Eight of the state’s most baffling cold cases

They are familiar names but there have been no leads and no answers in the cases of these missing or murdered people.

Missing person Nancy Grunwaldt.

A SELECTION of some of the state’s most baffling cold cases.

REWARDS STILL ON OFFER FOR VITAL CASE CLUES

NANCY GRUNDWALDT $30,000 (MISSING)

German backpacker Nancy Grunwaldt was enjoying the trip of a lifetime when she disappeared on the East Coast.

The then 26-year-old was last seen riding a pushbike along the Tasman Highway about 4km south of Scamander on March 12, 1993. There has been no trace of her since.

Ms Grunwaldt hired a red Road Chief Marauder Mountain Bike from a bike hire service in Devonport on the morning of March 9, 1993.

She rented the bike for two weeks, stating she would return the bike on March 22.

She left her backpack, including some personal belongings, with the hire service and said she would collect them at the time of returning the bike.

Ms Grunwaldt travelled from Devonport to Launceston and then on to St Helens. It is believed she was intending to visit a pen pal who lived in Rose Bay.

The last confirmed sighting of Ms Grunwaldt was by fellow tourists who had spent the previous night with her at the St Helens Hostel.

Victoria Cafasso.

VICTORIA CAFASSO $50,000 (MURDER)

Italian tourist Victoria Cafasso was stabbed and bludgeoned to death in broad daylight on Beaumaris Beach in 1995.

Ms Cafasso arrived in Launceston on October 6, 1995. Five days later the attractive young Italian, who had deferred her law studies and was visiting a cousin in Tasmania, was dead.

Just after 9am on October 11, Ms Cafasso walked to Beaumaris Beach and at 1.30pm her battered and near-naked body was found at the water’s edge near Freshwater Creek.

No murder weapon has ever been found. The pathologist at the 2003 inquest said two weapons were used — a blunt instrument and a knife.

There’s little forensic evidence because of the beach location and the treatment of evidence by police at the original scene.

PAUL BYRNE $100,000 (MISSING)

Paul Winston Byrne.

Paul Byrne was 34 years old when he disappeared after spending the night drinking with people known to police.

It was 2am on September 20, 1996, when the former New Zealander left the Rossarden Club in the Fingal Valley and went to another house with two men.

That house and Mr Byrne’s home were both torched.

There is no apparent reason for his disappearance and police believe he was murdered but no one has ever been charged.

Helen Munnings.

HELEN MUNNINGS $250,000 (MISSING)

The 20-year-old was pregnant with her second child when she disappeared from Burnie.

The equal highest reward in Tasmania Police history — $250,000 — is being offered in connection with the disappearance of Ms Munnings.

Thousands of police investigative hours have gone into solving the crime and at one stage all Burnie’s detectives were on the case.

She was last seen walking past Centrelink on Marine Terrace in Burnie about 4pm on July 23, 2008.

On the day she was last seen, she told her family she had a doctor’s appointment and was walking into town. Instead she met Adam Taylor, the father of her two-year-old son.

He told the 2012 inquest into Ms Munnings’ disappearance the pair drove around Burnie talking before he dropped her off outside the former pulp mill about 6pm.

Mr Taylor said he then drove back to the Heybridge house he shared with his partner.

Coroner Robert Pearce determined Ms Munnings died in Burnie on the date she was last seen. He identified Mr Taylor as a person of interest.

Police have confirmed that he remains a person of interest, but refuse to comment on how many persons of interest they have in their sights.

Police are seeking information as to the circumstances surrounding her death and the location of her remains. The investigation remains open.

Christopher Watkins.

CHRISTOPHER WATKINS $50,000 (MISSING)

Christopher Watkins was 28 years old when he went missing.

Police suspect Mr Watkins, who was last seen at a Box Street unit in Mayfield on the evening of August 7, 2013, was murdered. No one have ever been charged over his death.

Mr Watkins made a panicked phone call to a family member after two men he had a troubled history with visited the Mayfield home he shared with four other men.

The six men are accused of misleading police about what happened to Mr Watkins.

Shane Barker.

SHANE BARKER $250,000 (MURDER)

Shane Barker was shot dead at his home in Campbell Town on August 2, 2009.

A nine-month case review by the Serious and Organised Crime squad in 2016 suggested the killer may have lay in wait behind the boundary fence, ambushing Mr Barker as he pulled in and locked up his garage for the night.

The 36-year-old father was shot four times.

Police believe the former local postie knew his killer.

Simon Crisp.

SIMON CRISP $50,000 (MURDER)

Simon Crisp, 44, was gunned down outside the Marrawah Tavern on the state’s West Coast on July 13, 2013. Six years on, the murder remains unsolved.

As he often did, the dog catcher for the Waratah-Wynyard and Circular Head councils, had gone to the tavern to help his then-partner close up the pub.

After a busy night, Allison Summers had managed to get the last customer out by 11.50pm.

Her young daughter was sleeping by the tavern’s fire, waiting for the couple to finish up so they could prepare for their holiday to Western Australia the next day.

Simon went to empty the rubbish at the rear of the tavern. He never came back.

Instead, he was shot and killed by a gunman lying in wait, police believe.

Eve Askew.

EVE ASKEW $100,000 (MISSING)

Teenager Eve Askew went missing from her family’s residence at Fitzgerald, in the Derwent Valley, on November 16, 1991.

Eve, 14, had left a note indicating her intention to leave home after being grounded by her parents for smoking. She has not been seen since.

At the time of her disappearance, Eve was 157cm tall, slim build, with red hair and a fair complexion with freckles.

Eve’s thumbs were distinctive, described as though they had been pushed down and hadn’t quite grown back to their full length. She was shy and reserved.

Tragically, Eve is unaware that her parents have both since died. She has also become an Aunt.

Investigators suspect Eve met with foul play as extensive investigations, searches and appeals for information have not located her.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Tasmania Police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1800 333 000.