Photo: Kate Geraghty
Happy but shy girl ... Ms Small dances with Jessica in 1997. Photo: Kate
Geraghty
SEEKING WITNESS: Jessica Small's sister Rebecca Small and mother Ricki, with
Detective Sergeant Peter Smith at a media conference in Oberon in June last
year.
Police are now appealing for a witness who gave them an
anonymous tip-off about a white car similar to this to again contact detectives.
The search for Jessica
Name:
SMALL Jessica Beth
Sex:
Female
Year of Birth:
1982
Age Now:
28
At Time of Disappearance
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
on 26 October 1997
HOMICIDE officers will re-examine the abduction, and
suspected murder, of a 15-year-old girl more than a decade
ago.
Jessica Small was kidnapped at 12.40am on October 26,
1997, after she and friend Vanessa Conlon accepted a ride from
Bathurst to nearby Kelso to visit friends.
She was the fourth young female hitch-hiker to be killed
over an eight week period that year with Lee Ellen Stace, 16 and
Lauren Barry, 15, and Nichole Collins, 16, all vanishing.
Jessica's mother Ricki yesterday welcomed the renewed
interest by police but remains bitter at what she says has been
a lack of information on the case's progress.
"We haven't been told a lot over the years," she said.
"The new strikeforce might bring something but not before
time.
"We've been sick of waiting for it to come.
"We've been on the backburner long enough."
A police spokeswoman said the force had always taken the
investigation of Jessica's kidnapping seriously.
"We've got the resources of the Chifley command and
Homicide devoted to this case," she said.
However, she would not reveal any new lines the
investigaion may follow.
Strikeforce Carica is understood to be reviewing all of
the material gathered by Bathurst detectives since Jessica's
kidnapping.
The case was re-opened in October after Deputy State
Coroner Carl Milovanovich requested the police make further
inquiries before the matter went to an inquest.
Mrs Small said she had been told there was a hope advances
in DNA technology could help the case.
"I didn't even know they had anything that related to
Jessica's DNA," she said.
Bathurst Police have spent years trying to track the
kidnapper who Jessica's friend, Vanessa, managed to escape.
The pair had been playing the juke box and chatting with
friends at the Amuse-Me games parlour in Bathurst when they
decided to visit friends in Kelso about 12.40am.
A man, driving what police believed to be a white sedan
similar to a VK or VL Commodore, offered the girls a lift.
About 100m short of their friend's house the man stopped
and assulted both of them.
Vanessa broke free and ran to a house to raise the alarm
but Jessica was never seen again.
It had been just a five minute drive with a man neither of
the girls had ever seen in Bathurst.
The night of Jessica's kidnapping remains etched forever
in her mother's mind as the night she lost her baby.
"I'm like every mother. I love my daughter," Mrs Small
said.
"We'd like to know where she is, where she might be buried
and we'd like to know who killed her.
"We grieve for her everyday.
"There's no closure, it's there every day and every night;
and they (nights) are the longest."
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.
Mystery of
missing Jessica Small: mother living a 'nightmare'
Date
Saffron
Howden - SMH
Police have begun systematically door-knocking about 500
homes of men who worked at a timber mill near Bathurst nearly 14
years ago to find a teenage girl's abductor.
Investigators descended on the small town of Oberon today
after narrowing the list of men aged 18 to 45 who worked at the
local mill in 1997.
In early 2008, the homicide squad reopened an
investigation into 15-year-old Jessica Small's abduction from
Bathurst in the early hours of October 26 1997.
When they re-interviewed one of the original witnesses,
they discovered a man aged about 30 had been asking questions
about Jessica at a local entertainment centre, Amuse Me, just
hours before she disappeared. The man had revealed he worked at
the timber mill, Detective Sergeant Peter Smith told reporters
in Oberon this morning.
"We've spent the last few months locating those employees
and there are a significant number of them still living in the
Oberon/Bathurst areas," he said.
"They're obviously spread all over Australia but we're
endeavouring to speak to all of them in the coming weeks."
Jessica's mother, Ricki Small, said the past 13 years had
been a "nightmare".
"It's been a nightmare to live through and it's still a
nightmare until we uncover something and the person who abducted
her," she said.
Jessica's sister, Rebecca, wept as she begged anyone with
information to come forward.
