Lateesha's Dad, Mick Peet and I wrote these words to express how he's feeling on the loss of his daughter -

 It has been over two years since my daughter Lateesha went missing from Dubbo, NSW.
Since that terrible day when I was told she was missing, I have been unable to sleep, my hair is falling out, I feel I am living in a nightmare I can't wake up from.
Every time the phone rings, I think maybe they have found her, which is a mixed blessing - have they found a body or have they found my precious girl alive, by some miracle?
Will she one day walk back through that door, the beautiful girl I have watched grow up and blossom into a beautiful young woman? Will I ever get to tell her again how much I love her?

Waiting one week to hear any news about Lateesha was so hard. Waiting eight weeks was torture. Waiting eight months was an absolute nightmare. To know that she is out there somewhere and we can't find her is the worst feeling you could imagine. It gets worse, not better with time. It has been a long and painful process, waiting for the news, letting the police do their job, hoping that I'm wrong about her being murdered.

Lateesha used to phone me all the time and we'd have great old chats. I missed her so much, as I was living in Queensland and I didn't get to see her as much as I would have liked to. But she was still my little girl and we were still very close. I was so proud of her, all that she had achieved at such a young age, her four beautiful children.

Parents are not supposed to bury their children, they should bury us. I was looking forward to watching Lateesha grow older, watching my grandchildren grow up with such a great Mum. She had so much life yet to live, she was only 24, and her whole future has been taken away from her. It's been taken away from her children too, they'll never get over losing their Mum.

And I'll never get over losing my baby girl. She will be in my heart forever, locked away where no one can ever hurt her again.  

Somebody, somewhere MUST know what happened to Lateesha. Someone saw what happened that night, knows where she is, overheard a conversation. I can understand you being too scared to come forward but what if this was your daughter, your sister, your wife, your girlfriend, your Mum? Walk a mile in my shoes and feel my pain. All I want is to lay my girl down to rest, to bring her home. One anonymous phone call, saying where she is, no one will ever know that you called. We just need to find her, please.

If you have any information to give please call Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000. You do NOT have to give your name or any details, just provide that one bit of information that will end the nightmare for us all.

If you can provide any information to help Strike Force Durkin please contact Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 - you can remain totally anonymous, you do NOT have to give your name. No one will know you made the call. Help lay this beautiful young woman to rest and bring peace to her family.

Lateesha was described as a devoted mother who was always with her children, now the children cling desperately to their grandmother, afraid that she too will disappear if she leaves them. The eldest child Kiesha has just finished her first year at school - Lateesha had already bought Kiesha's uniform before she disappeared on January 4 - but never got to see Kiesha wear it to school. Five-year-old Erica will start school this year. "She's stopped talking to a lot of people and really become withdrawn," Mrs Lancaster said. "Kristy's children can go and visit her grave site and look up at the stars and say mum is one of them now - but Lateesha's can't," she said. "Lateesha's children wake up every morning hoping that she'll be there and ask if they can go in to the bush and go looking for her. "The kids need to know - even if someone has information about where she's buried at least we can give her a proper grave that the kids can go to and at least they'll be able to look up at the stars. "I know somebody out there knows something and they're not saying."

Vigil to honour missing woman
CHRISANTHI GIOTIS - Dubbo Daily Liberal
Tuesday, 27 December 2005

On January 4 this year Lateesha Nolan left her grandmother's house saying she would be "back in a sec", and left her wallet and cigarettes behind. By the next day the 24-year-old mother of four was missing and her car found abandoned in a parking bay near the river. A year after her disappearance relatives plan to gather at the riverbank for a candlelight vigil they hope will inspire anyone with information to come forward. Starting at 5pm on January 4, relatives and friends will gather on the eastern bank of the Macquarie River below Tamworth Street. Lateesha's aunt, Janette Lancaster, said it was terrible for the relatives to think of what might have happened there at the river. "If something did happen then she was there all by herself, we want to be there for the vigil," Mrs Lancaster said. "It's also a chance for people to remember her as well and it might trigger someone's mind or conscience," she said. Police are still appealing for any information about fugitive Malcolm Naden who is wanted for questioning over Lateesha's disappearance. Mr Naden is also the prime suspect in the murder of Kristy Scholes. Only last week he was believed to be hiding at Western Plains Zoo and police mounted a massive manhunt for the fugitive. Lateesha's father Mick Peet said he couldn't believe that Mr Naden had been hiding at the zoo for six months. "My first thoughts were that he'd realise what he'd done and go and kill himself," Mr Peet said. "But he's our only lead to finding Lateesha so she can be properly laid to rest. "I just hope we can find him soon before he does something to himself or hurts someone else. It was really hard getting through Christmas Day this year."

