Gary ADAMS


 Date of birth: 07/06/1986
Height: N/K
Eyes: Blue
Build: Thin
Hair: Auburn/Light Brown
Complexion: Fair
Last Seen (date & Place): Missing from home address (in the Melbourne Suburb of Cranbourne) since 05/12/2003
Tattoos/Identifying marks: N/K

Circumstances:
The missing person lived at home with his mother and step-father. He was last seen in the afternoon of 5/12/03 at his home address. All personal items apart from mobile phone and wallet were found at home. There has been no activity on either his phone or bank accounts.

**Gary's Mum Jo-Ann never stops looking for Gary, she is desperate to find him. Gary's friends have set up a My Space page for Gary - http://www.myspace.com/missingpersonsgaryadams

 Please, if anyone knows where Gary is call Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.

Gary, if that was you who contacted me in January, please call your Mum!! If you don't want to contact your Mum or the Police then I can pass on a messsage from you, contact me on 0438 900 861

Gary's Mum Jo Ann has set up a Melbourne support group for famiy and friends of the missing, an informal coffee morning type of group. If this is something that you think you would like to be a part of you can contact either Jo-Ann or me - http://www.myspace.com/cuppaandachat

Trying to remain hopeful: Jo-Ann Adams, with her dog Kimmy and a portrait of her missing son Gary, is organising a supportive coffee group for the families of missing persons.
Photo: Rebecca Hallas

The aching half-lives of those left wondering

August 5, 2007 - The Age
 

A mother, haunted by her son's disappearance, is reaching out to others.  Reid Sexton reports.

JO-ANN ADAMS still cries most days.

The tears don't come as often as they did when her son Gary's disappearance was still achingly raw. She has learned to stop every memory of him making her weep.

It is the "what-ifs" that have haunted her since December 2003 when Gary left the Cranbourne West home they shared, jumped on his BMX bike and disappeared into the day.

The then 17-year-old missed a mate's party that night, and has not been seen since.

He simply vanished, one of about 30 people in Victoria who go missing each year and aren't found within a few weeks.

Gary would have turned 21 two months ago, an anniversary Ms Adams celebrated with a small group of family and friends. If he is still alive, she wants him to know that he is missed terribly, and that the locks haven't been changed at home — even if some other things have.

Ms Adams has taken down the pictures of Gary that once hung on the walls; seeing them every day brought too much despair. And the garden is overgrown now — Gary used to mow the lawn but when the police dug it up there didn't seem like much point tending it any more.

But Ms Adams tries to remain hopeful. "Not having the answers is the worst part."

Gary was halfway through a 12-month airbrushing course when he vanished. After years of struggling at school with reading and writing difficulties, he seemed settled at last.

He loved cars, bikes and skateboards, anything that went fast. And he was handy, having done up two old bombs to sell before buying an old Laser to work on before he vanished.

His mother says her boy was a friendly kid with a cheeky grin.

He had no siblings but many friends around the state's south-east because his family had moved around a bit. In the weeks following his disappearance Ms Adams tried talking to all of them. She drove to Karingal where Gary's father lived, Hampton Park, through Cranbourne and down to Nyora where they had settled for a few years, but the answer everywhere was the same: no one had seen him.

In the early days, she was frustrated with the updates police were giving her about their search. But mad dashes to train stations and door-knocking in the middle of the night slowly taught her that she could not chase every lead she was given.

"You get very frustrated, you think (the police) should be telling you more. But you come to learn that if they fed you everything you would go insane," she said.

Mum’s birthday plea for missing son


7th June 2007 02:05:44 AM - Star News Group - Sarah Schwager

A CRANBOURNE mother is desperately seeking information about her only son who went missing over three years ago.

Jo-Ann Adams’ son Gary would have celebrated his 21st birthday today (Thursday) with his friends and loved ones but none of them know where he is.

Gary was last seen on 5 December 2003 when he went home to collect his skateboard after spending the week with friends.

