For 20 years now, questions about the final hours of Rachelle Childs' life have loomed over her loved ones.
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The kind, popular 23-year-old was murdered in 2001, her burning body discovered off Crooked River Road outside Gerroa in the early hours of Friday, June 8.
Her killer has never been identified.
Her sister Kristy Morris, who was just 18 years old when she lost her sibling and best friend, wants to know what Rachelle was going through before her life was taken away from her, hoping she was unafraid and unaware of what was happening.
But even more, she wants to know that the person who claimed her sister's life cannot pose a danger to anyone else.
"It frightens me that this person could have done this again, could have done it beforehand as well, or may do in the future, and that's the main reason why I want this to be solved," Mrs Morris said.
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The case so far
On the afternoon of Thursday, June 7 2001, Rachelle - a car salesperson - left her workplace in Camden.
She returned to her home in Bargo (which she shared with her sister) and got changed, then went to the Bargo Hotel.
Rachelle had told friends she was meeting someone there, but did not say who.
That night Mrs Morris was back at the family home, housesitting while their parents Graham and Anne were away.
She first found out something was wrong when she started receiving calls from Rachelle's friends, who told her she had not shown up to work the following day and was not answering her phone.
They began searching for her, and calling hospitals and police.
On the Saturday, a missing person's report was filed, and on Sunday Rachelle's dark blue 1978 Holden Commodore, with registration GV-2000, was found at the Bargo Hotel.
Investigators have previously said they do not believe the car was there the whole time.
That same day, Mrs Morris and her family were given the heartbreaking news: Rachelle's body had been discovered a couple of days earlier.
A call Mrs Morris had received from police the night before, enquiring about Rachelle's jewellery, had been part of their attempts to identify the burning body found near Gerroa.
Mrs Morris said many memories of those first years after Rachelle's death were blurred, but the moment she learnt of her sister's death remained vivid.
"One of those events in your life where everything's divided into what happened before and what happened after... Completely life-changing," she said.
'One of the good ones'
Mrs Morris remembers her big sister Rachelle as a "force", the kind of person whose presence alone brightened up a room.
She said Rachelle was shy in some ways - she would drag her little sister along to parties so she didn't have to walk in alone - but once there, she would disappear among the people, her outgoing nature coming to the fore.
Many regarded Rachelle as their best friend.
"They honestly thought of her as their best friend, because that is the way she made people feel," she said.
"She had such a huge network of friends, and the girls that were closest to her always said, 'She was my best friend, she was my person', because she was always there for you, and she was a big backer of the underdog.
"When there were things going on in your life, she would make the time to sit and talk to you and make you feel like you were the centre of her universe."
Rachelle was terrible with money, her sister recalled with a laugh, and very intelligent, funny and witty.
"She worked hard, she had lots of friends, she meant a lot to so many people," Mrs Morris said.
"She was one of the good ones, she was a beautiful person."
Every year, on Rachelle's birthday in May and on the anniversary of her death, Mrs Morris, family members, and Rachelle's best friend still have a drink in memory of the bright young woman they love.
Mrs Morris said Rachelle, although no longer around, remained a huge part of the family's lives.
"Every day, without fail... There's not one day that goes by where she doesn't slip into your mind," she said.
Plea for help
The NSW Police Force said Rachelle's death had been the subject of an exhaustive investigation and an extended coronial inquest.
Mrs Morris said the family had worked with a few groups of detectives, who became like family because of how often they were in contact and who worked hard to find answers.
Today, the investigation into Rachelle's murder continues under Strike Force Telap, and falls under the responsibility of the Unsolved Homicides Unit.
A $200,000 reward - doubled from $100,000 in 2011 - remains on offer for information that leads to the conviction of Rachelle's killer.
Mrs Morris would like to see that reward raised, in the hopes it might help crack the case.
It was "incredibly frustrating", she said, to see the efforts so far remain fruitless.
"Luckily we're a very strong-willed, tight-knit family, or this would have destroyed us," Mrs Morris said.
"In some ways it has, but we're always really hopeful that it's going to be solved."
She believes there is something key that has been overlooked so far.
Mrs Morris urges anyone with information, no matter how unimportant they might think it is, to come forward.
"If there's anyone who has any shred of information that they may not have come forward with back then, and they think it's insignificant - it might not be. If you know something, say something," she said.
She hopes that someone with a connection to the killer will arrive at a point where they feel ready to speak up, too.
"My hope is that relationships change and people mature, and hopefully there is someone who has information that will help, and I just encourage them to get it off their chest and come forward. Never too late," Mrs Morris said.
Anyone with information that could be relevant to the investigation into Rachelle Childs' death should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a report online.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
