Karl Melo-Richards - missing since 2 Sept 2016

[Olivia]

https://www.facebook.com/karl.melorichards.9?fref=ts

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/karl-we-lo...04-gr8m8e.html

The mother of missing Maroubra man Karl Melo-Richards has appealed for anyone who may have seen her son to come forward, as his disappearance stretched into a fourth day.

Mr Melo-Richards, 25, was last seen around 1.30pm on Friday afternoon when his family left the house on Broome Street. When they returned later that afternoon, there was no sign of him.

"The doors to the house were all open ? the back and front door ? and he's left his wallet and keys and his car," the man's mother told Fairfax Media. "And when we rang his phone, it was not available, switched off, and has been switched off ever since.

"Karl, we love you. Please come home or at least contact us so we know you're safe."

According to police, Mr Melo-Richards is described as being of Caucasian appearance, 175-180cm tall, with a medium build. He has short brown hair and brown eyes.

He was last seen wearing a grey and black shirt, dark blue jeans and enclosed shoes.

His mother asks that anyone who may have seen her son, particularly on Friday afternoon around Broome Street or at the South Maroubra Surf Club, to please come forward and contact police.

[Deviant Toaster]

I really hope this guy is just taking a breather. I really wish a happy ending to this.

[Olivia]

Still missing I think.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/new...7164e01c0d4313

THE mother of missing Maroubra surfer Karl Melo-Richards is urging him to seek immediate medical attention after tests revealed high levels of heavy metals and traces of uranium in his blood.

Mr Melo-Richards, 25, was last seen by his mum Vanessa at 1.45pm on Friday, September 2 at the family home in Broome St when she left to go to work.

Earlier that day, the keen surfer had spoken to a long-term girlfriend and they had decided to “step back from each other” so they could both move on with their lives, Mrs Richards said.

“He was having so many depressive episodes,” she said. “In the last year he had been very, very sick. He was almost getting better and then would crash again.

“We were looking at all kinds of possibilities.”

Mrs Richards said a few days ago the results of hair follicle tests revealed “off the chart” levels of heavy metal toxins including lead and traces of uranium in his blood stream which would explain his depression, anxiety and insomnia.

“It seems that my family does not have the ability to eliminate these things,” she said.

“The results were so bad, there were so many of them and they are so high.

“All these metals cause anxiety, depression, insomnia and confusion and pretty much exactly what he has.

“If he treats this it would change his health and life.”

Mrs Richards, who also has two younger children, said her son’s insomnia had “come back to haunt him constantly” this year and he had not slept for four days prior to his disappearance.

She said he needed to urgently go to a doctor to give blood and would be given medication to draw the metals ‒ which may have formed deposits on his brain ‒ out of his blood stream and detox his body.

“He was training to be a plumber for three years and was almost qualified,” Mrs Richards said.

“During that time, he would be working with copper piping, welding and soldering ‒ all kinds of activity where he could ingest heavy metals from.

“I think it’s through work but I don’t know how on earth anyone could be exposed to uranium.

“It’s very, very odd that it was there.”

Mrs Richards said her son was very sporty, surfing every day at Maroubra and she wondered whether run-off from the old landfill site at Malabar Headlands contained toxic metals that may have got into the water at the south end.

Concerns have been raised by South Maroubra SLSC that work undertaken to collect run-off from the Anzac rifle range may not entirely capture all of it after heavy rain and believe it may contain heavy metal pollutants, although tests have so far failed to confirm this.

The day Mr Melo-Richards went missing, his sister arrived back from school at 4.50pm to find the front and back doors open.

Her older brother’s keys, wallet and car were still there but his mobile phone had gone and since then it has been switched off and his family has heard nothing from him.

Mrs Richards said she hoped to speak with a woman who worked at Tweed Heads and lived at Byron Bay who met her son earlier this year and may know his whereabouts.

Missing posters have been erected around the eastern suburbs asking anyone with information to contact police.

Mr Melo-Richards is described as being of caucasian appearance, 175-180cm tall, broad-shouldered with a fit build, close-cropped brown hair and brown eyes.

When he was last seen he was wearing a T-shirt or long sleeved, dark lightweight jersey, dark blue jeans and closed-in shoes, and carrying an “SDS” brand blue and grey backpack.

Anyone who saw Mr Melo-Richards between 2pm and 5pm on September 2, particularly in the South Maroubra area, near Broome St or the surf club, is urged to call Maroubra Police on 93499299.