"We just need some closure," she said. "And we really miss
her and we really need to know what happened."
Jessica was last heard screaming in the back of a car just
east of Bathurst about 12.40am on a Sunday morning. Her best
friend, Vanessa, managed to escape after hitchhiking with the
unknown man.
Saffron Howden is a crime reporter for the Herald.
Missing teen's
mother grateful for search but says battlers are let down
Date
- SMH
Saffron
Howden - Oberon
SOME old photos, children's toys and a roadside cross
embedded in a heart-shaped slab of concrete are the few physical
reminders that Jessica Small ever existed.
Barely 15 when she and a friend hitchhiked their way out
of central Bathurst in October 1997, Jessica's last known stamp
on the world was her screams from the back of an old rusting car
driven by an unidentified man.
Her friend, Vanessa, fled the car after the man attacked
them and ran to a nearby house for help, police believe. But
Jessica disappeared from the flat, windswept stretch of road,
along with the white Holden Commodore sedan and its driver.
While the homicide squad set up camp in nearby Oberon
yesterday with 20 investigators and a list of 500 people to
interview, for nearly 14 years Jessica's mother, Ricki Small,
has felt ignored by a ''judgmental'' system she believes cares
less for ''battlers''.
''They took it very lightly,'' she said. ''Because I was a
pensioner, I wasn't anyone famous or whatever, but [that] should
never have mattered.''
While she is grateful to homicide detectives who recently
unearthed a vital clue, that an Oberon timber mill worker was
asking about Jessica at a games parlour the night she was
abducted, she is bitter it took more than a decade for the
information to surface.
''This is crucial information,'' Ms Small said. ''It could
have been taken back then. It could have saved us years of
heartache.''
The mother-of-three, whose elder daughter Rebecca joined
her in an emotional public appeal for information about the
abduction yesterday, said she sometimes felt numb.
''Someone was lurking around and someone had their eye on
my child,'' she said. ''When you're in bed at night and you're
alone, you think about it and sometimes you end up in tears.''
Police yesterday began the long process of interviewing
each of the 500 males aged between 18 and 45 who were employed
at the Oberon timber mill in 1997.
The head of the investigation, Detective Sergeant Peter
Smith, said most remained living in the central tablelands, but
some were spread across the country. ''I certainly think that
the employee of the Oberon timber mill that was in the amusement
centre that night holds very significant information,'' he said.
Ms Small is in no doubt her daughter, once a ''shy but
happy girl'' who liked music and fashion, is dead. ''I really
don't hold out any hope that she's alive because there's no way
she'd stay away from the family,'' she said.
Investigators plan to spend about a fortnight in Oberon
and Bathurst as part of the renewed focus on the case.
Tipster may
hold vital clue to Jessica Small's death
AAP
May
07, 201210:46AM
Jessica Small disappeared in 1997
Mill worker may hold the clue to her death
Man calls police 10 years later with
information
HOMICIDE detectives are seeking a man who provided
an anonymous tip-off about a NSW murder mystery.
Jessica Small, 15, disappeared in October 1997 after a
night at the Amuse Me games arcade in Bathurst, in the state's
central west.
It's believed she was killed after trying to hitchhike home.
Jessica and a female friend were picked up by a man in a white
Holden Commodore and the driver assaulted the girls.
Her mate escaped but Jessica was never seen again.
Police are searching for a man who contacted Bathurst police
anonymously with information about a former colleague who owned
and disposed of a white Holden Commodore around the time Jessica
vanished.
The car may also have been involved in an accident in late 1997,
police said.
The men are believed to have worked together at Oberon Timber
Mill, southeast of Bathurst.
Police have previously revealed that a mill employee was at the
games arcade the night Jessica disappeared and asked about the
teenager.
Detectives carried out interviews with past and present mill
employees in June 2011.
Officers will also travel to Western Australia in coming days to
interview other former employees.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Crime
Stoppers on 1800333000.
'Shy but happy'
Jessica last heard screaming for help
Bathurst teenager Jessica Small was last heard
screaming for help in the back of a rusty Holden
Commodore driven by an unidentified man.
Almost 15 years after she vanished from Bathurst,
in the state's central west, police are now appealing
for a witness who gave them an anonymous tip-off about
the white car to contact detectives again.
