Hannah Hammoud
Across Australia there are about 2500 cases of long-term missing persons.
Nicole Morris is the director of Australian Missing Persons Register (AMPR), a not-for-profit association dedicated to assisting families and friends of missing persons.
Founded by Ms Morris more than 18 years ago, AMPR utilises its website and Facebook group with an audience of more than 177,000 people to search for missing individuals.
Ms Morris said a long-term missing person is someone who has been missing for more than three months.
In 2005 Ms Morris created the register featuring profiles of long-term missing persons in the country – a decision she said was sparked after finding out there was no national database.
“I thought to myself, what happens when a person goes missing? They don’t just disappear,” she said.
Ms Morris’ register shares the circumstances of long-term missing persons, such as missing Ardeer woman Veronica Green.
Veronica Green has been missing since February 13, 1976 and was last seen in Albion.
Veronica left her Ardeer home in her car on February 13, and drove to the Albion railway station, where she parked the grey Morris Minor and caught the train to Melbourne but didn’t return.
Ms Morris said it is likely Veronica Green, who would now be 85, is alive.
“There is a high chance that Veronica is alive and well out there somewhere,” she said.
“This wasn’t a case where she went missing under suspicious circumstances, her family is sure she’s out there somewhere. For some reason she decided to abandon her life and start fresh somewhere else, which back then was easier to do.”
In 2020, police dug up the backyard of Veronica’s former Ardeer home in search of finding human remains, but came up empty-handed.
Ms Morris said when it comes to missing persons, the role of the public is “absolutely vital”.
“Some people might have something they’ve had in the back of their mind for years, and when information is released about the person… it might spark their memory and a tip can lead to a case being solved,” she said.
“It is never too late to come forward with information.”
If you have any information about a missing person you can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or go to www.crimestoppers.com.au.
