UPDATE: Tasmania Police has announced a $50,000 reward for anyone who provides information that leads to a prosecution in the case of Christopher Watkins.
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A LAUNCESTON man who has been missing for two years is now thought to have been murdered, police believe.
Christopher Dean Watkins went missing after an incident at Mayfield on August 7, 2013.
He was never heard from again.
Following two years of investigations, police now suspect foul play in Mr Watkins’ case.
He was 28 years old at the time of his disappearance, about 170 centimetres tall, with tattoos, blue eyes and a shaved head.
The Examiner can now confirm that police investigations have identified a particular group of unnamed people who are believed to be involved in Mr Watkins’ death.
On Thursday, an anonymous source revealed the following pieces of evidence:
●Mr Watkins was at a Box Street unit at Mayfield with a group of people just moments before his disappearance.
●Mr Watkins made a desperate phone call to a family member after someone he knew arrived at the unit and unsettled him.
●That family member was unable to protect Mr Watkins and instructed another person in the house to ‘‘watch his back’’.
●The phone call was the last time Mr Watkins was heard from.
The revelations come just days before Missing Persons Week, aimed at raising awareness each year about some of the country’s most notorious cold cases.
Police have been unable to pinpoint the likely whereabouts of Mr Watkins and, as a result, an extensive ground search was never conducted.
Anyone with information about Mr Watkins’ whereabouts should contact Launceston police on 131444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
