Karlie Jade Pearce-Stevenson, whose body was not identified until five years after her remains were discovered in the NSW Belanglo forest, has been described as a loving person with many friends.
She was revealed on Wednesday to be the mother of Khandalyce Kiara Pearce, the toddler whose remains were found in a suitcase beside a South Australian highway in July.
Pearce-Stevenson had been known as “Angel” since 2010, when her body was found with a T-shirt that had the word “Angelic” across the chest.
The pair were identified from the 1,267th and 1,271st callers to CrimeStoppers about the mystery of the child in the suitcase. The last confirmed sighting of the pair was in 2008, when Pearce-Stevenson was 20 and Khandalyce was two.
A woman known as Athena, who went to Alice Springs high school with Pearce-Stevenson has remembered a friendly and popular young woman.
“She was very kind, loving, she had heaps of friends, she had more friends than enemies if anything,” Athena told ABC’s AM program.
“She would never walk past without saying hello. She’d always say hello, we’d always have a little yarn here and there. She was a good girl.”
Pearce-Stevenson left Alice Springs in 2006 with Khandalyce, planning to travel and work around Australia. They were reported missing in 2009 by Pearce-Stevenson’s mother, but the report was withdrawn when she was assured the pair were safe and happy but wanted no contact with family.
Her mother died in 2010.
“They just can’t believe it, they’re in disbelief,” Athena said of the community in Alice Springs.
Pearce-Stevenson’s cousin Samantha Harris pleaded for information on Facebook in 2013.
“To my beautiful cousin i know ur some where out thr n i just want u to know i wont stop looking for u if u see this or if anyone has seen this girl plz let me know,” she wrote.
“...not a day gose by that i dont think of u both i just want to know ur both safe xoxo.”
Another family member posted a link to a news story questioning why the initial missing person report was withdrawn saying whatever was printed by the local newspaper had not come from the family.
“We have chosen to take this time to grieve, not answer to speculation or hearsay,” she wrote.
“We know the truth about our ongoing search for Karlie and Khandles and that’s all that matters.”
Police have said no family member, including the father of Khandalyce, is a suspect in the murder case.
Police are trying to piece together the pair’s movements between 2006 and 2008 and have appealed for anyone who had any contact with them to come forward.
Detective superintendent Des Bray urged caravan park owners, motel operators and landlords to check their electronic records over the past few years to see if the pair stayed with them.
“We’re not at the end of the investigation, we’re really at the start,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “And I guess you could say that initially we were looking for a needle in a haystack but we didn’t know what the haystack was.
“We’ve now actually got the haystack and we think we’re working towards a successful conclusion, but there’s a lot of work to be done and I’m confident that everybody across Australia will get behind the police and the family and provide information.”
- Anyone who thinks they may have information relating to the mother and daughter can ring CrimeStoppers anonymously on 1800 333 000.
