Amber Michelle Haigh, born on November 18, 1982, was destined for a hard life. She was to be intellectually retarded. Her relationship with her mother, Rosalind, would be difficult, and her father, Geoffrey, would be either in jail or drinking "24/7". Amber drifted between relatives, near Young in southern NSW, Lismore in the north and Mt Isa in Queensland.

An uncle, Michael Haigh, who gave evidence this week at an inquest in Parramatta Coroner's Court into her disappearance and presumed death nine years ago, said he was never much help. ''I was incarcerated a fair bit and I was hardly around,'' he said.

Tragic lives ... Amber Haigh and Robert Geeves.

The evidence before Deputy State Coroner Scott Mitchell presented a tragic snapshot of isolated rural communities and areas of social need and crime.

Amber, who went to the Young district at the age of 14 to pick cherries, was never to develop intellectually beyond the level of a 13-year-old. She was happy enough, attractive, but lacked skills to handle herself.