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The strange death of Emma Campbell in New Zealand's Christchurch

Emma Campbell port hills Christchurch New Zealand death

Emma Campbell, disappeared May 1, 2010. Remains discovered March 10, 2012, Port Hills, Christchurch, New Zealand

Revised July 2024

Emma Campbell, 29, left her home in Bryndwr near Christchurch in New Zealand at about 5:20 a.m. on Saturday, May 1, 2010, and went to the Shell Service Station in Riccarton Road, where she bought gasoline for her car at around 5:30 a.m.

Some passers-by found the blue 1994 Toyota Corona stuck in thick foliage after it crashed off the road at 7:30 a.m. down the side of Dyers Pass Road in Christchurch's Port Hills.

Emma's possessions, including her wallet, driver's license, keys, and religious books, were in the vehicle.

When the Police arrived at the scene, they found Emma’s red shoes further down the bank towards the track, her watch was on a rock but there was no sign of her near the car crash site.

The search for Emma Campbell

Dyers pass road christchurch — Dyers pass road Christchurch

Emma's disappearance sparked a massive search of the Port Hills area, but with no luck. Tracking dogs and a helicopter with FLIR heat-seeking capability were deployed, but the only heat signature was that of a deer.

Police were looking for two people seen in a light-colored, square-shaped car reversing up a hill near where Emma's car crashed on that same morning. "They are not suspects (in Miss Campbell's disappearance) or anything like that because we don't have any," said Detective Senior Sergeant John Rae.

Investigators said that whilst the "low impact" crash by Emma’s car may have had the initial appearance of an accident, in which she may have walked away or stumbled away injured, they believed it was now more likely the disappearance was staged. Detective Rae said, "From two points of view, one is that (Miss Campbell) has staged it, or someone else has become involved, and they have staged it - those options are both still open - and probably the more likely scenarios than just an accidental running off the road and her making off into the scrub. There's no preference of one over the other."

The discovery of Emma Campbell’s body

On March 2010, 2012, nearly two years after Emma disappeared, a hunter looking for his dog found some human remains on a steep scrub-covered ravine on the Port Hills. It was in a very secluded area, less than 1 mile from the location of Emma's Toyota.

Investigators said, "It was a fair old climb down, not only to get through the terrain but then to have to bash her way through the bush was pretty difficult". The body needed to be brought out by helicopter due to the thick undergrowth.

An autopsy failed to find proof it was her body, but dental records were located, which identified the remains as being Emma Campbell. Police also confirmed that the colour and style of clothing and the ring on her finger matched what she was wearing in the service station closed-circuit television video.

What happened to Emma?

According to the NZ Herald, there were reports that Emma had a history of staging things and had left her job two days before her disappearance.

The police dismissed any suspicions of foul play and assumed Emma just fell whilst on a morning stroll to get help after she crashed the car into bushes. But reading the details behind the case throws up some strange facts.

Was Emma Campbell's death a simple suicide with a staged car crash?
Why did searchers with sniffer dogs and infrared detectors fail to pick up her body less than a mile from the car?
How did her body end up in search of a difficult-to-reach area where even a chopper was needed to remove the remains?

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Read other strange stories from New Zealand

The strange hiking death of Jason Chase in New Zealand's Tamaki Reserve

The disturbing and bizarre disappearances on Auckland New Zealand’s west coast beaches

Sources