Some updates indeed, but still no conviction and it remains an open case. There may be repeated parts as I address each reading.
There was a suspect only nothing ever came of it.
If indeed he is the one that murdered her, (William John Russell), then he was a convicted rapist. "Others". He did admit to being seen with her and was likely the last person to have seen her alive.
As no confession or a charge - nothing to go by as to what really went down after she disappeared.
It seems she was horse riding, and may have fallen. Furthermore, her horse was tied up, so to me that suggests she went with her captor willingly or under some pretense.
Who would tie a horse up in the middle of being abducted?
There is everything to indicate that she was "lured" (Snake) by someone and it must have been for a reason like, just off the top of my head, offered a ride home (Ring) perhaps or why else would she get into a ute. Except....if there really was a gun on her.
Let's see....
One witness or two saw a "gun" being held on her and the last witness to have seen her was a convicted rapist. (William John Russell). "Having to have her" might be correct, but this primary suspect was never convicted although it seems he "confessed" to doing it from time to time.
He had mental illness, so who knows if it was the truth or not.
Difficult to confirm what happened after she went missing, but "hidden agenda" could be right with some seeing a gun on her, her saying to a witness or two that someone was going to get her parents for her (never happened), and/or her horse being tied up by the river which means she went with her captor and likely willingly only with no idea about what was in store for her.
She was near her home and at a beach to start with only her horse was found near a river. Kirsa was never found.
Witnesses saw her with a European man in a white ute near a Tutaekuri river which is actually in a very "hilly area" as I looked at a map and did a close up of the area. (No mountains unless in the distance). One or two even thought they saw her inside that vehicle with his arm around her. Another (or two) I think said they saw him holding a "gun" on her but that was outside of the ute.
"Options" is a likelihood - just not "plentiful".
Not sure what the family situation was like although there is a book out written by her mother, so maybe there is something in there. Having said that, it looks like she was out riding her horse in the afternoon, had a fall, and disappeared before 5:00 pm.
William John Russell would not have been known to her, or any of the other witnesses that saw her that day, all would have been "new" to her. And it seems she was approached after "falling" not whilst she was riding her horse. Probably because she had a head injury and was bleeding.
DND
NOTE: Not bad so far with ALL three decks although the "W" and "M" decks have to be the easiest with the "numbers" alone (W) and "numbers/pictures" (M).