An expert bush tracker has joined the desperate search for a missing grandmother who 'vanished into thin air' two weeks ago, leaving her family to beg for answers.
Rita-Marie Collin, 60, was last seen on Tuesday, May 5, leaving her Kariong home on the NSW Central Coast, dressed in jeans and carrying a white bag. The retired mother, who was the full-time carer for her husband living with dementia, has not been seen or heard from since.
Her daughter Amy Collin said the disappearance is completely out of character. 'There are so many questions and absolutely no answers,' Amy said. 'She has quite literally vanished into thin air, it does not make sense. In the time she has been missing she missed her husband's birthday, Mother's Day and the birth of her granddaughter.'
Police attached to Brisbane Water Police District are investigating the disappearance after the family reported that Ms Collin had mysteriously disappeared. Since she went missing she has missed her husband's birthday, Mother's Day and the birth of a grandchild. She was spotted on CCTV carrying a white bag near a local bushland area. Her car remains sitting untouched in the driveway of the family home, while her keys, handbag and wallet were all left behind inside.
Respected bushcraft teacher, tracker and Central Coast local Jake Cassar joined the search effort from the start alongside police, SES volunteers, the Rural Fire Service and other concerned locals. Mr Cassar told the Daily Mail crews have spent days scouring the rugged bushland around Kariong without finding a single trace of the missing grandmother.
'Someone must know something,' he said. 'Rita is someone's mother, someone's grandmother, someone's wife and she is a well-known person in our local community. Without any information about where she may, or may not, have headed it's just a guessing game. My biggest respect goes to anyone who is out here searching, it's so important that anyone who has experience in the bush gets out there and helps.'
Blurry CCTV images believed to show Ms Collin shortly before she vanished have raised further questions about her fate. Mr Cassar had studied the CCTV images and believes Ms Collin may have been picking up pace as she walked. Mr Cassar believes the footage may point to something more sinister than a woman simply wandering into bushland and becoming lost.
'Something I noticed about the images we received was that in the second pic Rita looks like she has accelerated and is moving quickly,' he said. 'Her stride has lengthened and her arms look like maybe they are swinging. It could suggest she was trying to get somewhere by a certain time or that she was trying to get away quickly. Could it mean she had a plan as to where she was going at least? From a tracking perspective, the length of her stride would be highly unusual for regular walking, but it's also possible that's just how she walked.'
Amy says her mother meticulously documented her daily life in a diary, but had made no entry for the day she disappeared. 'The bag seen in the CCTV is not her handbag and we don't know what's in it,' Amy said. 'She is not a bushwalker, hiker or nature person at all. She could have jumped into a car with someone or onto public transport.'
Ms Collin was the full-time carer for her husband of 40 years who has dementia. 'My dad, who I am now caring for full-time, is wondering how a wife of 40 years can walk out of the door of the home they have owned for 37 years and vanish without a trace. Someone knows something, no matter how insignificant you think the information may be. Please pass it on to police.'
Anyone with information about Ms Collin's whereabouts is urged to contact Brisbane Water Police District or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