He left all his personal effects, including money and his backpack, at home.

“I have spoken to Gary’s friends that he was with on (3, 4 and 5 December) on many occasions and they still maintain that Gary was not going to take off,” Ms Adams said.

“When he left them he shook their hands and said see you next week, I’m going home to make sure my mum is okay.

“In all this time they have not changed in what they say Gary’s plans were.”

Ms Adams said Gary’s 21st would be the fourth birthday she had held without him.

“We will be together some day and until then, he is always in my heart,” she said. “Wherever you are son, consider yourself hugged.”

Ms Adams urged people to remember back to what they were doing on 5 December 2003. “It was two days before Daniel Morcombe in Queensland went missing, and Dr Seuss’s How the Grinch stole Christmas was the Myer Windows.

“We have a number of family members’ birthdays in December so maybe if you think of your family members and their birthdays and what you did for their day this may help. Please try to reconstruct where you were and what you were doing that day.”

If anyone has seen Gary Adams call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 003.

Ms Adams has also set up a myspace page at www.myspace.com/missingpersonsgaryadams.

 

Missing persons station post-up

Article from: Herald Sun

Anthony Dowsley

August 06, 2007 12:00am

PHOTOGRAPHS of 11 missing Victorians will be posted at metropolitan train stations this week as the search for loved ones rolls on for distraught families.

A wife looking for her husband, a mother pleading for her son just to walk in the front door and a daughter wanting to see her mother again before her 21st birthday came together yesterday to ask for help.

Underpinning this week's National Missing Persons Week is mental health, with police posing the question "How do you find someone if they struggle to find themselves?"

Sally Hearn, holding a poster of her husband, Patrick Hearn, said he vanished at 4am on June 7 this year with some medication and the clothes on his back.

He had left because he was experiencing depression and didn't want to put his family through pain, she said.

The Hearn family has not stopped searching for him, hoping desperately he will be found.

"It's devastating, totally devastating," Mrs Hearn said.

"It's a bit like being in a television series and it's the vacuum between each episode."

Mr Hearn, who had been on medication for 10 days after his 80th birthday, had not been able to handle minor stresses, which Mrs Hearn said became too much for him.

His daughter, Jennifer, also had a message for him: "Pat, Dad, you can come home.

"You've won the game of hide and seek."

He is one of the 7565 people reported missing to police in Victoria in 2006-07.

Also praying for answers is Gary Adams' mother, Jo-Ann.

The then teenager, 17, picked up his skateboard from his Cranbourne home and returned the next day for a meal on December 5, 2003.

He had been going to Frankston before he disappeared.

Ms Adams said he could use his old key to walk back through the door any time he wanted.

"He could be out there and, Gary, if you are out there, we love you, darlin'.

"You don't have to come home but just let everybody know that you're all right," she said.

"My front door is always open, the key is the same, Gary. Just walk in the door, darlin', no questions asked.

"And I will never close that door until a body is found and it is proven to be my son.

"Until then, there's no giving up. I will not stop looking."

Another person looking for a parent is Elizabeth Ponton.

Her father, Ian Ponton, left his Croydon South home in June 1979 and was last seen at Waverley Park watching a VFL football game.

Ms Ponton said he left home in a red tracksuit with "Jesus loves me" emblazoned on it and vanished.

"There's lots of different stories about what happened to him," Ms Ponton said.

"Every day of my life, it's always there. We don't know if he's alive or dead."

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland said it was not a crime to disappear but on average each case left behind 12 people in great distress.

He said in the 2006-07 reporting year, 15 per cent of people listed as missing suffered from a mental illness.

"Any little piece of information that a member of the public may have could be the last clue we are looking for to solve one of these cases and ease the suffering of their family and friends.

"We understand that for some people they don't want to be found -- and that's OK. It's not a crime to go missing.

"We won't tell your family where you are if you don't want us to, but at least we can tell them you are OK."

