The Homicide Squad has today welcomed a NSW Government reward of $100,000 for information relating to the disappearance and suspected murder of Jessica Small in 1997. Jessica Small, 15, was last seen in the early hours of Sunday 26 October 1997 after attending the ‘Amuse Me’ amusement centre on Russell Street, Bathurst, with a female friend. The girls were attempting to hitch-hike home and entered a white-coloured VK Holden Commodore sedan driven by a man. He stopped the car on Hereford Street, Bathurst, and turned off the head-lights, allegedly assaulting both girls and attempting to detain them in the vehicle. Jessica’s friend was able to escape and alert nearby residents. The car, with its headlights still turned off, was seen a short time later travelling along the Great Western Highway at Kelso before turning onto OConnell Road towards OConnell. Jessica has not been seen or heard from since and police believe she was murdered. Strike Force Carica II was formed by the Homicide Squad in 2007 and continues to investigate Jessica’s disappearance and suspected murder. Homicide Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Michael Willing, said the strike force, under the leadership of Detective Sergeant Peter Smith, had conducted extensive inquiries into Jessica’s disappearance in recent years both in NSW and interstate. That includes the forensic examination of several vehicles similar to that described by Jessica’s friend, interviews with former workers at an Oberon timber mill where a man who might have met the girls the night Jessica disappeared worked, and excavations at a riverbank in O’Connell,” Det Supt Willing said. Unfortunately those leads have not enabled us to find Jessica, but we are hopeful that the reward may prove to be an incentive for someone to come forward with new information.” NSW Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Stuart Ayres, said Jessica’s family had now gone almost two decades without knowing what had happened to her. We hope that someone out there has the answers that Jessica’s family so desperately want and need,” Mr Ayres said. Police have worked tirelessly on this investigation and spoken to hundreds of people, but there could be someone else out there with new information that could help this case move forward. I implore any person who has not yet spoken to police to come forward and tell them what they know.” Detectives are also keen to hear from anyone who has knowledge of the vehicle used in the incident. The reward of $100,000 is available for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for Jessica’s disappearance and suspected murder
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 05:23:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015