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When Beth Cassilles heard the horrific news that three women had been kept chained in a Cleveland home for 10 years, she wanted to "rip people's houses apart and bang on doors" in the search for her own missing daughter.
Laura Haworth was 23 when she disappeared without trace in 2008, leaving behind two young children.
While Laura's disappearance was never far from her mind, Mrs Cassilles said she had not long ago turned a corner and accepted she may never see her eldest daughter again.
"But then I see something like the Ohio thing and it sparks everything up and it makes me just want to go out and rip people's houses apart and bang on doors," she said.
"It's a horrible, horrible thought to think that something like that would be happening to anyone, let alone my own daughter.
"I feel afraid; I think that my daughter's being held against her will. It sparks up all the worst fears in me."
Mrs Cassilles, of Canberra, will on Friday travel to the Illawarra to attend a Families and friends of Missing Persons Support Unit meeting at Corrimal.
The mother of three was drawn to visit the group after meeting Illawarra members at an annual forum earlier this year and learning of their quilting circle.
On January 4, 2008, the night of her disappearance, Laura’s housemate heard her speaking on the phone in a normal, friendly manner before heading out.
‘‘She went out and never came home, ever,’’ Mrs Cassilles said.
Her car was found two weeks later at a unit block in Ainslie, Canberra.
Laura had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder a couple of years earlier but her mother is unsure whether her mental illness could have played a role in her disappearance.
‘‘I’ve got no ideas, it was so out of character,’’ Mrs Cassilles said.
‘‘I’ve been through so many scenarios and thoughts that it’s just confusing now.
‘‘All I really know is that she’s missing and I don’t know whether she’s dead or alive or being held against her will, which I think would be the worst thing.
‘‘Sometimes I choose to believe in a fairytale that she’s living with someone who can care for her properly on a farm somewhere remote and she’s living happily and if that makes me feel better so be it, and other times I just don’t know, it’s like there’s this void.’’
Call 1800 227 772 to contact the Families and Friends of Missing Persons Unit.
Anyone with information on Laura Haworth or any missing person is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800333000.