Police finish two-day search for missing Melbourne mother Karen Ristevski

POLICE have searched the area where murdered woman Jill Meagher was found in the search for missing woman Karen Ristevski.

POLICE say they are confident they will find out what happened to missing Melbourne mum Karen Ristevski as they finish their two-day search at a place with a sinister past.

This week police, firefighters and SES volunteers have been scouring an area at Gisborne and Toolern Vale in Melbourne’s northwest.

On Tuesday police left the Toolern Vale area with evidence bags and reports suggest they contained items found in paddocks and bushlands that could be linked to the 47-year-old’s disappearance.

Mrs Ristevski has not been seen since June 29, when she reportedly left her $1.1 million Avondale Heights home in north west Melbourne after an argument with her husband Borce.

A Victoria Police spokesman wouldn’t comment on what was taken from the site but confirmed the search had been completed.

The head of the missing persons unit, Detective Inspector Stephen Dennis, says police are confident they’ll find out what happened to Mrs Ristevski.

Police have been searching around Black Hill Road in Gisborne South, a quiet area that has an air of creepiness.

It is the same place Jill Meagher was buried in a shallow grave after she was raped and murdered in 2012.

Locals are now nervous about what could be lurking on their properties as Mrs Ristevski is still missing.

Police Search and Rescue check a dam in Burns Lane Toolern Vale as the search goes on for missing Avondale Heights woman Karen Ristevski. Picture: Ian Currie

The Herald Sun reports locals claim to have seen the brother of Mrs Ristevski’s husband at an abandoned restaurant near the search area, that burned down three years ago.

Some residents nearby have seen him at least twice at the restaurant, which was searched about two months ago.

Police were drawn to the search area after phone towers traced mobile phones, belonging to Mrs Ristevski and her husband Borce, to the region the day she disappeared.

Her stepson Anthony Rickard also lives at Diggers Rest, about 10km from where police were searching for clues.

There is no suggestion any of them were involved in the disappearance. Mr Ristevski has been questioned over his missing wife but denies involvement.

Mrs Ristevski also has a 21-year-old daughter, Sarah, who is yet to speak out about her missing mum.

She is about to enter a shattering time, as she spends her first Christmas without her mother and Insp Dennis said it would be a hard time for the family.

Karen Ristevski went missing in June.

Police have previously scoured the Maribyrnong River behind the Ristevski home and Barmah National Park, a popular holiday destination for the family, looking for clues about the disappearance.

There have been a number of bizarre twists and rumours in the missing person case, with her husband’s brother suggesting she may have fled to the US.

It was also reported the family was in financial trouble.

The family owns Bella Bleu fashion boutiques at the Watergardens Town Centre at Taylors Lakes in Melbourne’s northwest and in Broadmeadows in Melbourne’s north.

The Australian reported earlier this year the family had been in about $600,000 debt for the past decade and real estate group Vicinity and financial company Perpetual lodged a caveat over the family home.

It is believed the action was taken because the family was falling behind in rent for its Broadmeadows store.

Police search and rescue officer searches for evidence in a Toolern Vale dam drained by the CFA to help with the investigation of Karen Ristevski. Picture: Nicole Garmston

A close friend of Mrs Ristevski told news.com.au earlier this year there was no way the mother ran away.

“Her daughter was her life. Even if she went to clear her head and she didn’t return right then, I guarantee she would have made a phone call to her daughter to say, ‘I’m going to be away for a night or two’,” she said.

Websleuths have teamed up to look at the details of Mrs Ristevski’s case and a Facebook page and online forums have been set up for discussions.

Earlier this year Sarah was working with the Missing Persons Advocacy Network, run by Loren O’Keefe, whose brother, Daniel O’Keefe, mysteriously went missing in 200 1.

Mrs Ristevski’s case has captured the public’s attention and Ms O’Keefe said it was “dramatic, mysterious and highly emotional”.

“People are naturally intrigued by how anyone can seemingly vanish into thin air,” she said.

“Like my brother’s disappearance did, Karen’s situation seems to attract speculation because she challenges the public’s stereotype.

“However, it is important to remember that missing people are mothers, sons, friends, colleagues. They have family and friends.”

— with AAP