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Callum Godde

Murder charge over 1984 disappearance of RAAF woman

Debra Campbell disappeared from her Windsor home after a disagreement with her fiance in 1984. (PR HANDOUT IMAGE PHOTO)

A NSW man has been charged over the suspected murder of Melbourne woman Debra Campbell almost 40 years ago.

The 65-year-old man was arrested in Cardiff South near Newcastle on Wednesday and faced a local court charged with murder.

He will return to court on Friday as police seek to extradite him to Victoria.

Campbell was just 21 when she disappeared from her Windsor home after a disagreement with her fiance on February 25, 1984.

After several unsuccessful appeals for information police reviewed the case in 2022, leading to fresh inquiries in Victoria and NSW.

In March, police spoke to the 65-year-old man after raiding his Cardiff South home.

Detectives believe Debra likely met with foul play the night she disappeared.

The young woman and her 26-year-old partner were members of the Royal Australian Air Force when she went missing.

Her disappearance was investigated by the RAAF when she failed to report for duty two days later, on Monday morning, but her concerned mother reported her missing to police on Friday, March 2.

A coronial inquest in 1998 declared she was most likely dead, though the circumstances of her death could not be determined.

In April during a fresh public appeal for information, Ms Campbell's mother Jean remembered her daughter as a vibrant girl and said the immeasurable impact of her disappearance was still being felt by the family.

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