Anna Rosa Liva

Anna Rosa Liva was an Italian national who was in Australia on a backpacker adventure of a lifetime. The experienced traveler from Pordenone, in northern Italy, arrived on a bus at Coober Pedy from Alice Springs at 10 pm on 27 November 1991.

She booked into accommodation on Olive St, just off Hutchinson St – the town’s main thoroughfare. That night the accommodation was full of backpackers eager to explore the Outback town. It is unknown whether she went out that night but, at 8 am the next morning – ­ 28 November – Anna ate breakfast at the Last Resort Cafe a few hundred meters from her accommodation and left around 8.45 am.

By 9.15 am, she had returned to her accommodation and had a cup of coffee, and spoke to staff. She told staff that she planned to go “noodling’’ for opals – a term she is suspected to have picked up during a conversation with a local.

There was an unconfirmed sighting of Anna at 9.30 am when a local saw a woman matching her description in Edward St, off Hutchinson St.

Her last confirmed sighting was at 11.30 am at the council chambers, at the corner of St Nicholas and Hutchinson streets.

She had been seeking tourist information and had a conversation with a worker about a common interest – the Jehovah’s Witness religion. She had made plans to go to a meeting of Jehovah’s Witness’ at 7 pm that night in Coober Pedy.

She also collected information about a Jehovah’s Witness establishment at Ingle Farm and obtained a map of Coober Pedy.

At the time of her disappearance, Anna was described as having , black hair, brown eyes, and an olive complexion. Anna would now be aged 60 years old.

Police suspect that she disappeared shortly after leaving the council chambers and never returned to her accommodation, which was only about 300m down Hutchinson St.

Police believe it is most likely that she had a discussion with someone and went willingly with her killer.

Her body is believed to have been disposed of in one of the thousands of disused mineshafts that surround the Far North town. More than a dozen shafts near where Anna was last seen have been searched and nothing is located.

A reward of up to $200,000 is on offer to anyone who provides information that leads to a conviction in this case and/or the recovery of her remains.

If you have seen something, if you have heard something, if you know something, please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.