WHEN Owen Redman disappeared without a trace in the early 1990s, it left a haunting gap in his younger brother’s life.

Reported missing in February 1991, Owen, then 24, did not collect his pay from Greenpeace, left behind his contact lens cleaning kit — which he was “fanatical” about having with him — and took nothing else but the clothes he was wearing at the time.

His younger brother, Dylan, has spent much of the past 23 years searching for Owen, but to no avail.

And while he still hopes to find him, police are preparing a report for the Coroner.

“He’s a pretty intelligent guy, but pretty emotional as well,” Dylan said.

“I don’t think he would have been in with a crowd of drug dealers or anything like that.

“He may have taken off overseas or just gone bush.”

Moreland detective Senior Constable Leah Bound said Owen had been known to use a number of aliases, including Simon or Stuart for first names and Moore for his ­surname.

“Owen was a free-spirited and open-minded person where it was not unusual for him to ‘disappear’ for days at a time or for him to not be in contact with family on a regular basis,” Sen-

Constable Bound said.

“Owen used a number of aliases and had connections to communities all over the country as a result of a childhood where the family travelled around. He could be anyone and he could be anywhere.”

media_camera Dylan Redman with photos of his brother, Owen. Picture: Susan Windmiller

Dylan said he yearned for Owen to make contact.

“If he could just make contact and say, ‘Hey, I’m all right’, it would be good to have some closure,” Dylan said.

Sen-Constable Bound said that for the first time, the Coroner had

requested a brief outlining the case.

She expected the inquest to take place in 2015.

Dylan has set up a Facebook page dedicated to his brother.

Missing a loved one?

If someone you know goes missing here are four simple steps to kick off your search.

■ Report the person as missing;

■ Write down everything you know about their last movements, who they may have had contact with, where they went;

■ Enlist people to help in your search;

■ Create a poster and distribute it.

Visit mpan.com.au for a detailed checklist and poster template.