The mother of a toddler who went missing near Queenstown nearly 30 years ago is begging for people to come forward and give the family answers.
Amber-Lee Rose Cruickshank was last seen at a property in Cornwall Street, Kingston, on the shores of Lake Wakatipu on October 17, 1992.
The two-year-old and her family had been staying at the property at the time and were socialising when she went missing.
On May 5 this year she would have turned 31 years old.
Police on Tuesday announced a reward of $100,000 for information or evidence which leads to the identity and conviction of those responsible for her disappearance.
For Amber-Lee's mother Nicky Cruickshank, her daughter's disappearance 29 years ago is still as raw today as it was back then. On Tuesday, she made an appeal.
"I'm asking you from the bottom of my heart, I'm begging you to please give us the answers we are looking for," she says.
Her hopes for information were boosted on Tuesday now Police are offering a substantial reward.
"The reward is $100,000 and it's for any material information or evidence that will lead to the identity and conviction of a person in relation to the Amber-Lee Cruickshank disappearance," says Detective Inspector Stu Harvey of the Southern District Police.
Police initially suspected she'd drowned in Lake Wakatipu but found nothing during an extensive search of the area.
"The enquiry to date leads us to believe that there's foul play involved in Amber-Lee's disappearance and by that what I mean is there's been somebody involved in her disappearing from Kingston that day," Det Insp Harvey says.
Cruickshank says that they've previously asked police to offer a reward for information.
"$100,000 is a lot of money, sometimes a lot of money can make people talk," she says.
"I knew deep within my heart that there was no way in hell that she was in that lake unless someone had put her there."
The last time police offered an award of this scale, it led to a breakthrough in the 24-year-old cold case of Angela Blackmoore.
Police will also consider immunity from prosecution for any accomplice who wasn't directly involved with the disappearance of Amber-Lee but can provide vital information or evidence
The reward will stand for six months from April 13.
"She deserves to come home. We deserve closure. What more can I say? Have a heart," Cruickshank says. "It must be a hell of a burden to be carrying all these years. Because it's been a hell of a roller coaster ride for me and my family."
