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The Lost 05 | Francesca Martin

The Lost 05 | Francesca Martin

Motive: Gone Fishing vor 2 Monaten

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35:23

Fran Martin popped out to the petrol station in Hamilton in 2005,
bought cigarettes, and wasn't seen again. Her father, Bob, has
spent his life savings looking for her.

This series was first released on 1 December 2017.

Watch a video segment from the episode here

Bob Martin has spent 13 years, his savings and much of his
pension looking for his daughter.

When she disappeared in 2005, the 79-year-old combed the reserves
along State Highway 1 between Hamilton and Taupo. He put flyers
up in Putaruru and Tokoroa. He dug on land because psychics told
him that's where she'd be.

But he's been unable to find her.

Francesca Martin - known as Fran and aged 42 when she went
missing - was last seen at a petrol station in Hamilton on April
20, 2005. Her white Nissan Pulsar turned up the next day two
hours' drive away, near the intersection of State Highway 1 and 5
in Wairakei.

"All I want to do is to get someone to come up and tell me, I do
know where she is and get lucky and find that he's right or she's
right," Bob says. "All I want is my daughter and to bury her -
nothing more."

Bob told RNZ's podcast The Lost he's driven to Wairakei to look
for Fran more than one hundred times and spent his savings of
$75,000 in his search.

"I had big telephone bills. It was just a bit here and a bit
there, but a bit here and a bit there over six years is a lot of
money."

Fran was last seen at a Caltex petrol station. CCTV footage shows
she bought cigarettes, took out $30 and then left. About 20
seconds later, it appears she came back in to ask for directions.

At the time, police said Fran was at the petrol station at
8.55pm, but Detective Sergeant, Matt Cranshaw, who is in charge
of her case now, says she took out money at exactly 7.57pm - an
hour earlier.

Mr Cranshaw says the discrepancy between the petrol station
timestamp and bank withdrawal could be because of daylight
saving.

A truck driver would later report seeing a car like Fran's
passing him near the highway intersection at Wairakei at about
10.45pm. When he approached the intersection, Mr Cranshaw says
the truck driver looked up State Highway 5 towards Rotorua and
saw what appeared to be the same car parked.

"The inside lights turned on and the passenger door was
opened," Mr Cranshaw says. "From that he assumed there may be two
people because that door was open. However, he could not see
inside the vehicle."

Fran's car was be found by police about 24 hours after she was
seen at the petrol station…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details