.
“If a phone is sleeping, that is still on. But if it’s turned off — other than sitting on it or physically detecting it, the network’s got no idea where it is.”
Dr Bradley Schatz, founder of tech firm Schatz Forensic, said a phone’s GPS software was another way of locating where it had been.
Numerous applications could log and update the data regularly.
“Certainly it stores significant amounts of data about where you’ve been travelling with your phone,’’ Dr Schatz said.
“When we’re able to access someone’s mobile phone and get all the data out of it, it does give you a real insight into where they’ve been and where they go regularly.”
— with Wes Hosking