The answer may lie in the face of a man she has never met, but who conceived her after a one-night stand with her mother 21 years ago. 

Her headstrong nature, her love of people, her fierce independence – Luci feels some of her traits and quirks will fit into place when – or if – she meets her father face to face. 

“You expect your dad to be there for those firsts, like the first time you drive a car,” she said. 

“It’s those little things that really matter. Sometimes I thought ‘I’ll never have that’.”

At 34, her mother, Mig (Maria) Mayer, met her father at a Rosebud pub between December 1993 and January 1994. 

The details are hazy, but her father was possibly part-Maori, part-French with “gold locks”. 

He was in his mid-20s and he was making architectural sketches in a notebook.

Her mother wanted to have a child and the pair conceived Luci that night in Rye. 

In a photo Luci posted on Facebook in April, she wrote: “in the morning he was gone, never to be seen again”. 

It’s an extraordinary story, and one that Luci hopes will trigger some memories that could shore up vital clues in her search to know her father. 

So far, her heartfelt plea has yielded no new information about him, but she has been overwhelmed by support and buoyed by other people’s successful searches. 

Her mother is supportive of her desire to know more about her history, and the missing pieces of the puzzle that make her who she is. 

She knows after the lapse of more than two decades, the hunt will be an uphill battle. 

“It’s just a massive game of chance,” she said. 

‘He might not even remember.

“But even if I get a name – that’s something. That’s a start.”

Luci has played out every possible scenario in her head – he may have passed away, he may want to welcome her into his family, or he may want nothing to do with her. 

“I don’t know what to expect. I can’t even imagine what it would be like if I was to meet him.

“It would make a massive difference to my life.”