Sex: Female
Year of Birth: 1982
At Time of Disappearance on 26 October 1997
Age: 15
Height (cm): 172.0
Build: Medium
Hair Colour: Blonde
Eye Colour: Blue
Complexion: Fair
Nationality:
Racial Appearance: Caucasian
Circumstances Jessica was last seen in the Kelso area
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Police hope new lead will reveal Jessica's fate
Saffron Howden from SMH
June 20, 2011
Police prepare to interview workers at a local timber mill as new information emerges over the disappearance 14 years ago of NSW teen Jessica Small.
NEARLY 14 years after Jessica Small was last heard screaming in the back of a car near Bathurst, police have descended on the area in the hopes a local timber mill will reveal the mystery of her demise.
NEARLY 14 years after Jessica Small was last heard screaming in the back of a car near Bathurst, police have descended on the area in the hopes a local timber mill will reveal the mystery of her demise.
New information suggests a man, aged about 30, was asking about Jessica at a Bathurst games parlour, Amuse Me, where she and her best friend, Vanessa, had gathered with other teenagers on the Saturday night.
Heard screaming ... Jessica Small
The man had revealed he worked at the local timber mill in nearby Oberon, where 20 investigators set up camp yesterday with plans to stay ''as long as it takes''.
Detective Sergeant Smith said they would interview every male worker at the timber mill who, in 1997, was aged between 18 and 45.
The hunt is on ...
State Emergency Service workers search near the area where Jessica Small vanished in 1997. Photo: Andrew Taylor
The man stopped the car and turned off the headlights just short of their destination, then grabbed Vanessa around her throat. While Vanessa broke free and was able to run to neighbours for help, Jessica was never seen again.
Jessica's mother, Ricki Small, said she had long suspected the man who took her daughter might have been a local.
''I've always had a gut feeling it might have been someone from around the Bathurst area,'' she said.
''It could be truth time and I'm hoping so, because we need closure - our family does.''
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Police have lead in missing girl case
Updated: 07:50, Monday June 20, 2011
Nearly 14 years after Jessica Small was abducted in Bathurst, police say they have their strongest lead yet.
Jessica Small, then 15 years old, was abducted at about 12.40am on October 26, 1997.
New information suggests a man, aged about 30, asked about the teenager at a Bathurst games parlour, Amuse Me, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
'It (was) frequented by young teenagers and on the night in question there was an adult male in the centre ... who was actually making inquiries about Jessica,' Detective Sergeant Peter Smith, from the homicide squad told the newspaper.
The man revealed he worked at a timber mill near Oberon.
Twenty investigators reportedly went to the timber mill on Sunday with plans to interview every male worker at the timber mill who in 1997 was aged between 18 and 45.
Jessica's mother, Ricki Small, told the newspaper that she had suspected the person who took her daughter was a local.
'I've always had a gut feeling it might have been someone from around the Bathurst area.'
_______________________________________________________________Search goes on for Jessica's abductor
JACINTA CARROLL 05 Aug, 2010 04:00 AM The Western Advocate
ALMOST 13 years ago Bathurst teenager Jessica Small and her friend, Vanessa, enjoyed a night out at an amusement centre.
It was nothing out of the ordinary, the girls were close, almost like sisters, but they were young and naïve, and trusted the wrong person.
After hanging out at the amusement centre the girls accepted a lift from a stranger, who agreed to drive the girls to another friend’s house in Kelso.
But they never made it there.
Driving along Hereford Street, the man stopped the car, and a struggle ensued.
Vanessa made it out of the car and ran for help. As she ran she heard Jessica’s screams.
No one has seen the 15 year old since.
This week is Missing Persons Week, when the community is again urged to work with police to try and find out what happened to Jessica.
Thirteen years after she was taken, officers re-investigating her disappearance have not given up hope of finding her abductor.
A second strike force, established in October 2007, has spent the last three years reviewing and reinvestigating the case.
Homicide Detective Inspector Peter Smith heads the case and said he remains optimistic about finding out what happened to Jessica.
In the last three years homicide officers have visited the city, re-examined the crime scene and re-interviewed key witness Vanessa Conlon.
Detective Inspector Smith said officers would again be in Bathurst in the next fortnight following up leads.
“The case is still being investigated, and we continue to proceed with the aim of criminal charges being laid.
“We are still holding out that we will find him [the man who abducted Jessica],” he said.
As Missing Persons Week draws to a close on Sunday, Police Minister Michael Daley said the focus of this year’s campaign was on the misconception people must wait 24 hours before contacting police in relation to a missing person.
“The first 24 to 48 hours in a missing person’s case is critical for both the investigation and the well-being of the person. So the message to the community is simple – don’t wait to call,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
Anyone with information on missing teenager Jessica Small should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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New leads in missing teen cold case
Posted Wed Sep 30, 2009 2:00pm AEST - ABC
Detectives from the New South Wales unsolved homicide team have released new information about the disappearance of Bathurst teenager, Jessica Small, 12 years ago.
The 15-year-old was last seen in the Bathurst CBD, in the state's central west, in the early hours of October 26, 1997 when she and a friend got into a car driven by an unknown male.
Police believe the pair were assaulted.
The friend managed to escape but Jessica was never seen again.
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.
"That's very significant information and we believe it's a very particular vehicle and those particular descriptions should jog somebody's memory."
He says even a small piece of new information can provide significant leads.
"The holes in the passenger footwell combined with an orange blanket on the rear and a VK Holden Commodore, I think someone would remember that car," he said.
"The holes have been described as not big enough to put your foot through but big enough to see the road through, so I think it would stick in someone's mind if they've been in that vehicle."
A coronial inquiry into Jessica Small's disappearance is due to be conducted, possibly next year.
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