NSW police have announced a $ 1 million reward for information leading to a conviction in connection with the alleged abduction of a 1994 teenage girl in Charlestown.
Detectives at Macquarie Lake held a press conference this morning in hopes that the reward would help their investigation into the disappearance of 16-year-old Gordana Kotevski on November 24, 1994.
The new award coincides with the International Day of the Missing Children.
Lake Macquarie Detectives attached to Strike Force Arapaima will give a press conference at 10 a.m. this morning, with the hope that the reward will help their investigation into the disappearance of 16-year-old Gordana Kotevski on the 24th. November 1994. (Supplied)
Gordana’s mother, Peggy, said the pain she had suffered over the past two decades was indescribable, and while she was grateful for the new reward, she feared it was “too little too late.”
“Different days have different feelings, some days better than others, and other days you can’t even bear to get up and get out of bed,” he told a news conference on Wednesday.
“It’s like a terminal illness that you never get over.”
Although 28 years have passed since the disappearance of her daughter, Peggy has promised to find out what happened to Gordana.
“Put yourself in my shoes and walk a little … and have a little compassion,” he said.
“And for the perpetrators, know that I will never give up until we get to the bottom. My face will be on your face 24 hours a day until my last breath.”
Gordana Kotevski’s mother, Peggy, says she will never stop looking for her daughter. (9 News)
Superintendent Steve Kentwell said police are expanding on the description of the car seen on the street from which he disappeared.
He urged anyone who saw a light-colored Toyota Hilux with a silver work tray stuck around to contact police.
“Anyone with related information is asked to come forward, and if you’ve been sitting on this information for almost 28 years, it’s time to contact the researcher,” Kentwell said.
“I’m sure there’s someone in the community who has information that would help with our research.”
Gordana Kotevski was just 16 when she was forced into a car as she walked from Newcastle’s Charlestown Square Mall to her aunt’s house. (Supplied)
Gordana’s aunt Julie Tavelski previously told NBN News that the family hoped this development and reward would eventually provide some answers.
“Being selected by AFP for his campaign is quite extraordinary, really. I think this is probably the best exposure we’ve ever had in the last 27 years,” he said.
Earlier this month, NBN News revealed that Gordana had been selected to take part in the Australian federal police campaign for International Missing Children Day.
Gordana’s mother, Peggy, and her sister, Carolina, traveled with Tavelski to Canberra to film the campaign, aimed at shining a global focus on the baffling case.
They are waiting for someone to finally show up.
“All this experience will help the family heal in some way, knowing that people are out there, still interested in the history of Gordana and still want a result like us,” Tavelski said.
The 16-year-old had been shopping in Charlestown Square before walking to her aunt’s house, less than half a mile away.
She disappeared, believed to have been abducted by two men on Powell Street, where a light-colored Hilux was seen at the time.
Lake Macquarie detectives reopened the case in 2019, as part of the Strike Force Arapaima, which is investigating the disappearances of three Lake Macquarie girls.
Recently, New South Wales Police Minister Paul Toole said that “sometimes a reward can mean the difference between solving the case and not”.
“Rewards are used more now than ever, but they will always be done in conjunction with other operational strategies,” he said.
The AFP video campaign will also be launched today.