On the morning of November 12, 2020, at 5:30 am, Melissa Caddick’s 14-year-old son witnessed her departure from their family home, assuming she was embarking on her routine morning run in the affluent Dover Heights suburb of eastern Sydney.
As detailed in the ITV documentary “The Real Vanishing Act: Missing Millionairess,” the 49-year-old financial advisor, departing without her wallet or keys, mysteriously vanished, leaving behind a myriad of unanswered questions. What is clear, however, is that in the days leading up to her disappearance, authorities executed a raid on Caddick’s residence as part of a fraud investigation. Allegations surfaced that the seemingly prosperous businesswoman had misappropriated an estimated $20 million to $30 million (£10.5 million to £15.3 million) over an eight-year period to sustain her opulent lifestyle.
Accused of assuming a friend’s license to falsely pose as a financial advisor, Caddick’s fraudulent scheme granted access to funds from over 60 clients, including friends and even family members. Among the victims were Caddick’s elderly neighbors, who fell prey to a scam resulting in the loss of $600,000 (£314,000) from their superannuation.
The unraveling of Caddick’s activities began in August 2020 when one of her investors engaged in a conversation with a fellow patient in a dentist’s waiting room. Learning of Caddick’s misconduct, the investor reported her to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) for illegitimate use of a financial advisor’s license. Subsequently, ASIC initiated an investigation, and on November 10, 2020, just two days before her disappearance, froze Caddick’s bank accounts to prevent her escape. On November 11, officers executed a search at Caddick’s residence, seizing valuable items such as clothing and jewelry. The very next morning, Caddick went missing after failing to meet a 4 pm deadline to surrender her passport and any plane tickets to the police.
Her husband reported her disappearance the following day, sparking months of speculation about her whereabouts and whether she was still alive. The mystery took a grim turn in February 2021 when surfers discovered a decomposing foot, belonging to Caddick, inside a sports shoe on Bournda Beach, approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of Sydney, seemingly dispelling any notion of her having gone into hiding.