Vigil of hope for missing woman
CHRISANTHI GIOTIS - Dubbo Daily Liberal
Wednesday, 4 January 2006

Lateesha Nolan is a person - not a crime story. That is the message her family and friends will be sending tonight - one year after her disappearance - with a candlelight vigil at the river. The vigil - originally planned for 5pm - will now take place at 8.30pm after the family received special assistance from the fire brigade so they were still able to hold the candlelight ceremony during a total fire ban. It will take place near the riverbank at the Tamworth Street carpark - the place where Lateesha's car was found. Lateesha's uncle Ted Lancaster said they wanted the ceremony to be as painless as possible for Lateesha's four young children but hoped the short service planned with poems and prayers would let the children know she wasn't forgotten. Lateesha's aunt Janette Lancaster said the ceremony was "mainly for us to do something". "We feel so helpless not knowing what happened and we're hoping to jog someone's memory or get to their conscience," Mrs Lancaster said. The Lancasters said four generations of Lateesha's family, extended family and friends would be at the vigil. "It's going to be sad and hard but it's something we feel that we need to do," Mrs Lancaster said. "We have to show people the person - show people she is not just a crime story". Mr Lancaster said Lateesha's smile could "light up a whole room". "We always used to say Teesha was so beautiful she could be a model," Mr Lancaster said. "My favourite memory of her was when she was at our wedding - Teesh was only 11 years old and she was 'running' the soft drink bar. "She just endeared herself to everyone making sure they had their glasses full. "I can still see her on that day - she got a great kick out of it," he said.

LAST RIGHTS: One death, one disappearnce and one on the run
Thursday, 6 April 2006 - thanks to Chris Graham

ISSUE 102, April 6, 2006: Kristy Scholes is dead. Lateesha Nolan is missing.
To most Australians, the women are just two more Aboriginal faces in a newspaper, victims of crime. But they have the right to be remembered for what they were - mothers, daughters, sisters, nieces, cousins. And they also have the right to expect that a man on the run who police believe can shed light on their fate won't be harboured by members of their own community.
CHRIS GRAHAM reports.

ISSUE 102, April 6, 2006: Mick Peet's life is like a horror-film version of Groundhog Day.

Every morning he wakes up to the same nightmare - the mystery surrounding the disappearance of his 24-year-old daughter, Lateesha Nolan.

Lateesha, a mother of four, lived in Dubbo in the central west of NSW until she disappeared without a trace on January 4, 2005.

Mick's life has not moved forward since that day. He has been stuck in the same living hell for the last 16 months.

He can find no relief. He's paralysed by his daughter's disappearance.

"I accept it now, that she's dead. I'd just like to find out how and why," Mick says.

"I want to go out looking for Lateesha, but I don't know where to start.

"And people have talked me out of it from day one. To tell you the truth, I don't have the finances to do that sort of thing anyway.

"I'm battling along on the pension. Plus I've got my kids to look after."

Mick lives in Innes Park, a small Queensland community just outside
Bundaberg.

It's a long way from Dubbo.

So Mick Peet spends his days surfing the world wide web in search of any news on the whereabouts of his daughter.

He simply doesn't know what else to do.

Mick's computer is set-up to download emails every three minutes. He's left dozens of postings on message boards around the world, from the United States to Great Britain, appealing for anyone with information on his daughter's disappearance to come forward.