The witness told investigators of a colleague in
the Bathurst area who "owned and then disposed of" a
white Holden Commodore about the time of the
15-year-old's disappearance.
The car may also have been involved in an
accident, the witness said.
This morning police said this information could be
"extremely important" to their investigation.
Jessica and a friend, also 15, had been at the
Amuse Me games arcade on Russell Street, Bathurst, on
Sunday October 26, 1997, when they tried to hitch-hike
home about 12.35am.
Police are now appealing for a witness who
gave them an anonymous tip-off about a white car
similar to this to again contact detectives.
They got in the car driven by a man, who pulled
over on Hereford Street, turned off the headlights and
assaulted the girls, police said.
The friend escaped and ran to a nearby house,
asking the residents to help Jessica.
A Herald report from the time said police
believed Jessica might have jumped from the car, only to
be dragged kicking and screaming back inside.
Jessica, the car and the driver then disappeared
from the straight stretch of road on the outskirts of
town.
Last year, the homicide squad set up camp in
Oberon, about 50 kilometres from Bathurst, to interview
about 500 people after finding a vital clue that a
timber mill employee was at the arcade that night and
was asking about Jessica.
This week police will travel to Western Australia
to continue tracking down former employees of the timber
mill.
"Someone was lurking around and someone had their
eye on my child," she said.
"When you're in bed at night and you're alone, you
think about it and sometimes you end up in tears."
Ms Small said she was in no doubt her daughter,
once a "shy but happy girl" who liked music and fashion,
was dead.
"I really don't hold out any hope that she's alive
because there's no way she'd stay away from the family."
Strike Force Carica II is investigating the
circumstances of Jessica's disappearance.
Police asked anyone with information to phone
Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Is Jessica Small's killer
in WA?
Date
Anne-Louise Brown -
WA Today
Homicide detectives from New South Wales are
heading to Western Australia in a bid to solve a
15-year-old murder mystery.
In 1997, Jessica Small, 15, was abducted after
a night out with a friend at a Bathurst amusement
centre.
About 12.35am the pair were hitch-hiking home
on Russell Street when they were picked up by a man
in a white Holden Commodore sedan.
The man stopped the car on Hereford Street at
Bathurst and turned off the headlights before
allegedly assaulting both girls and attempting to
detain them in the vehicle.
Jessica's friend managed to escape, alerting
nearby residents. Jessica, however, has not been
seen or heard from since. Police believe she was
murdered.
"I really don't hold out any hope that she's
alive because there's no way she'd stay away from
the family."
Investigators believe a male employee of the
Oberon Timber Mill was present at the amusement
centre on the night of Jessica's disappearance and
may be able to provide information relating to the
incident.
Last year, detectives canvassed past and
present mill employees, some of whom now reside in
WA.
Investigators are now asking for a witness,
who previously contacted Bathurst Police
anonymously, to again make contact with detectives.
The witness provided information relating to a
former workmate in the Bathurst area who owned and
then disposed of a white Holden Commodore around the
time of Jessica's disappearance.
This vehicle was also possibly involved in a
car accident around this time.
Anyone with information about the
disappearance of Jessica can call Crime Stoppers on
1800 333 000.
Jessica Small case: homicide
detectives’ plea to witness
HOMICIDE detectives investigating the
abduction of Bathurst teenager Jessica Small are
appealing to a witness who previously spoke to
Bathurst Police to again make contact with
detectives.
Sergeant Peter Smith, who is leading the
investigation into the 15-year-old’s presumed
murder, said the witness provided information
relating to a former workmate in the Bathurst
area who owned, and then disposed of, a white
Holden Commodore around the time of Jessica’s
disappearance.
Sgt Smith said the vehicle was also
possibly involved in a car accident around this
time.
He said investigators believe this
information is extremely important to Jessica’s
case.
“The information is really significant; we
would really like this person to make contact
again so detectives can ask some more specific
questions,” he said.
Detective Smith said the person can either
ring Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 or contact
homicide detectives directly on 02 8835 8992.
Almost 12 months has passed since homicide
detectives descended on Oberon after information
came to light that an employee at one of the
town’s mills might be able to provide
information concerning Jessica’s abduction.
Investigators believe a male employee of
the Oberon Timber Mill was present at the Amuse
Me amusement centre on the night of Jessica’s
disappearance and made specific inquiries of
another person about her.
