Victoria Police are set to increase the reward offered to solve the 25 year mystery of the death of Karmein Chan. Courtesy Seven News

THE depraved child abducting murderer Mr Cruel who stalked Melbourne in the 1980s is probably still alive.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Stephen Fontana told reporters in Melbourne on Wednesday morning his feeling was Mr Cruel could still be somewhere in the community.

“I think he is probably still alive,” Mr Fontana said.

Police confirmed they were increasing the reward money for information that could lead to the arrest of Mr Cruel to $1 million. He is believed to be behind the abduction and murder of 13-year-old Karmein Chan that horrified Australia 25 years ago today.

Mr Fontana said the reward announcement was timed to coincide with the anniversary of Karmein’s death. Detectives hadn’t been able to link her murder to a series of other abductions, but there was “every indication” the same man was responsible.

They include the 1988 and 1990 kidnappings of Sharon Wills, 10, and Nicola Lynas, 13. It’s believed he is responsible for possibly up to a dozen others, including rape, in a crime-spree that lasted a decade.

Karmein Chan was the only victim who was killed. Detectives at the time had a theory she was killed because she was able to see Mr Cruel’s face. All the other victims weren’t able to identify him.

Mr Fontana said today that Karmein was aware of the other Mr Cruel attacks and had made a comment to her mother that if something like that happened to her she “wouldn’t go willingly”.

Her body was found a year after she was taken by a man walking his dog. She had been shot at least three times in the back of the head.

It was pure “speculation” about why Mr Cruel stopped offending if he was still alive, but it could be that he was one of the thousands of people spoken to by police and was worried about being caught, Mr Fontana said.

Another possibility was the death of Karmein affected Mr Cruel enough to stop.

All of his crimes had been well planned and he had good knowledge of forensics. A common feature of his crimes was the lack of DNA material — which a former investigator has told news.com.au was the major obstacle in bringing him to justice.

There were 32 suspects who couldn’t be ruled out of the massive inquiry and a couple that were of particular interest to police.

andrew.koubaridis@news.com.au