Brother believes pregnant 20yo could have been Ivan Milat's first victim

The family of a woman who disappeared five decades ago believes she might be one of the earliest victims of serial killer Ivan Milat and that police once regarded him as the only viable suspect.

Keren Ellen Rowland was 20 and pregnant when she went missing after her car ran out of petrol at Parkes Way, Canberra, on the evening of February 26, 1971.

Her remains were discovered on May 13 that year in a pine plantation between Canberra and Queanbeyan. A coronial inquest ruled she had died by misadventure with no clear cause of death.

Keren's brother Steve Rowland says, after decades without progress, family members began their own review of the case in 2017, describing what they found as "devastating" that Keren had injuries consistent with strangulation.

Mr Rowland believes police bungled opportunities to tie Milat to Keren's death decades before he was convicted of seven backpacker murders in the 1990s.

Mr Rowland told the first hearing of a NSW parliamentary inquiry into unsolved homicides and missing persons that the family had never stopped searching for answers.

"It's been 55 years since we lost my sister and her baby," he said.

"Unfortunately, my mum and dad have passed not knowing what happened to Keren and her bub, but with unwavering support and help from family we have and will continue to search for answers.

"We're finding it incredibly difficult to get the same support and help from the investigating authorities.

"We have found that the investigating body [ACT AFP] has very little or no information, connected notes or evidence left from February 1971," he said.

Milat the 'only suspect'

The family's review has been supported by relative and UK police officer Hugh Hughes, who has more than 30 years' experience in criminal investigations.

Mr Hughes told the inquiry he met former NSW homicide detective Clive Small in 2019 and was shown a NSW Police document linked to Task Force Air, which examined possible connections between Milat and unsolved cases.

He said the document indicated Milat was a person of interest, if not a suspect, in Keren's case.

"To use Clive's own words, at that time he was the only suspect the AFP had in relation to Keren," Mr Hughes said.

Mr Hughes said the family had also been told Milat was working in the Queanbeyan area not long before Keren disappeared.

He pointed to similarities between Keren's death and later murders linked to Milat, including where her body was found.

"In speaking to Clive Small, he is saying the area in which Karen's body was found … is very similar to the Belanglo forest findings," he said.

"The position of the body and the way the body was hidden with shrubbery was very similar."

Mr Hughes also told the inquiry there had been reports of a vehicle with NSW plates "cruising" Canberra's Constitution Avenue in the days before Keren disappeared.

The family also highlighted that Milat abducted two young women and raped one of them near Goulburn only weeks after Keren disappeared, asking if opportunities to identify him earlier had been missed.

Mr Hughes also pointed to what he described as a potential trigger event, noting Milat's sister died in a traffic accident two weeks before Keren disappeared, which he said was consistent with patterns in some of Milat's later offending.

The family further questioned the disappearance of exhibits from the investigation, including a beer bottle found near Keren's body, arguing modern forensic testing may have provided fresh leads.

They also questioned why records relating to the case were at one point stored in the National Archives and marked "top secret", but had now been removed.

They also told the inquiry they had been promised a full cold case review in 2019 but were yet to receive the results.

Investigators 'missed opportunities'

The family also pointed out what they described as seven missed opportunities to consider Milat in relation to Keren's disappearance, including the abduction of two women and sexual assault of one of them a few weeks after she went missing.

They argued some of those opportunities occurred before the backpacker murders in the 1990s and said the pattern warranted closer examination.

While critical of the handling of the investigation, the family stressed they were not accusing current officers of wrongdoing.

Mr Hughes said the Rowland family's experience highlighted the need for what he described as a police "duty of candour", arguing authorities should be required to disclose errors in historical investigations.

"If they've made mistakes, families deserve to know," Mr Hughes said.

"We can't do anything about those mistakes that have happened, but at least it helps the family understand what has happened, rather than being told nothing."

In a statement to the ABC, ACT Policing said it was "aware of comments made by Keren Rowland's family at the recent NSW Government Inquiry into Unsolved murders and long-term missing persons cases in New South Wales between 1965 and 2010".

"As her homicide remains an open matter, it would not be appropriate to comment at this time," the spokesperson said.

The inquiry will hold its next hearing in Grafton next month.

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