Dramatic twist in missing millionaire businesswoman case as cops investigate whether she STAGED her own disappearance - after financial police raided her $7MILLION mansion

The possibility a missing businesswoman has faked her own disappearance is one of a number of theories being investigated by police looking into her sudden vanishing.

Melissa Caddick, 49, is believed to have left her home at Dover Heights, in Sydney's ritzy east, about 5.30am on Thursday, November 12, without her phone or purse.

She has not been seen since.

Ms Caddick's husband Anthony Koletti, 38, last week appealed to the public for help to find his wife, whose disappearance has stumped even seasoned police.

The mother-of-one's own friends are at odds about what might have happened to her with some adamant she would not leave her family without a trace, while others told Daily Mail Australia her recent court troubles could have been a reason to disappear.

Ms Caddick had her home raided by Australian Federal Police a day before she went missing over allegedly dodgy business dealings.

Police are investigating whether missing Dover Heights businesswoman Melissa Caddick could have staged her own disappearance 

Ms Caddick (in both photos with husband Anthony Koletti) is believed to have left her Dover Heights mansion about 5.30am on Thursday, November 12 to go for a run. She has not been seen since and police admit they are at a loss to explain what might have happened to her  

CCTV cameras above the garage of the home should have captured Ms Caddick leaving, but they were not working at the time 

Adding to the problems facing police is that the CCTV cameras outsider her mansion were not working on the day she went missing. 

Security cameras on neighbouring homes are being searched, as have the fierce cliff faces along Sydney's eastern coastline.

But still there has been absolutely no trace of Ms Caddick. 

The Daily Telegraph reports one police officer said: 'Maybe she just does not want to be found.'

Ms Caddick's close friend Lucia Del Prete told Daily Mail Australia she was at a loss to explain what had happened. 

Ms Del Prete said while the search for answers continues, she finds it highly unlikely her friend would have disappeared without a word.  

'She's not the type of person who would do something so random,' Ms Del Prete said.

'Melissa and I are really good friends. It is a shock, we are all shocked. It is just so sad for her family.'

Police have interviewed Ms Caddick's husband, her son and family members as part of their investigations.

'This is a very extensive investigation, it‘s been two weeks now and we are very worried for her welfare,' Bondi Police crime manager Stuart Thomas told The Daily Telegraph.

'We are not ruling anything out at this stage and are working on several theories.

'Finding her is the priority, the family have been very cooperative and are putting on a brave face.' 

CCTV cameras at the $7million mansion where Ms Caddick lived with Mr Koletti and her son were not working on the morning she went missing

Mr Koletti made a public appeal for information on Friday alongside her brother Adam Grimley

Mr Koletti said his wife's teenage son heard her walk out the front door about 5.30am, but they later discovered she had left behind her phone, keys and wallet, which was out of the ordinary

An emotionally drained Mr Koletti takes a moment after answering questions during Friday's public appeal for help 

At the public appeal last Friday, Mr Koletti said he had last seen his wife as they went to bed on Wednesday night.

Everything had been 'as normal' and the next morning she got up to go for her usual run about 5.30am. 

Mr Koletti said he was asleep at the time but Ms Caddick's teenage son is understood to have been in the home's gym at the time and heard the front door shut as she left.

The pair later found her belongings were still at home and began to sense something was wrong. 

'She always took her phone, in this case it is the only time since I've known her that she did not take her phone with her,' Mr Koletti said.

Despite admitting things appeared out of the ordinary, Mr Koletti did not report his wife missing until the next day.

A day before she went missing, Ms Caddick had her home raided by Australian Federal Police over an investigation into her business dealings 

Mr Koletti (pictured at Bondi Police Station with Mr Grimley) has been interviewed by police on several occasions as part of their routine investigations into Ms Caddick's disappearance

That report was made after Ms Caddick failed to attend a Federal Court hearing over her alleged business dealings.