Jessica was last seen about 12.35am on
Sunday, October 26, 1997 in the Bathurst CBD,
after she and her friend Vanessa Conlon had
attended the Amuse Me amusement centre on
Russell Street earlier that night and afterwards
attempted to hitch a ride home.
The girls entered a white Holden Commodore
sedan driven by a man.
The driver stopped the car on Hereford
Street and turned off the headlights before
assaulting both girls and attempting to detain
them in the vehicle.
Vanessa managed to escape and fled the
scene, raising the alarm at a nearby house.
Jessica, however, has not been seen since.
Search for Jessica:
police to dig near Bathurst
Date
Jacinta Carroll - SMH
Cadaver dogs have been brought in to search for
the remains of Bathurst teenager Jessica Small,
after police received new information regarding her
abduction.
Homicide police investigating
the disappearance of the 15-year-old in 1997 will
today begin excavating an isolated area near
Bathurst in the hope of uncovering further evidence.
In addition to the dog squad, homicide police
will be assisted by officers from the Australian
Federal Police, who will use ground-penetrating
radar to pick up deviations in the soil in the area
to be searched.
The officer in charge of the investigation,
Detective Sergeant Peter Smith, said the federal
police unit has the most specialised officers in
Australia doing this type of work.
He said the excavation was the result of new
information received by police from a member of the
public.
Jessica and a friend, Vanessa Conlan, were
trying to hitch-hike home from the Amuse Me Games
Arcade in Bathurst when they got into a white VK or
VL Holden Commodore sedan.
When the male driver allegedly tried to
assault them in the car, Jessica's friend managed to
escape and alert nearby residents.
Jessica has not been seen or heard from since.
Detective Smith said investigators believe Jessica
was murdered shortly after her disappearance.
Police have new information that a car similar
to the one Jessica was abducted in was seen in a
riverside area at O'Connell, about halfway between
Bathurst and Oberon.
Police now believe the car was seen driving
along the Great Western Highway at Kelso with its
headlights off.
They believe the car then turned into the
O'Connell Road, travelling towards O'Connell.
"We have conducted extensive inquiries in
recent years and new information suggests a car
similar to the one Jessica was abducted in was
observed in a riverside area at O'Connell just hours
after the abduction," Detective Smith said.
"Detectives were told the car was driven to a
secluded area near the Fish River, off the O'Connell
Road, O'Connell, halfway between Bathurst and
Oberon. The car remained parked there for a
considerable period of time."
He said the excavation was expected to take
two days, and police have not ruled out the
possibility of finding Jessica's remains there.
Detective Smith said the new information was
heartening for investigators, and again encouraged
anyone with information on Jessica's disappearance
to contact homicide police or Crime Stoppers.
"I think the reality is people now realise
she's been missing for 15 years, and she hasn't run
away," he said.
Police say they are seeking information about
a male employee of the Oberon Timber Mill, who was
present at the Amuse Me amusement centre on the
night of Jessica's disappearance and may be able to
assist police.
They would also like to hear from a witness
who previously told police about a former workmate
in the Bathurst area who owned and then disposed of
a white Holden Commodore about the time of Jessica's
disappearance. That vehicle was possibly involved in
a car accident, police said.
A two day search for the remains of a
missing Bathurst teenager has been unsuccessful.
Police investigating the disappearance of Jessica Small
have used heavy machinery, radar and cadaver dogs to scour
half-an-acre of land near the O'Connell Road.
The site has been searched because a white car, similar to
the one the teenager was last seen in 15 years ago, was seen
parked there after she vanished.
Detective Sergeant Peter Smith says he will not rule out
further searches of the area.
"Not at this point," he said.
"We haven't found anything that would link us to the
matter we're investigating.
"I would have been more disappointed if we hadn't of
tried.
"If we receive any further information then we would go
back to the site, but look as far as the physical site we've
searched we're satisfied we have covered every aspect of that
site."
Police say they want to know more about a man who asked
about Jessica Small the day she went missing.
Detective Sergeant Smith says there are two men who worked
at the Oberon timber mill at the time of her disappearance who
may hold vital information.
"We have fielded that information.
"We've also received information that a male person that
worked at the timber mill was making enquiries about Jessica on
the night she went missing.
"So those two pieces of information are very interesting to us
and they still interest us to this day."
