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For every missing person, there is a family and community left behind.
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Sunday July 30 marks the start of National Missing Persons Week. It is an annual campaign to raise awareness of the issues and impacts surrounding missing persons.
The week is about reigniting current investigations, but also encouraging those who are listed as missing to come forward.
People with any information that could help find a missing loved one are urged to get in touch with police.
This year’s campaign, which runs until Saturday August 5, aims to raise awareness around the high number of ‘youth’ who are reported missing to police each year.
On the Mid North Coast, there is one little name that is not too far from the minds of many – William Tyrrell.
William Tyrrell, who was aged just three-years-old at the time of his disappearance, was last seen at his grandmother’s home on Benaroon Drive at Kendall, on Friday, September 12, 2014.
He has not been seen since.
Detectives from the NSW Police Force’s Homicide Squad are leading the investigation into William’s disappearance and they believe he may have been kidnapped.
In 2016, the largest reward ever offered for information leading to the safe return or recovery of a missing person was announced.
Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin, heading the Strike Force Rosann investigation, spoke directly to the public, and to anyone possibly involved or with information about William’s disappearance, made it clear this case will be solved no matter how long it took.
Strike Force Rosann is one of the largest investigations ever undertaken by the NSW Police Force, and involves a team of full time investigators and analysts.
The theme of ‘youth’ for 2017 Missing Person’s Week was selected after Australian Federal Police research found three out of five missing persons reports related to a young person under the age of 18.
Those in the age bracket of 13 to 17 years accounted for 19,000 of the 38,000 or 50 per cent of all missing persons reports recorded by police each year.
Meet the people missing in NSW in the photo gallery above. Read their stories, memorise their faces and if you have any information about a missing person contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
You can view profiles of missing persons on the national register at missingpersons.gov.au.
Did you know?
It is common for people think they need to wait 24 hours, 48 hours, or longer before they can make a missing persons report to police, but this is not true.
In Australia, a missing person is defined as anyone whose whereabouts are unknown and there are immediate concerns for their safety and welfare.