Police 'strongly' suspect Launceston man Christopher Watkins was murdered

Christopher Watkins was 28 years old when he disappeared from a flat on Box Street in Mayfield on August 7, 2013.

Mr Watkins, 28, is described as 170 centimetres tall, medium build, shaved bald head, blue eyes, and a fair complexion. He has tattoos of barbed wire on his left bicep, a brick wall on his left wrist, an 8-ball on his inner left arm, and a Celtic band on his left thigh.

To date, his body has not been located, and police firmly believe he was abducted by associates and killed after he made a panicked phone call to a family member.

He told the family member that two men he had history with had arrived at the unit where he had been staying with friends.

It was the last time he was heard from.

Tasmania Police are offering half a million dollars reward for information leading to a conviction.

Detective Acting Inspector Andrew Hanson said while police had "significant information" about the case, stronger evidence was needed.

"Although we've received a significant amount of information with regards to this investigation, to date, we've been unable to locate Christopher's body or Christopher's remains," Detective Acting Inspector Hanson said.

"Next week marks the 10-year anniversary of Christopher's disappearance. And I'm here today to ask those members of the public that we strongly believe have the information and evidence to locate Christopher and to help secure a conviction in court to come forward."

During the initial investigation, at least six men provided statements to police, but some of those were lies.

Four men were later charged with conspiracy and perverting the course of justice, while a woman was convicted of making a false statement to police in 2016.

Detective Acting Inspector Hanson said over the past decade, police had been working with Mr Watkin's family in the search for answers.

"10 years is a very long time for a family to be missing a loved one," he said.

"His family has been through a lot in that time. And providing that information to police would enable closure for the family and his loved ones."

Detective Acting Inspector Hanson said he hoped the reward would incentivise people with information to come forward.

"Half a million dollars is a lot of money in anybody's books; it can be life-changing," he said.

"So we'd implore those people to consider how that money might impact their lives into the future."

Crime Stoppers Tasmania chief executive David Higgins said information could be reported anonymously.

"We're encouraging the community to report any information they may know," Mr Higgins said.

"This is a situation where the community has critical information that can solve a potential murderer and other missing persons around our state as well.

"You can report information via Crimestoppers and still be eligible for the reward. You can do it anonymously and still be eligible, but it has to lead to a conviction."

Detective Acting Inspector Hanson said he encourages anyone with information to come forward.

"Some of the barriers preventing the people involved in this from coming forward, who I believe have the information that we require, is no doubt an element of concern from them of some sort of retaliation within the community," he said.

"To those people, I want to say Tasmania is a very safe place.

"I want to use this opportunity to reiterate that it's 10 years on, and there is a lot of water under the bridge since the incident we believe has occurred, which is why we're renewing this call for information."

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