Detectives investigating the disappearance of beloved Queensland mum Natarn Auld are no longer treating her missing person case as suspicious.
Ms Auld, 38, was last seen approaching a Capalaba service station at 3.30am on December 14.
She had left her Mount Cotton home, 30 minutes east of Brisbane’s CBD, on foot just before 3am that morning, with CCTV capturing her approaching a service station on Redland Bay Rd.
Grave concerns were held for Ms Auld, as family and friends frantically tried get in contact with her, to no avail.
And in a new, tragic twist, police now believe it’s likely Ms Auld was killed in an industrial incident.
Ms Auld’s phone was tracked from Capalaba to the Northgate area in Brisbane’s north just after 4am on December 14, with her phone following the exact same path as a rubbish truck.
According to The Courier-Mail, police now believe Ms Auld might have fallen asleep or become stuck in the industrial bin, before its contents were picked up by the rubbish truck in the dark.
Ms Auld’s phone pinged at the service station, where she was seen on CCTV, before it started moving to Brisbane’s north at 4.10am.
Detectives told the publication Ms Auld would sometimes look for items in charity bins and there was no evidence she had been separated from her phone before arriving at the service station.
In a media release last week, police said it was treating her disappearance as “non-suspicious”.
“Detectives have consulted with Natarn’s family about the progression of this investigation and our thoughts are with them at this time,” Queensland Police said.
Ms Auld’s family were active on social media as they frantically tried to find the 38-year-old.
Ms Auld’s oldest daughter issued a number of public appeals on Facebook.
“It has been three weeks tomorrow morning and she is still missing,” her daughter wrote in January.
“We have been given no further information and there has been no suspects yet as police have stated on the news. Please keep sharing, I think there is something seriously wrong that has happened and my family and I need closure.”
One week into the police search, Ms Auld’s daughter said she had been frantically trying to call her mum.
“It has been exactly one week now since anyone has heard or seen from her. Her last contact that we know of was a text to a friend (the person she was messaging let us and the police know) at 3.11am Monday morning saying she was going for a walk to a local service station in Capalaba to get papers,” she wrote.
“There has been no bank activity and no social media activity from her since the day of her disappearance. Her phone has been going straight to message bank since midday Monday. She left with her phone and wallet that morning, that was all.”
Seven weeks into her mum’s disappearance, Ms Auld’s daughter said she needed contact.
“Seven weeks today Mum. I need to know where you are. You wouldn’t just leave like this,” she said.
Police launched a number of massive search operations following her disappearance, conducting a ground search of bush near the service station on January 5.
State Emergency Service workers assisted police, with the group concentrating their efforts on the Coolnwynpin Creek area.
The search was the fourth to be conducted for Ms Auld since she went missing on December 14.
Police had also searched the Nudgee area on December 23 and December 29, as well as a ground search in Capalaba on December 29.
The night before she disappeared, Ms Auld was seen on CCTV visiting a service station with a friend just before midnight on December 13.
Ms Auld bought some food before leaving the petrol station.
The friend seen on CCTV with Ms Auld is not a person of interest, police said.
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