news, local-news

AS the mother of a missing teenager, this year’s Missing Persons Week, which begins tomorrow, carries special significance for Ricki Small. Mrs Small’s daughter Jessica is one of two missing Bathurst women. Jessica was abducted after she and her friend Vanessa Conlon accepted a lift in a white Commodore sedan in October 1997. Vanessa made it out of the car, but Jessica has never been seen again. Similarly, Bathurst woman Janine Vaughan disappeared after accepting a lift in the early hours of December 7, 2001. This time of year is always difficult for Mrs Small; her daughter would have celebrated her 31st birthday on Saturday. But this year, there is another element in the mix as the inquest into Jessica’s murder is set to begin in just over two weeks. Mrs Small said every year, when Missing Persons Week rolls around, it is another reminder that her daughter is gone, but she said she believes it’s important to remind the public of what happens when someone ‘disappears’. “People, the community, really need to be aware of what happens,” she said. “People need to get to the truth.” Mrs Small said anniversaries are always hard: Jessica’s birthday, Christmas, and the day she was taken. “You always find yourself thinking about what would have been and what she would be doing now,” she said. With the inquest into Jessica’s abduction about to start, Mrs Small said she wasn’t sure what to feel. “It’s been so long [since she was taken]. “And I realise missing persons cases take a long time to investigate, but it’s been 16 years. “I do feel anxious, but I want to get to the bottom of what happened that night. “I have waited a long time to find out; quite possibly this [inquest] should have happened a long time ago.” National Missing Persons Week will run until next Saturday. This year is the 25th anniversary of the week. Each year approximately 35,000 people are reported missing in Australia, which is the equivalent of one person every 15 minutes. There were 12,409 people reported to NSW Police as missing during 2012, of whom 12,325 were located. NSW Police are currently investigating 650 long-term cases, including Jessica Small and Janine Vaughan. Anyone with information on Jessica Small or Janine Vaughan should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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