“NOT having an answer” is the hardest thing for loved ones of missing persons to bear. It’s a numbing feeling, and one which the family of missing Frankston North woman Karen Rae experience daily.
The 48-year-old has not been seen or heard from since leaving her home on Wednesday 15 April.
Mother Chris Boyle said Karen’s disappearance has had a huge effect on our family, especially her sons. “I regularly see her 10-year-old son and it is heartbreaking trying to explain to him what’s happened,” she said.
“He’s very sad and misses his mother. He asks to see photos and talk about what she was like when she was his age.
“It’s something that is never too far away from my thoughts. I could be going about a normal day and just one thing reminds me of Karen and I’m immediately frozen. It’s not having an answer that is the hardest – has something happened to her? Did she decide to leave? Is she alone?
“She’s my daughter. I love her. I just want to know that she’s ok.”
Karen was last seen with an unknown man in a vehicle.
National Missing Persons Week last week was coordinated by Australian Federal Police through the National Missing Persons Coordination Centre, along with support from state and territory police.
Of the 9245 people reported missing in Victoria last year, more than half were accounted for within 24 hours. Just over 75 per cent were accounted for within the first three days. By the end of last year, 98.7 percent of missing person’s cases had been closed.
Police are keen to “dispel the myths” surrounding missing people, such as: You don’t have to wait 24 hours to report someone as missing, it is not a crime to go missing, people don’t “choose” to go missing, a missing person’s address is not released to the person who reported them missing, and, adults can be reported as missing.
National Missing Persons Week last week aims to raise community awareness about missing persons and the impact that losing a loved one can have on their families and the wider community.
Further information on NMPW can be found at missingpersons.gov.au
