Australia Australia - Jessica Small, 15, Bathurst, NSW, 26 Oct 1997

[FigTree]

Missing Abducted Jessica Small - Bathurst NSW Australia

Name: Jessica Beth Small

Age when she disappeared: 15 years old
Age she would be as of Oct 26 2013: 31 years old

Description:
Height (cm): 172.0
Build: Medium
Hair Colour: Blonde
Eye Colour: Blue
Complexion: Fair
Appearance: Caucasian

Abducted and Disappeared Details:
Time: 12.40am approx
Day: Sunday
Date: October 26, 1997

Location where Jessica went missing from:
Hereford Street, Bathurst

Prior Location before Abduction:
'Amuse Me' Amusement Centre - near Russell Street, Bathurst

Google Map Location:
http://goo.gl/maps/c99Gi


Circumstances:
Jessica Small was kidnapped at 12.40am on October 26, 1997, after she and friend Vanessa Conlon accepted a ride from Bathurst to nearby Kelso to visit friends.
The pair had been playing the juke box and chatting with friends at the Amuse-Me games near Russell Street parlour in Bathurst when they decided to visit friends in Kelso about 12.40am.
A man, driving what police believed to be a white sedan similar to a VK or VL Commodore, offered the girls a lift.
About 100m short of their friend's house the man stopped in Hereford Street Kelso and assulted both of them.
Vanessa broke free and ran to a house to raise the alarm but Jessica was never seen again.
Jessica was last heard screaming in the back of a car.
It had been just a five minute drive with a man neither of the girls had ever seen in Bathurst.

She has not been seen or heard from since.

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An Inquest into her Disappearance was held Aug 2013
A further Inquest will be held May 20, 2014


ANY INFORMATION CAN BE GIVEN TO CRIMESTOPPERS - CALL: 1800 333 000
TO GIVE ONLINE INFORMATION CONFIDENTIALLY ABOUT A MISSING PERSON: LINK

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[FigTree]

I will place a timeline of events here as many of the links and reports are now not accessible online.
This also gives an overview of whats happened since her disappearance...

Ricki Small ... believes her daughter Jessica is dead. Photo: Kate Geraghty


MSM TimeLine - from 2007 Onwards

December 08, 2007 - The Daily Telegraph - Reporter: Rhett Watson
HOMICIDE officers will re-examine the abduction, and suspected murder, of a 15-year-old girl more than a decade ago.
The case was re-opened in October after Deputy State Coroner Carl Milovanovich requested the police make further inquiries before the matter went to an inquest.

Wed Sep 30 - 2009 - ABC News
The head of Strike Force Carica II, Detective Sergeant Peter Smith, says new information about the car was received after witnesses were re-interviewed.
"The motor vehicle was a light coloured VK Holden Commodore with an orange blanket on the back parcel shelf and a number of holes on the front passenger footwell," he said.

June 20, 2011 - SMH - Reporter: Saffron Howden
Police have begun systematically door-knocking about 500 homes of men who worked at a timber mill near Bathurst nearly 14 years ago to find a teenage girl's abductor.
When they re-interviewed one of the original witnesses, they discovered a man aged about 30 had been asking questions about Jessica at a local entertainment centre, Amuse Me, just hours before she disappeared. The man had revealed he worked at the timber mill,
Investigators descended on the small town of Oberon today after narrowing the list of men aged 18 to 45 who worked at the local mill in 1997.

June 21, 2011 - SMH - Saffron Howden - Oberon
Jessica's mother, Ricki Small, has felt ignored by a ''judgmental'' system she believes cares less for ''battlers''.
''They took it very lightly,'' she said. ''Because I was a pensioner, I wasn't anyone famous or whatever, but [that] should never have mattered.''
While she is grateful to homicide detectives who recently unearthed a vital clue, that an Oberon timber mill worker was asking about Jessica at a games parlour the night she was abducted, she is bitter it took more than a decade for the information to surface.
''This is crucial information,'' Ms Small said. ''It could have been taken back then. It could have saved us years of heartache.''

