"Dad went inside, got his car keys, (and) said that he was going to get fuel and food. He left with an "I love you"."
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It was the last time the Lloyd family saw their father, Terry, who's car was later found crashed into a tree in the Piliga Forest.
Almost a year after the accident, the search for Terry Lloyd, a father and grandfather from Goondiwindi, continues.
"Moments aren't the same and life has this void that makes us all feel uneasy and empty," Mr Lloyd's family wrote in a submission to the Goondiwindi Argus this week.
But, still hopeful of his return, Mr Lloyd's family say his disappearance must change the way we treat mental illness.
Mr Lloyd, who "suffered silently" through mental illness, went missing from his Goondiwindi home in November 2015. Despite raising the alarm almost two weeks before, the search did not officially start until his car was discovered south of Narrabri in the Piliga scrub.
Mr Lloyd was reportedly sighted in Narrabri after the accident but has not been seen since.
"Yes, Dad had a mental illness, but this was just one part of him. It did not define who he was," the family wrote.
"Although at times he was in a rough mindset, he was still the strongest and the smartest person we all knew, and that was something many people couldn't understand or get past as soon as they heard the words "mental illness"."
Mr Lloyd's family have called for change the way we think about mental illness.
"The only way to improve this is to speak up. Don't be afraid to ask someone, "are you ok" and be prepared to sit and listen to an honest answer without judgement.
"It's a hard journey for us all, and not knowing is harder. There are some nights we don't sleep, there are some nights we cry into the pillow just wishing this was a terrible nightmare that we could all wake up from."
Mr Lloyd has been added to the National Missing Persons Centre Register. Anyone with information that may help find him is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000.