Her friends raised the alarm with police on Saturday when she failed to attend various appointments, Detective acting Inspector of the Homicide Squad Ritchie Sim said. "Police spoke to a number of friends and associates in those initial stages, who described it as completely out of character," he said. Cecilia Haddad's body was found floating in the Lane Cove River on Sunday morning. Credit:NSW Police Ms Haddad's body was found by kayakers in the Lane Cove River near Angelo Street, Woolwich, about 10.15am on Sunday. She was wearing a navy-green long-sleeve jumper, khaki cargo pants and silver bracelets on both wrists. She had a tattoo on her right shoulder blade and a birth mark on her left shin.

She lived about 10 minutes away from where her body was found. Shortly after her body was found, police issued an appeal for help to identify her. Flowers have been left near to the spot where Cecilia Haddad's body was found. Credit:Lucy Cormack Initially, police believed she may have drowned accidentally and her death was not being treated as suspicious. Acting Inspector Sim said on Wednesday that police were appealing to the public "to help piece together Cecilia’s movements leading up to her disappearance".

There were two aspects that led police to believe Ms Haddad’s death was suspicious, he said, "her failing to meet her appointments on Saturday ... then, her vehicle being located at West Ryde train station". The car has been identified as a 2013 red Fiat 500 with a black roof. The registration is DJV50H. Investigators are seeking assistance from the community to piece together Ms Haddad’s movements in the days leading up to her death. And anyone who saw Ms Haddad or her vehicle between the early hours of Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon has been asked to contact police. "It’s important we identify what Cecilia’s movements were. There are a lot of questions which need to be answered. It's also very important we answer those questions for Cecilia's family," acting Inspector Sim said. "We are specifically seeking CCTV or dash-cam footage of Cecilia or her vehicle, possibly in the Hunters Hill, Ryde, Top Ryde, West Ryde and Woolwich areas over the weekend," he said.

In Woolwich on Wednesday, detectives were doorknocking properties along Angelo Street and View Street, near to the water’s edge where Ms Haddad’s body was found. Two detectives were picked up by the police diver boat, which was searching the Lane Cove River for the second day in a row. Ms Haddad's body was found at this spot in the Lane Cove River near Angelo Street, Woolwich. Credit:Google Streetview Ms Haddad's ex-husband, who detectives believe was in Perth at the time of her death, is co-operating with the investigation and travelling from Western Australia to formally identify her body. Acting Inspector Sim said he was "very traumatised" as was her mother who lives in Brazil.

"She's very upset and needing answers," he said. Ms Haddad's car was often parked on the quiet street outside her modern apartment building in Ryde, a neighbour said. "There were always people coming and going," the neighbour told AAP. "I can't believe someone was murdered, this will terrify my wife to hear." The neighbour did not recognise Ms Haddad's image and said he felt the area had become less safe over recent years.

AAP understands CCTV from the area has been seized for examination and "some movements" related to Ms Haddad have been found. Ms Haddad moved to Australia in 2007 and worked as the supply chain manager for BHP's integrated remote operations centre in Western Australia before moving to NSW in 2016. She had recently started her own business, CHC Consulting, in the Putney area after leaving her job as the head of operational planning at freight company Pacific National, according to her LinkedIn profile. Cecilia Haddad. She had degrees from the Melbourne Business School, the University of Tasmania and the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, and more than 14 years' experience in the resources sector, according to an online profile when she presented to the Latin America Down Under conference.