TEN years ago today Janine Vaughan got into a stranger’s car and disappeared without a trace, opening one of the darkest chapters in Bathurst’s history.
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The abduction and the subsequent police investigation attracted national attention amid speculation of police corruption, and eventually became the subject of a Police Integrity Commission investigation.
For Ms Vaughan’s family, the experience has been nothing short of devastating.
Ten years on, the New South Wales family still hope that one day the man who took her will give into his conscience and come forward.
Ms Vaughan’s younger brother Adam said the past 10 years had taken an enormous toll.
“We feel really angry. We can’t move on with our lives until we get some answers,” he said.
“I hope whoever did this to Janine has a miserable life, because he destroyed our lives.”
Mr Vaughan said the family still struggled with the way his sister’s case was handled.
“From day one, it was a shambles,” he said.
“There have been so many things covered up and so many lies. We try every day to keep going forward, but we just can’t.”
Mr Vaughan said each anniversary and Christmas were especially hard times for the family.
He said while the family tried to be strong, they realised recently they are still very vulnerable.
“It’s horrible,” he said. “When Daniel Morcombe’s case came up recently it really hit us.
“We realised while we’d always talked about Janine’s case, we never spoke about how it affected us. We’ve tried to keep everything together, but it has this way of having a domino effect.”
While the family has had no contact from the police since the coroner made her findings two years ago, the case remains open. Anyone with information on the disappearance of Janine Vaughan can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