[Olivia]

"We understand you may not be able to come back to your old home. But home is not where your house is built. It's where your family is, and families can move around."

The mother of missing man Karl Melo-Richards has made an emotional plea for him to let his loved ones know he is alive, after several potential sightings on the Gold Coast during the 10 months since his disappearance.

During National Missing Persons Week (July 30 - August 5) Karl's mother, Vanessa Richards, has shared her experiences, in the hope more people will come forward with information, after her son's trail went cold four months ago.

He was 25 when he vanished from his family home in Maroubra Beach in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs on September 2 last year, after a 10-year battle with depression and anxiety.

He left behind his mother, a 5-year-old brother, a sister now aged 17, and a Maroubra community where he was well-known and loved.

Karl's brother and sister were at school and his mother was working the afternoon shift at nearby Port Botany on the day he vanished.

Ms Richards left the house about 1.30pm and Karl was still there. But, by the time his sister returned about 4.45pm, he was gone, having left his wallet, keys and car behind.

Police were at the house within minutes of Karl's sister raising the alarm and launched an extensive air, land and sea search of the area, but found nothing.

Just before his disappearance, Karl had spent five weeks in hospital receiving treatment for a mental illness and had been "up and down" at home.

He had had trouble sleeping, become confused at times, and had trouble planning and processing everyday activities. But, he had just started back at work as a fully qualified carpenter.

Karl had been battling depression and anxiety since he was 16. He had been a prominent surfer, competing along the New South Wales coast and up to the Gold Coast, but mental illness forced him from further major competitions.

"Everything became very confusing and we were trying to understand the disease, what it was going to mean for him and how he was going to deal with it in his life," Ms Richards said.

"He just couldn't really continue pursuing it (surfing) to that level anymore. But he continued to free surf and just do local comps in our area."

Karl's disappearance took a heavy toll on his family and friends, especially his younger brother.

"His little brother was having trouble at school, he was having trouble interacting with his little friends, he was becoming aggressive and just had no concept of why someone he loved would just disappear suddenly," Ms Richards said.

"He had the fear that other people would just disappear out of his life, because he is only five and doesn't know any other life."

The Maroubra community was also shocked by his disappearance.

"He was very well known in our community for his surfing and simply because he had grown up and been to school there. He's missed by a lot of people, people can't believe that he's gone, it's really hit Maroubra very hard," Ms Richards said.

Since Karl's disappearance, three potential sightings have been reported from the Gold Coast area, which Ms Richards said would make sense because, other than Maroubra, Karl would know that area best.

The first potential sighting was made during October/November in North Burleigh, a mutual Facebook friend contacted Ms Richards and said they had seen Karl walking in the area during their morning run.

This was followed by a woman reporting she had seen Karl fishing near Tallebudgera Creek every day on her morning walk for four to five weeks during February and March. However, after Cyclone Debbie hit at the end of March, Karl was not seen in the area again.

During a trip up to the Gold Coast, shortly after the Tallebudgera Creek sighting, Ms Richards was driving along the Gold Coast Highway near Burleigh Heads and Miami, when she was flagged down by another motorist, who recognised Karl from the missing persons poster on Ms Richards' car.

The woman said she hadn't seen Karl for a week or so, but had met him through a mutual friend and believed he lived in the area.

"It's only now that we have these pieces of information and we now believe that there is a possibility that we may see him again and be reunited that we're starting to recover," Ms Richards said.

"I think I have experienced a lot of what Karl has had to experience, even though I don't have depression.

"It's been an environmental influence on me, I feel like I understand what it is to have an anxiety attack, I understand what it is to wake-up and suddenly remember that it's true and it's not a nightmare."

Ms Richards had put missing persons posters with Karl's picture around the Gold Coast and hoped her family's questions surrounding Karl's disappearance would be answered by the man himself soon.

"Karl, if you see this, please contact us and let us know if you are ok," she said.

"It's hard for your sister and especially little brother to comprehend and we just want to be able to tell them everything will be ok.

"We understand you may not be able to come back to your old home. But home is not where your house is built. It's where your family is and families can move around. We just want you to know we miss and love you very much."

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/quee...04-gxpn9t.html

[Bewitchingstorm]

A 2019 inquest declared he committed suicide; body has not been found.

https://coroners.nsw.gov.au/document...ings%20(2).pdf