Fearing she would not show up Mr Koletti attended court on her behalf and was told by court staff he should make a police report. 

TIMELINE OF MELISSA CADDICK'S DISAPPEARANCE:  

Wednesday, November 11:

- Australian Federal Police perform a daytime raid on Ms Caddick's home at Dover Heights over her business

- Midnight: Ms Caddick's husband Anthony Koletti goes to sleep next to his wife, the last time he sees her

Thursday, November 12:

- Ms Caddick gets up at 5.30am, the time of her usual run. Her teenage son is in the home gym at the time and hears the front door shut, but does not see her

Friday, November 13:

- Ms Caddick does not return home and a worried Mr Koletti attends the Federal Court where his wife is due to hand in her passport as part of the AFP investigation into her

- After attending the court in her absence, Mr Foletti is encouraged to report her missing and police attend their home to take a statement

Tuesday, November 17:

- NSW Police reveal for the first time that Ms Caddick is missing

Friday, November 20:

- Mr Koletti and Ms Caddick's brother Adam Grimley make a public appeal for help in the search for her 

'I was advised to contact within 24 hours and I did.'

Her brother Adam Grimley urged the 'communities' frequented by Ms Caddick to help in the search for her whereabouts.

'Melissa, please let us know that you're safe and sound, we love you,' her emotional older brother said.

'To our communities we need your help to bring Melissa, my little sister, home.

'She is a loving person, a loving mother and a great sister. It is very out of character.' 

Neighbours said plain-clothed police removed laptops, files and documents in bags of evidence from her home last Wednesday.

That same day, Ms Caddick was hit with a stringent court order banning her from leaving the country, ordering her not to sell any property and demanding she not transfer money offshore from her 17 bank accounts.

ASIC took Ms Caddick to the Federal Court and successfully had her banned from selling, mortgaging or disposing of her assets. 

She was ordered not to send her own money - contained in a lengthy list of 17 different bank accounts - offshore. 

Justice Jayne Jagot also ordered she surrender 'the name, physical address, email address and phone number of each person who currently has funds deposited'  with her company for investment purposes, plus the location and amount of that money.

Ms Caddick was warned that if she disobeyed the orders she would be 'liable to imprisonment, sequestration of property or other punishment'. 

An ASIC spokeswoman declined to explain why Ms Caddick was under investigation as the agency's probe is 'ongoing'. 

Neighbours said they were stunned by last week's raid, telling Daily Mail Australia she and her husband kept to themselves.

Residents on the Wallangra Road block had set up a WhatsApp group to check in on each other in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. The missing woman and her husband were the only household not involved, the neighbor claimed.

'We know pretty much the whole block except them, it's very weird.

'You'd see him (Mr Koletti, a DJ) out the front occasionally, but most of the time you only hear him revving his car or the music blaring.'

Neighbours told Daily Mail Australia they saw police attend the property twice last week. First, undercover agents - believed to be AFP - executed a search warrant on Wednesday, November 11 before NSW Police returned that Friday to investigate Ms Caddick's disappearance

In addition to searching for CCTV footage from the Wallangra Road area, police have searched along the cliffs at Dover Heights and The Gap - a known suicide spot

A neighbour told Daily Mail Australia the couple 'seemed very happy, she seemed to be a successful businesswoman and she had a son who lived with her and with the dad.

'It's just odd… we're all a bit shocked that something like that could happen around here.'  

The eagle-eyed local took a photo when NSW Police officers showed up at the house on Friday, just three days after the home was raided. This time, they were there to try and find a missing person. 

Ms Caddick is described as Caucasian, 165cm tall, slim build and has long brown hair. She was last seen wearing a black singlet top and leggings, and silver 'Nike' sneakers. 

Anyone with information about Ms Caddick's whereabouts is urged to contact NSW Police. Her ASIC court case returns to the Federal Court for hearing on November 27.

For 24 hour crisis support in Australia, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.