May 07, 2012 - 10:46AM - AAP
Police are searching for a man who contacted Bathurst police anonymously with information about a former colleague who owned and disposed of a white Holden Commodore around the time Jessica vanished.
The car may also have been involved in an accident in late 1997, police said.
Officers will also travel to Western Australia in coming days to interview other former employees.
A Herald report from the time said police believed Jessica might have jumped from the car, only to be dragged kicking and screaming back inside.

May 7, 2012 - WA Today - Anne-Louise Brown
Homicide detectives from New South Wales are heading to Western Australia in a bid to solve a 15-year-old murder mystery.

May 14, 2012 - 1:24 a.m.- Oberon Review
Almost 12 months has passed since homicide detectives descended on Oberon after information came to light that an employee at one of the town’s mills might be able to provide information concerning Jessica’s abduction.

July 30, 2012 - SMH - reporter: Jacinta Carroll
Police investigating the disappearance of Jessica Small have used heavy machinery, radar and cadaver dogs to scour half-an-acre of land near the O'Connell Road.
Police have new information that a car similar to the one Jessica was abducted in was seen in a riverside area at O'Connell, about halfway between Bathurst and Oberon.
Police now believe the car was seen driving along the Great Western Highway at Kelso with its headlights off.
They believe the car then turned into the O'Connell Road, travelling towards O'Connell.
"Detectives were told the car was driven to a secluded area near the Fish River, off the O'Connell Road, O'Connell.
The car remained parked there for a considerable period of time."

August 1st 2012 - ABC Report
A two day search for the remains of a missing Bathurst teenager has been unsuccessful.
"We haven't found anything that would link us to the matter we're investigating".


Cont - next post

 

[FigTree]

Inquest into the Abduction and Disappearance of Jessica Small

Aug. 12, 2013 - Western Advocate - Reporter: Jacinta Caroll
An inquest into the 1997 abduction of Jessica Small is likely to focus on the original investigation by Bathurst police, some of whom thought the teenager had simply run away.
It took police nine years to complete an initial brief of evidence in the Jessica Small case, but that brief was subsequently returned to them and rejected as inadequate by deputy state coroner Carl Milovanovich.

Tue 13 Aug 2013 - ABC NEWS. Read More...
Hereford Street residents to give evidence at Jessica Small inquest today
Residents from a street in Bathurst where a 15 year old girl is thought to have been abducted will give evidence at an inquest into her disappearance today.

Aug. 13, 2013 - Western Advocate - Reporter: JACINTA CARROLL 2:08 p.m.
Mrs White, who lived in the double story house adjacent to an empty paddock in Hereford Street in October 1997, told the inquest ...
While she was trying to catch the pup she saw a car driving up Hereford Street which started to slow down before coming to a stop near the Raglan Creek.

Aug. 13, 2013 - Western Advocate. Read More...
Two witnesses Vicki Connors and Nathan Lavelle both told the inquest Vanessa was hysterical, distressed and scared when she ran to their house for help.
Ms Connors told the inquest Vanessa kept saying "that we needed to find her friend."

Aug. 13, 2013 - Western Advocate - Reporter: Jacinta Carrol
THE mother of missing Bathurst teenager Jessica Small wiped tears from her eyes yesterday as police admitted for the first time that they had bungled their initial investigation.
Mr Spartalis told the inquest, which got under way at Bathurst Local Court before deputy state coroner Sharon Freund, that the initial investigation was “somewhat lacking” and that lines of inquiry which should have been examined were not.
This week the inquest is expected to hear from up to 30 witnesses. The inquest will then be adjourned until May 2014 when it will again be held at Bathurst Court House.


