Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad are appealing for public assistance as part of their investigation into the suspicious disappearance of Debra Campbell almost 40 years ago.
The 21-year-old went missing from her High Street, Windsor home on Saturday, 25 February 1984 following a disagreement with her fiancé.
At the time of her disappearance, both Debra and her 26-year-old partner were members of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
Her disappearance was initially reported to and investigated by the RAAF after she failed to report for duty two days later on Monday, 27 February 1984.
After Debra was unable to be located, her mother reported her missing to Victoria Police on Friday 2 March 1984.
Detectives subsequently conducted a number of enquiries following this report, including several unsuccessful public appeals for assistance.
A coronial inquest was held in 1998 with the Coroner declaring that Debra was likely to be deceased, however the circumstances of her death were unable to be determined.
Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad reviewed the case in 2022, resulting in a number of further enquiries being made in both Victoria and NSW.
On Tuesday, 28 March, Missing Persons Squad investigators along with detectives from the New South Wales Police Cold Case Homicide Squad executed a search warrant at a residential address in Leanda Place, Cardiff South in NSW.
A 65-year-old Cardiff South man was subsequently spoken to by police and the investigation remains ongoing.
Missing Persons Squad detectives are today appealing for anyone with information about Debra's disappearance to come forward.
Police are still of the belief that Debra likely met with foul play on 25 February, 1984 and are particularly keen to speak to anyone who may have seen her on that night.
At the time she was last seen, Debra was believed to be wearing a pair of blue jeans and a pink t-shirt with a 'Madness' rock group motif on the front in black, and a pair of blue Adidas runners.
She may also have been carrying a green handbag with a gold stripe on it.
Police are also re-releasing images of Debra in the hope that they will assist people to come forward with information about her disappearance.
Anyone with any information regarding Debra's disappearance is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.auExternal Link
Quotes from Detective Inspector Dave Dunstan, Missing Persons Squad:
"All unsolved missing persons cases in Victoria are subject to regular review and after re-examining Debra's case last year, detectives were able to re-visit a number of lines of inquiry.
"This led to a number of things, including the search warrant being executed in NSW.
"I want to assure people that no matter how much time has passed, we are committed to finding those responsible and holding them to account.
"Missing people are not forgotten by their families and they are certainly not forgotten by police.
"Forty years is an incredibly long time for any parent to wait for answers, however we do strongly believe those answers are still out there.
"I have no doubt there are people with information that can help us solve Debra's disappearance and I am urging those people to come forward.
"We believe we can solve this case - as we often say, we could only be one phone call away, it just needs to be the right call."
Quotes attributable to Debra's mother, Jean:
"Debra was a beautiful vibrant girl who had her whole life ahead of her at the time of her disappearance. While she had joined the RAAF, she was only young and had so many other things she wanted to do.
"It fills me with incredible sadness that she never got to do those things - I never got to see her get married or have children, or grow into the wonderful person I was sure she would become.
"She had the most beautiful smile and looking at these photos again reminds me of how terribly young she was when we lost her.
"Debra's disappearance had immeasurable impact on our family and we continue to feel this to this day.
"The most awful part is not knowing where she is or what happened to her, and that the person responsible for taking my daughter away has not been held accountable.
"I'm desperately hopeful that the re-investigation of my daughters' case may bring us answers after all these years.
"I love her and still miss her so dearly."