Deputy CEO of beyondblue Dr Nicole Highet said the number one symptom of depression was withdrawing from people and seeking isolation.

Each year about 30,000 people are reported missing in Australia, half of them children under 18.

About 99.5 per cent of those missing are found safe within days.

Reward on offer for Gary Adams mystery

 
Friday, 11 February 2011 01:11
 

A $100,000 reward is now on offer for information which helps solve the disappearance of Cranbourne teenager, Gary Adams in 2003.

Homicide Squad detectives have re-opened an investigation into the disappearance of Gary who was 17 when he failed to return to his home in Raisell Road.

Homicide Squad detectives believe he was murdered.

Detectives have established that Gary left his home on December 3, 2003 about 8.30am and went to visit friends where he stayed for two days.
 
Gary was expected to return home on December 5, 2003.

It’s believed he returned home sometime before 6pm on that day.

A half eaten meal was found in his room and his backpack, which he normally took with him, was also there.

Gary also failed to attend a party he was expected at, also in Cranbourne, on December 5.

His bicycle was also located at the house, leading investigators to believe he met with foul play.

He was last seen wearing blue jeans with a silver stripe down the side and a pair of old, black sneakers.

He was also seen wearing a necklace with a black, leather string which held a silver medallion with a wicca symbol.

Gary was possibly carrying a Matt Hoffman brand skateboard.

Homicide Detective Inspector John Potter said someone in the community knew what had happened to Gary and urged them to come forward with information.

“We’re asking anyone with information to come forward to help bring closure to the Gary’s family and friends, particularly Gary’s mother Jo-Ann who has suffered through these seven years not knowing what happened to her son,” Detective Inspector Potter said.

“Just the smallest piece of information can help solve this crime and we ask anyone who may have seen or heard something to come forward.”

The reward is on offer for information which leads to a conviction.

Anyone with information about the disappearance of Gary Adams is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.au.

 

Suspect identified in boy's murder

  • Mark Buttler
  • From: Herald Sun
  • February 09, 2011 12:00AM
HOMICIDE squad detectives say they have identified a suspect in a teenage boy's disappearance and suspected murder.

Gary Adams, 17, has not been seen since 2003 when he disappeared from his Cranbourne West home.

Investigators recently reviewed Gary's case and have uncovered evidence pointing to a clear suspect.

A witness told police the teen rode from home on his BMX bike early on the day, December 5, he vanished.

But detectives believe something happened to Gary at the Raisell Rd house.

A half-eaten meal found in his room indicated an unplanned disappearance.

The backpack Gary normally carried everywhere was at the house and he did not arrive at a party he was to have attended that evening.

The trainee airbrusher has not used his bank account or phone since the day he disappeared.

"Something happened that prevented him from eating the meal," detective Sen-Sgt Ron Iddles, of the homicide squad, said.

"Someone will know what's happened to him."

Gary's mother, Jo-Ann, begged anyone who could help investigators to speak out. "It's a big thing to keep secret," she said.

Ms Adams said her life was filled with reminders of her heartbreaking loss.

Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Police quiz stepfather of missing teen

THE stepfather of a teenager missing for seven years has been questioned by homicide squad detectives.

They are looking into the disappearance and suspected murder of Gary Adams, who vanished on December 5, 2003, after leaving his home in Raisell Rd, Cranbourne West, on his BMX bicycle.

The 17-year-old trainee airbrusher left behind a backpack, which he normally carried everywhere he went.

A half-eaten meal was found in his bedroom.

His bank accounts and mobile telephone have not been used since he vanished.

Gary's stepfather was interviewed on Friday for two hours at Nyora, West Gippsland, but no charges were laid.

The Herald Sun revealed last month investigators had found a suspect in Gary's disappearance.

His mother, Jo-Anne, holds out hope her son's body will one day be found. She said anyone with information "might as well come forward" with what they know.

Ms Adams said she constantly lived with the uncertainty of what happened to her son.

Anyone with information on the disappearance can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit the website www.crimestoppers.com.au