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[FigTree]

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Police seeking information:
About a male employee of the Oberon Timber Mill, who was present at the Amuse Me amusement centre on the night of Jessica's disappearance and may be able to assist police.
They would also like to hear from a witness who previously told police about a former workmate in the Bathurst area who owned and then disposed of a white Holden Commodore about the time of Jessica's disappearance. That vehicle was possibly involved in a car accident, police said.

Type of car Police are looking for ...


Car:
A white VK or VL Holden Commodore sedan
The car had an Orange blanket on the back passenger tray
The passenger side of the car's floor had rust holes - big enough to see the road through, but not big enough to put your foot through.
The car may have recently had accident damage to it.
The car may have been sold soon after October 26, 1997.

ANY INFORMATION CAN BE GIVEN TO CRIMESTOPPERS - CALL: 1800 333 000

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[FigTree]

I am yet so see anything which says what Jessica was wearing when she disappeared.

If anyone (an insider even) knows what she was wearing or knows where the information might be on the web, it would really help. Her clothing is vital to her case.

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[marlywings]

FigTree...

Jess was 15 yrs old when she disappeared and had brown shoulder length hair and blue eyes and was dressed in white jeans, a cream blouse and brown shoes

http://www.notalone.com.au/people/jessica-beth-small/

 

[FigTree]

FigTree...

Jess was 15 yrs old when she disappeared and had brown shoulder length hair and blue eyes and was dressed in white jeans, a cream blouse and brown shoes

http://www.notalone.com.au/people/jessica-beth-small/

Awesome marlywings thank-you so much!!

 

[Humdinger]

Thanks for this thread, I grew up a few hours away from here and know the area.

I hope that justice can be done for her family!

 

[FigTree]

Thanks for this thread, I grew up a few hours away from here and know the area.
I hope that justice can be done for her family!

Yes, I feel very sad for her family - and for Jessica. They deserved better at the time, and more-so now that so much time has passed and yet there is no news.

...deputy state coroner Sharon Freund, that the initial investigation was “somewhat lacking” and that lines of inquiry which should have been examined were not.

Someone must remember that Orange Blanket on the back parcel shelf of the car - I wonder if it was ever described any further, like if it had a pattern on it or fringing, or what it was made from...

As always, someone knows something.
I hope something comes to light over this case.

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[TootsieFootsie]

Very sad.
I lived in that street years ago.
I am glad a thread has been posted for her. Hope she is found one day.


Some other Bathurst Missing People

Also hope Janine Vaughan is found
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/family-still-seeking-truth-20120915-25yz9.html

And also Andrew Russell
http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/s...l-refused-for-accused-in-andrew-russell-case/

And the mystery behind a Bathurst woman's bones found after almost 50 years.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-...-identified-almost-50-years-after-her/4715408

 

[FigTree]

Very sad.
I lived in that street years ago.
I am glad a thread has been posted for her. Hope she is found one day.


Some other Bathurst Missing People

Also hope Janine Vaughan is found
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/family-still-seeking-truth-20120915-25yz9.html

And also Andrew Russell
http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/s...l-refused-for-accused-in-andrew-russell-case/

And the mystery behind a Bathurst woman's bones found after almost 50 years.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-...-identified-almost-50-years-after-her/4715408

I see they are searching mines now to try and find Andrew Russells body - a murder charge was laid earlier in 2013.
ABC Report 16th Sept 2013
I saw somewhere that there was a cross on Hereford street and a little heart which mark the spot where Jessica was taken. I tried to find a photo and location of it - do you know where it is located on that road TootsieFootsie? I didn't have any luck.

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[TootsieFootsie]

Found 1 pic from after it had been vandalised in 2009.

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?um=...tart=0&ndsp=15&tx=145&ty=100&biw=1252&bih=577

I'm not sure if the memorial is still there, I know a local company remade it free of charge.
Haven't been that way for awhile. Sad to see most of houses are gone these days including the one i used to live in.
When I get over this flu will go and see if the memorial is still there.

