by Sahar Foladi and Victoria Police
Casey Crime Investigation Unit detectives are appealing for information as their concern grows for missing woman Debbra McKenzie.
The 41-year-old was reported missing to police on New Years Eve by a person she had been in a relationship with. The status of the relationship remains unknown.
She was initially believed to be last seen on Christmas Eve at the Springfield Crescent in Hampton Park in which she resided with her associates but Police have established the last confirmed sighting of Debbra was at the same property on Tuesday 17 December about 3.30pm.
Detective Senior Sergeant, Jarrod Dwyer from Casey Crime Investigation Unit says Debbra left the address without any belongings, does not own a phone and her bank account remains untouched.
“Detectives are concerned for her welfare as ongoing enquiries have confirmed Debbra hasn’t attended an appointment for regular medication and hasn’t accessed money from her bank account, since she was last seen.
“We’ve investigated every available bit of information that has come in. We have no reason to believe at this point any significant threats were made against her.
“It’s very unusual for someone not to access money particularly if they’re disappearing of their own free will.
“We have no evidence of any foul play but the fact that she has been missing for four weeks, we have been unable to identify anybody who’s seen her in that period of time concerns us greatly.
Unemployed, one of the appointments Debbra missed is in relation to job seeker.
Debbra was also known to the Police “in a limited capacity” before she went missing.
Detective Dwyer says the person who reported her missing has been “cooperative” in the investigation but they were “unable to provide further clarity as to why there was a delay” in reporting her missing.
“The associates have been helpful, they have been somewhat reluctant to provide us full information due to previous interaction with the police where I believe they have some level of distrust towards us.
“They may believe we have some ulterior motives, that’s certainly not the case we simply making sure she’s okay.”
The unusual circumstance where Debbra lacks digital footprint leads police to rely on word of mouth according to detective Dwyer making it crucial for the public to report any big or small information to be investigated.
As part of the investigation detectives and police have spoken with the family and last known associates of Debbra, however these enquiries have not been able to establish a clear motive or reason for her disappearance.
According to detective Dwyer, Debbra was somewhat estranged from her family and they had not heard from her before her birthday last year.
Although Debbra has been known to frequent the suburbs of Doveton, Dandenong and Hampton Park and is known to have associates in New South Wales, it is unclear where she might have been headed.
“We’ve had some cooperation from New South Wales Police, they checked known associates in Southern NSW but at this stage we haven’t located her or any information.
“We are hopeful (she is alive).”
Debbra is described as about 175cm tall, with a slim build and black, shoulder length hair.
A CCTV footage of Debbra is released by the police walking along Springfield Crescent in Hampton Park on Tuesday 17 December and walking in the vicinity of Dandenong Plaza on Monday 16 December, about 5.10pm – the day before she was last seen.
She was last seen wearing black leggings and a white striped top.
Anyone who sights Debbra is urged to call Triple Zero (000) or with information about her whereabouts is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
