Melissa Caddick: Missing fraud suspect's foot found on Australian beach
Australian police say they have found the partial remains of a fraud suspect who vanished from her Sydney home four months ago.
Businesswoman Melissa Caddick's disappearance has captivated
public attention, amid allegations she stole millions of dollars from her
clients.
Police had found no trace of her until last week when
campers spotted a shoe containing a decomposed foot on a beach 400km (250
miles) south of Sydney.
DNA testing matched it to Ms Caddick.
The financial adviser's "time and cause of death"
would now be determined by a coroner, New South Wales Police assistant
commissioner Mick Willing said on Friday.
"It remains a mystery as to when and how she came into
the water," he told reporters.
"At this point we can't rule out anything. We have kept
an open mind, however given the circumstances of her disappearance... we have
always considered the possibility that she may have taken her own life."
He said ocean drift modelling done by the police had shown
it was possible that Ms Caddick could have entered the water near her Sydney
home.
Police were scouring a national park near Tathra on the
state's south coast in the hope of finding more clues, he added.
Fraud allegations
Ms Caddick, 49, disappeared early on 12 November last year,
a day after federal police raided her home in the wealthy Sydney suburb of
Dover Heights.
She was reported missing by her son and husband, who said
they believed she had gone for an early-morning run. All of her personal
belongings had been left behind.
Shortly after, allegations that she had committed financial
fraud were reported by local media.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic)
alleged Ms Caddick had stolen at least A$13m ($10.2m; £7.3m) in invested funds
from over 60 clients, including many of her own family and friends.
Local media reported allegations she had been living a
lavish lifestyle, including taking overseas holidays and buying expensive
clothes and jewellery.
Separate investigations by authorities probed her
disappearance and alleged financial misconduct.
Earlier this month, police reiterated their belief that Ms
Caddick was still alive.
But on Friday, Mr Willing said the discovery of her remains
indicated that she was dead.
He said her family had been told of the discovery on
Thursday and were "obviously distressed".
Mr Willing said there had been no sightings of Ms Caddick
near where her remains had been found.
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