 

[antechinusRAWR]

This is an October interview with Vanessa, the girl who escaped the night Jessica was abducted. The article also mentions that the inquest will resume in 7 months.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/today-tonight/lifestyle/article/-/19579285/finding-jessica/

Also -
Not sure if this is widely known but Fred Many the notorious rapist who left a young teenager for dead in the bush up near Gosford (she regained consciousness & crawled to the highway when he left to get a shovel to bury her), was released from gaol between 91-94. There was a huge public outcry, so much so that Andrew Boh(sp?) who had acted for Milat, took up Many's case. I worked in a government dept that handled gaol releases & our office had to field media calls after it became public knowledge that Many was provided a new identity & relocated to live with family &/or associates in Bathurst.

Many is now deceased, but I can't remember how long after his move to Bathurst this occurred. You would think the police in Sydney would've warned Bathurst police though, right?

 

[Ausgirl]

Many was provided a new identity & relocated to live with family &/or associates in Bathurst.

^This just disgusts me...

 

[FigTree]

Found 1 pic from after it had been vandalised in 2009.

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?um=...tart=0&ndsp=15&tx=145&ty=100&biw=1252&bih=577

I'm not sure if the memorial is still there, I know a local company remade it free of charge.
Haven't been that way for awhile. Sad to see most of houses are gone these days including the one i used to live in.
When I get over this flu will go and see if the memorial is still there.

Im sorry I didnt get back to the thread earlier than this - thankyou for posting the link to the article. A very beautiful tribute indeed - so sad that idiots and vandals that destroyed it - :banghead:
If I am around that way I will also take a look and see if anything is there for Jessica.

I had to be redirected to the link so I have taken a snapshot of the picture in case msm archive it and it becomes unavailable.
Western Advocate News

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[FigTree]

This is an October interview with Vanessa, the girl who escaped the night Jessica was abducted. The article also mentions that the inquest will resume in 7 months.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/today-tonight/lifestyle/article/-/19579285/finding-jessica/

Also -
Not sure if this is widely known but Fred Many the notorious rapist who left a young teenager for dead in the bush up near Gosford (she regained consciousness & crawled to the highway when he left to get a shovel to bury her), was released from gaol between 91-94. There was a huge public outcry, so much so that Andrew Boh(sp?) who had acted for Milat, took up Many's case. I worked in a government dept that handled gaol releases & our office had to field media calls after it became public knowledge that Many was provided a new identity & relocated to live with family &/or associates in Bathurst.

Many is now deceased, but I can't remember how long after his move to Bathurst this occurred. You would think the police in Sydney would've warned Bathurst police though, right?

:banghead:

Parliament Documents show that:
Fred Many was to be released on 4 March 1995 -
Because he was a Police Informer he got a reduced sentence.
Apparently he died not long(?) after getting out - don't know how long that was though.

 

[FigTree]

NSW Coroners Court

Next inquest...
19th to 23rd May 2014

Inquest into the disappearance and suspected death of Jessica SMALL
Bathurst Court House
Before Her Honour Magistrate Freund, Deputy State Coroner

I had wondered if the Police had done some further investigations on where Jessica went since the last inquest in August 2013.
Will keep an eye on this.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Jessica Small inquest reopens

http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/2289470/jessica-small-inquest-reopens/?cs=119


Jessica Small inquest: Police officer draws a blank on links

http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/s...police-officer-draws-a-blank-on-links/?cs=119


Jessica Small inquest: another girl was abduction target

http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/s...est-another-girl-was-abduction-target/?cs=119


Jessica Small inquest witness sheds light on dirty Commodore
http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/s...itness-sheds-light-on-dirty-commodore/?cs=119

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Timeline of a tragedy

http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/2289727/timeline-of-a-tragedy/?cs=119

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Prayers inquest brings answers

http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/2292551/prayers-inquest-brings-answers/?cs=117