Murder detectives are leading an investigation into the disappearance of a nine-year-old girl from a stunning Blue Mountains wedding venue, as it’s revealed her mother is a former ice addict who went to jail for killing her friend in a dangerous car smash.
Charlise Mutten had been staying with her mother Kallista Mutten and her fiancé, Justin Stein, whose family are millionaires, at their lavish property when she disappeared without a trace.
Investigators have seized a boat as well a red ute as they desperately hunt for the schoolgirl, who was last seen on Thursday afternoon – with police not called until 8.20 on Friday morning.
There is no suggestion her 31-year-old mother or her partner are in any way involved in Charlise’s disappearance, or that she is a current drug user.
Neighbours have told detectives they saw a car driving away from the area at 4.30am on Friday, with no headlights on.
Charlise Mutten, 9, was staying with her mother Kallista Mutten when she disappeared on Thursday at a sprawling private wedding venue owned by the family of her fiancé, Justin Stein, in Sydney’s Blue Mountains
A red ute (pictured) was seized by police over the weekend in relation to the investigation
Charlise normally lives with her grandparents in Queensland’s Coolangatta, The Daily Telegraph reporter, but had been spending part of the summer break staying with her mum.
Ms Mutten was sentenced to two years in jail back in 2017 for dangerous driving causing death, as well as driving while on drugs.
Police are now scouring her fiance’s family property, the Wildenstein Estate at Mount Wilson, for clues four days after Charlise disappeared.
Investigators are treating the case as a potential homicide, with extensive searches underway near the multi-million dollar property which is surrounded by dense bushland.
A family source told the publication they were ‘very distressed’ by her disappearance.
Search teams have worked tirelessly all weekend to track and find Charlise, who has been missing since Thursday afternoon (pictured, search teams near Mt Wilson on Sunday)
There is no suggestion her 31-year-old mother or her partner are in any way involved in Charlise’s disappearance, or that she is a current drug user (pictured, Charlise in a police hand-out photo)
Her distressed mum Kallista Mutten (pictured, left and right, with Charlise) was consoled by emergency workers on Saturday
Charlise is described as being of Caucasian appearance with brown hair (pictured, Charlise Mutten
NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia that ‘all lines of investigation’ remain open in the baffling case.
The girl was last seen on Thursday at the property, and was reported missing to police on Friday morning.
A full scale search began within hours and police now hold ‘grave concerns’ for her safety.
The missing girl is described as being ‘of Caucasian appearance, between 130cm and 140cm tall, of thin build, with brown hair and brown eyes,’ NSW police said.
‘It is believed she was last seen wearing a pink top with a round neck collar, a black knee-length skirt and pink Nike thongs.’
Investigators are now treating the manicured 12-acre property, including the residential buildings on it, as a crime scene.
Specialist teams are seen scouring the bush on Sunday (pictured) in the continuing search for the nine-year-old
NSW Police divers spent hours searching a pond on the Wildenstein property at Mt Wilson on Saturday
Kallista Mutten’s fiancé Justin Stein (pictured) went to Penrith on Friday to speak with NSW police
Police divers scoured a pond at Wildenstein, which is run by Justin’s brother James Stein, on Saturday.
They also seized a white boat used on the property and analysed it for fingerprints.
The boat is also understood to be subject to ongoing forensic testing.
The police dog squad, PolAir, police rescue, divers and Blue Mountains local police are all involved.
Officers on off-road trail bikes have also been deployed across the property and are searching the surrounding area.
It still remains unclear how Charlise went missing, with hundreds of police and volunteers – including fully equipped SES and rural fire service members wearing backpacks – searching the dense surrounding bushland since Friday.
The girl was reported missing at 8.20am on Friday from a property at Mt Wilson, 60km northwest of Richmond (pictured, police and detectives on the scene on Friday)
NSW police sent out a geo-targeting text message to all local residents in the area on Friday evening to inform them of Charlise’s disappearance
The search and rescue teams have not stopped since, working through the weekend and are expected to continue overnight on Sunday into Monday.
Storms prevented a PolAir helicopter, which used thermal imaging technology, from searching overnight on Friday, but it was deployed again on Saturday.
It is understood the terrain is extremely challenging for searchers with tangled and dense undergrowth and steep cliffs.
Rural fire service volunteers have used ‘line searching’ tactics and marked out any items found in their painstaking search.
The sprawling 12 acre property that Charlise was staying at with her mum Kallista was owned by her fiancé Justin Stein’s family
The property, dubbed Wildenstein, by the Stein family is run by Justin’s brother James
On Saturday police confirmed her distressed mum, Kallista, was being consoled by police.
‘For any parent this is a distressing scenario, so yes she is quite distressed so we’re providing her with support,’ acting superintendent John Nelson said.
Ms Mutten was released from prison in 2019, after admitting to driving her red Holden Apollo after using ice.
While driving on the Tweed Valley Way, she tried to overtake a semi-trailer – causing a deadly crash.
Her friend, Karen Bunch, 53, died in hospital after nearly a month on life support.
Police also confirmed her fiancé Mr Stein, 31, drove to Penrith to speak with investigators but there is also no suggestion he is accused of any wrongdoing.
NSW Police said no arrests had been made and that all lines of enquiry remained open.
The search and rescue command post was established at the Mt Wilson Rural Fire Service Station on Friday after Charlise was reported missing nearly a day after last being seen.
Charlise Mutten, 9, went missing on Thursday but her disappearance wasn’t reported to police until Friday (pictured, search teams in the area over the weekend)
The crews immediately began searching dense bushland around Mt Wilson, which is approximately 30km northeast of Blackheath.
It is understood search teams were checking tents and bins in the area.
NSW Police sent out multiple geo-targeting text messages to all residents in the area on Friday and Saturday evening to inform them of Charlise’s disappearance and request help.
They also asked social media users to share the missing girl’s photo widely.
Police are appealing for anyone with information about her whereabouts to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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