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It wasn’t unusual for them to go months or even years without seeing him after her parents’ marriage broke up.
But that would be the last time I saw him.
“We didn’t get to see dad that often,” the now 28-year-old told 9news.com.au.
“He kept saying he would come and then he didn’t, that’s just the way it was, which was sad.
Gary John Wells contacted his ex-wife Michelle to meet her, Cyrille and her brother Ben at the Chinderah Tavern on 10 June 2009.
He briefly met his ex-wife again at Cudgen Surf Club the next day.
But he was reported missing almost a year later by his mother Joan in Muswellbrook, who became alarmed when he missed several important family events.
Wells had moved to Muswellbrook after his marriage to Kirilli’s mother broke down in the late 1990s, and he traveled back and forth to Chindera sporadically.
Kirilli said she remembers giving a statement at the police station after he was reported missing, but they didn’t hear anything after that.
In April 2013, a coronial inquest was held into Wells’ disappearance and presumed death.
Kirilli didn’t know there was an investigation until nearly a decade later, when she went looking for answers as an adult.
“I decided I really wanted to try to find him because I felt like we just needed some closure,” she said.
“I think (the police) were in contact with my grandmother (Wells’ mother Joan) but we weren’t in really good contact with her.”
It took Kirilli three years to obtain the inquest’s findings and brief evidence after initially contacting Muswellbrook police, who referred her to the coroner’s office.
Brief evidence reveals that in the years before his disappearance, Wells was a heavy drinker who led an itinerant lifestyle, moving between family and friends.
His last card transaction was at the Dolphins Hotel in Tweed Heads, a 15-minute drive from Chindera, on June 12, 2009.
The car he was driving at the time, a red Ford Telstar sedan, has never been found.
According to a transcript of the hearing, Detective Sergeant Mardy Boardman told the inquest he believed Wells “killed himself sometime after the last meeting with his ex-wife.”
Deputy State Coroner Sharon Freund ruled that Wells died sometime after June 1, 2009, but left an open finding as to the manner and cause of his death.
“I burst into tears when I read that (police suspected suicide),” Kirilli said.
“My mother also burst into tears.
“I think that’s the way they framed it, that he tried to take his own life because of an unwanted meeting with his family. I just don’t believe it.”
Kirill and her brother believe that their father may be alive and hiding from someone or that he may have been killed.
“I’m not really sure why he really didn’t want us in his life, but at the end of the day he’s still my father and I want to know what happened and get some closure.”
In New South Wales, a missing person case is referred to the coroner when the investigating police believe the missing person is dead or when no further inquiries can be made as to whether or not they are alive.
Family members can be kept informed of the investigation by contacting the police.
“Knowing that we weren’t notified about the coroner’s court, it definitely hurts,” Kirilli said.
“We’re his only children, so it just felt really, really weird that we weren’t notified.”
More recently, Kirilli’s aunt Caroline Nielsen received a phone call from a woman who wanted to tell her about a strange encounter she had with Wells in a pub in Muswellbrook before he disappeared.
The woman said Wells appeared to be afraid of another woman at the location and that the date had been on her mind for years.
“I don’t know if it was a clue or something, it was super random, but I thought, wow, now someone is speaking out after all this time, so I wanted to tell the story again.”
A NSW Police spokesperson told 9news.com.au that as Wells’ remains have not been found, he is still missing.
“Police will investigate any new leads and urge anyone who may have information about Gary’s disappearance to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000,” the spokesman said.
Disappearance is not a crime. If you have been reported as a missing person and contact the police, your privacy will be maintained.
If you have information about a missing person, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the off-blue line on 1300 22 4636.
Suicide Callback Service 1300 659 467.
MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78.
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