ALMOST 20 years after Bathurst woman Janine Vaughan seemingly vanished into thin air, a $1 million reward will be announced today for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for her death.
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The reward is one of two major developments in the case, with police also utilising new DNA technology to retest a car impounded in 2008, which they hope they can match to Ms Vaughan.
Ms Vaughan, then aged 31, left a local nightclub and was last seen getting into a red car on Keppel Street at about 3.50am on Friday, December 7, 2001.
Local police commenced an investigation into her disappearance before the case was referred to the State Crime Command's Homicide Squad.
A coronial inquest conducted in 2009 found Ms Vaughan had died but her cause of death remained undetermined. Her body has not been located.
In 2013, detectives from the Homicide Squad's Unsolved Homicide Unit established Strike Force Toko II to re-investigate Ms Vaughan's suspicious disappearance and suspected murder.
As part of a re-appeal for information, the NSW Government will increase the reward for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible to $1 million.
Homicide Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Scott Cook, said the reward is another opportunity to appeal to those who may have otherwise not been inclined "to talk to us to come forward".
"Our investigators have been meticulously working through what happened to Janine in the moments leading up to and after she got into the red car that morning," Det Supt Cook said.
"We know about 10 minutes before Janine was seen getting into the car, another woman was approached about 750m away by a man in what we believe is the same vehicle.
In 2008, a vehicle of interest was seized by strike force detectives and forensically examined, which has provided investigators with some further lines of inquiry.
"New technology will allow us to re-examine some weak DNA samples recovered during the initial examination which we hope will be matched to Janine," Det Supt Cook said.
"Strike Force Toko detectives are confident they can provide answers to Janine's family and give them some peace, but there is still work to do and we are following a very strong line of inquiry."
Anyone with information, which can be anonymous, should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.