Terry COTTIER

Age when missing - 34 years

Terry Cottier has not been seen since the early hours of 10 October, 2003.

He was living with friends in Chapel Street, Cowes, Victoria and had returned home after being at the Isle of White Hotel in Cowes on Phillip Island.

It is believed that Terry left his home address on 10 October 2003 and has not been seen since.  He left behind his valuables; including his wallet and medication.

Anyone with new information or those who have previously provided information concerning the disappearance of Terry Cottier are urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or www.crimestoppers.com.au.

Missing man may have been murdered
Thursday, 1 March 2007 - ABC

Police believe a man, missing at Cowes on Phillip Island for three-and-a-half years, may have been murdered.

Terry Cottier was 34 when he went missing at Cowes in October 2003.

Valuables, including his wallet and medication were left at his house.

Police have received information the man was murdered by someone he knew and that his body was buried somewhere in the Bass Coast Shire.

Police divers will look for a murder weapon near the Cowes Pier next week.

Terry Cottier was seen arguing with people about an outstanding debt before his disappearance.

The cold case unit has been assigned to the investigation and will operate an information caravan on the island next week.

New clues to missing Phillip Island man
Wed 7 March 2007

Detectives from the Cold Case Task Force continue to piece together information regarding the suspicious disapperance of Phillip Island man Terry Cottier. 
Search and Rescue divers in the vicinity of the Cowes pier yesterday uncovered three knives while searching for clues of Terry's  disapperance.
Police are examining the knives, one described as diving knife and two as domestic-type knives.
Police would like to hear from any divers who may have found in knives in the area.
Forensic specialists are also examining the residence where 34-year-old Terry lived.

Police divers search for murder weapon
March 6, 2007 - 11:34AM

Police divers will scour waters off Victoria's Phillip Island for a possible murder weapon used to kill an invalid pensioner.

Detectives from the Cold Case taskforce believe Terry Cottier, who vanished from the island more than three years ago, was murdered by someone he knew.

Police search and rescue divers will search the waters near Cowes pier, on the north of the island, for a weapon and clues.

Officers also will staff an information caravan in the main street of Cowes, and distribute leaflets in the area in the hope someone with information will come forward.

Mr Cottier, who was 34 at the time of his disappearance, was last seen in the Cowes area on October 10, 2003, arguing with people, possibly over a debt.

He was on his way home from the Isle of Wight Hotel in Cowes, where he was a regular drinker, but had left behind valuables, his wallet and medication.
Police say they have new information that indicates someone known to Mr Cottier was involved in his disappearance.

Investigators have pieced together his final movements and say they are following several leads, including the possibility of more evidence being found near Cowes pier.

Investigators have also been told his body is buried somewhere in Bass Shire but to date have failed to find any sign of his remains.

OVER seven hellish years, Valerie Cottier has come to terms with the realisation that she will never see her son Terry again.

She believes he was murdered, although his body has never been discovered and no one charged with his disappearance.

And now the Rockhampton grandmother is seeking confirmation from the spirit world that Terry was the victim of foul play. A medium might even shed light on how he died and point to the murderer, she says.

Yesterday, as she once again studied well-thumbed police reports about the awful mystery, Valerie described how she looked at her favourite picture of Terry every day and asked “Where the hell are you?”

She’s not even sure if she believes in the psychic world, but is prepared to try anything to find out what happened to her son, who was 34 when he went missing from a unit he shared with a couple on Phillip Island.

“Police in Victoria think he’s dead, presumed murdered. They have told me they even had a couple of suspects, but they just didn’t have enough evidence to charge anyone. And with no body there’s always the possibility that he’s alive.

“But if he was alive, there’s no way he would put me through this,” said the 59-year-old who moved to Rockhampton in 1996.

“It’s been hell.

“I think about Terry all the time and I don’t want to go to my grave not knowing what happened to him.”

Police have video footage of Terry in the Isle of White Hotel in Cowes on October 9, 2003 – the last time he was seen.

It was his pay day and he sat at the bar drinking all day. He was inebriated when he left the pub.

Terry was in a poor state of health. He had Crones Disease and was asthmatic and took medication on a daily basis. Police found all his medication, valuables and wallet at the flat. The money in his bank account was never touched.

“There was a report that he owed someone money and that there had been an argument,” Valerie said.

“He rang me a week or two before he went missing because he was planning to come to Rockhampton for a visit, but he never made it.”

Valerie said she would like to hear from any medium, clairvoyant or psychic who believed they would be able to contact Terry in the afterlife.

“It’s reached the stage now where I would be open to talk to anyone to try to get some closure.

“It’s not knowing what happened that hurts so much.”

Victoria’s Cold Case Taskforce is continuing to investigate Terry’s disappearance and has followed a number of leads in the past, including using divers to search areas off the Phillip Island coast to search for his remains and a possible murder weapon. But to date, all inquiries have led nowhere.

If you believe you can help Valerie, please contact Adrian Taylor on 4930 4312 and he will pass on your details.

GOING MISSING

About 35,000 people are reported missing in Australia each year

More than 90 go missing in Queensland each week

Most of them are teenage runaways and old people with dementia

More than 200 long-term missing persons remain on Queensland files

The national Missing Persons Co-ordination Centre has a network of offices across the nation