ONCE again the people of Bathurst are left hoping and praying that someone, somewhere might finally come forward with the answers we've all been waiting for.
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The unveiling of a billboard on Saturday calling for information regarding the disappearance and presumed murder of Janine Vaughan back in 2001 is just another reminder of three terrible mysteries that continue to haunt our city.
The billboard is the result of a community fundraising campaign and, in time, there will also be calls for information relating to the mysteries surrounding the disappearance of Jessica Small in 1997 and Andrew Russell in 2008.
The three cases are unlinked except in the psyche of our city.
Police have found no trace of any of the three victims despite countless hours of police resources being assigned to the tasks.
Each of the cases has gone to inquest and while suspicions about some persons of interest have been raised, none of those inquiries returned a concrete finding.
Even rewards of up to $1 million for information leading to a conviction have been unable to provide adequate answers.
Those three unsolved cases remain a dark stain on the recent history of Bathurst, a stain our community wants to see erased.
But nothing compares to the anguish of the family and friends left behind by Ms Vaughan, Ms Small and Mr Russell. For them, the pain has no prospect of ending until they finally receive the answers they deserve.
The sad reality is that every passing year must inevitably make those answers more elusive, though we can never give up.
Losing a loved one in any circumstance is a tragedy, especially when that person is a child or grandchild.
But the pain of losing someone without ever having the chance to properly say goodbye or lay them to rest can only be imagined by those who have gone through it.
There are too many of those families here in Bathurst and now erecting a billboard on a high-profile site beside the highway on the way into town is just one more attempt to jog the memory - or conscience - of someone who knows more than they have so far let on.
It may be a long shot, but every option is worth exploring after so many years of waiting and wondering. Eventually, something has to work. We hope it's the billboard, and we hope it's soon.
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