Tearful plea by missing woman's mother

Teresa Scott, mother of missing Auckland woman Carmen Thomas speaking on Police Ten-7. Photo / Police Ten-7

The mother of missing Auckland woman Carmen Thomas broke down after being asked if she was prepared for police to find her daughter dead.

"I'm sorry, I cannot discuss that right now," Teresa Scott told reporters at a press conference today.

She was escorted from the press conference by a police officer.

Earlier she told the media about her daughter, Ms Thomas, who has now been missing for almost a month.

"She was a very fun-loving young lady. She was very good at school, full of fun and had a lot of friends. She met a lot of friends wherever she went," she said.

Ms Scott has travelled from South Africa to help in the hunt for her daughter. She made a plea to her daughter or anyone who has any information to contact police.

"Her son misses her and really needs to see his Mum," she said.

Ms Scott said she would write emails to her 32 year-old daughter but not on a regular basis.

"She said she had been a bit ill and I'm not sure what was wrong," she said.

Detective Inspector Mark Benefield is heading up the case and said police still had an open mind about why Ms Thomas was missing.

"We have a mystery. A big mystery," Mr Benefield said.

He said police were looking for the tyre and jack from Ms Thomas' car as well as a distinctive handbag and her car keys.

"There have been a number of sightings, none of which have been corroborated," Mr Benefield said.

He said police officers "eyes are going square" from looking through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage.

Mr Benefield said police had also done carried out a scene examination of Ms Thomas' house where she lived with her five year-old son.

"We're still waiting on results from that," he said.

Police spokesman Noreen Hegarty said there had been "two dozen calls" to police after coverage of the case on the television programme Police Ten 7.

Last night Mr Benefield said the case had taken a "sinister twist".

"We have to acknowledge that things are looking pretty sinister at this stage of the investigation," said inquiry head Detective Inspector Mark Benefield.

Mr Benefield last night revealed that Carmen's dark Nissan Pulsar three-door hatchback had a "space saver" temporary left rear tyre when it was discovered abandoned in Hamilton on July 13.

The car's standard tyre and jack equipment were missing - with Ms Thomas' turquoise-coloured handbag and car keys.

Mr Benefield said it could be reasonably assumed that if Ms Thomas was "alive and well" she might have tried to contact police or her family.

"Carmen's bank accounts have not been touched, and she has not had any contact with family or friends since July 1 at the very latest, possibly earlier.

"We've had no corroborated sightings of her since June 27 when we know she shopped at the Greenlane Countdown supermarket."

Her car was parked in Sylvan St East for several hours from shortly after midnight on June 26 and police want to hear from anyone who noticed it there, particularly if they noticed what wheels it had.

"We believe she was driving around the Newmarket area with four normal tyres on June 25, so we'd love to hear from anyone who can tell us when the tyres were changed, where the standard tyre is and what was wrong with it," Mr Benefield said.

Ms Thomas' family yesterday issued a "plea from the heart" to her "abductors".

Her aunt, Carol Lavagna, posted a message on the missing woman's Facebook site, begging for her return.

"We are not in a financial position to bargain if this is what you are holding her for. We are ordinary people living ordinary lives and this is just so extreme, what the hell is it all for/about?"

Friend Natalie Ireland asked the "vulgar monster" who knew where she was, "How do you sleep at night" and "How do you look in the mirror".

- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: LINCOLN TAN