He's joined chat rooms that support the families of homicide victims; he's signed up for news alerts so that any time a story is filed anywhere in the world by a media organisation on Lateesha Nolan, he'll know within minutes.

"I hardly ever turn my computer off. I'm always checking it," Mick says.

"I'm hoping someone reads something [I've posted] and emails me with a little bit of information."

So the days last a long time for Mick Peet. But the nights are no easier. He hasn't found a way to escape his pain even when he goes to sleep.

"I still keep getting dreams, nightmares at night. There's one I have all the time. Lateesha keeps trying to tell me this person has gone mad and he tried to kill her.

"I know it's a dream, but I feel like she's told me this over the phone before. But I don't know if she told me or I just dreamt she told me."

Then there's his health.

"I've hardly got any hair left - every day I brush my hair, and more falls out. I just keep sweating. It's all the stress."

Even Mick's dental health has suffered - at night when he sleeps he grinds his jaw together so tightly that his teeth have loosened.

"I was getting some help through a counsellor for a while and he was good, really helpful, but..."

Mick's voice trails off.

His conversation chops and changes between theories he has on his daughter's disappearance - and he develops a new one every day - and his never-ending sense of helplessness.

"I have all these thoughts building up in my head, every day is a different thought.

"There was a strong lead that [Lateesha's body] may be out at Troy Crossing (near Dubbo)."

The lead came to nothing.

"I've just felt hopeless up here, not able to do anything.

"I had my port packed, waiting for the news [of the discovery of his
daughter's body].

"Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months. And it's been over a year now and I still feel hopeless, that I can't do anything."

But inevitably, Mick's thoughts keep returning to the internet, and so does his interview with NIT.

The web is the only tool Mick feels he has that can help bring him closer to discovering the fate of his daughter.

In reality, the best lead he can hope for is the location or capture of a 31-year-old Aboriginal man named Malcolm John Naden.


LATEESHA Jane Nolan was born on May 23, 1980.

Mick and his partner Joan couldn't have been prouder. Lateesha was a bubbly, active girl. She liked camping and fishing and she treasured her family life.

But of all the things that life threw at her, it was Lateesha's four
children that gave her the most joy.

Kiesha (aged 7), Erica (6), Jayden (5) and Shaqkayla (3) are a picture perfect family of Aboriginal brothers and sisters.

In 2004, Kiesha finished her first year in school. Erica started school last year, a month after Lateesha went missing.

On the night of January 4, Lateesha stopped by her grandmother's house to drop off two of her children.

She left her purse and her cigarettes behind, telling her grandmother she'd be "back in a sec".

"They were the last words we know that she said to anyone," Mick says.

People are reported missing in Australia every day and 98 percent turn up with 24 hours, unharmed.

And Lateesha was a responsible mother. Someone always knew where she was.

The following day, Lateesha's 1996 blue Ford Falcon station wagon, NSW registration YOU-505, was found abandoned near the banks of the Macquarie River, which runs through the centre of Dubbo.

Her family immediately feared the worst and a police investigation was launched.

While throwing up some promising early leads, the police probe went nowhere and after almost six months detectives were becoming frustrated at the lack of progress.

In late June, everything changed.

Malcolm Naden suddenly lurched into the frame as a "person of interest" in Lateesha's disappearance following the murder of a second Aboriginal woman in Dubbo.

KRISTY Scholes was a bright, vivacious young woman. She was also a mother - her two young children are Libby (aged 6) and Johnny (aged 3). So Kristy had a lot to live for.

Kristy's uncle, Tony Scholes, remembers a girl who loved life a lot, but her kids even more.

"Kristy loved dancing, she liked to have a sociable drink with her cousins and friends," says Tony.

"But Kristy was most proud of her children, she was proud to have children. She really doted on them. She loved them very dearly and I'd say she'd still be with them in spirit."

Kristy had been in a long-term relationship with her fiancé and father of her children, Reg Walker.

They lived together in a modest Dubbo home and in 2005 had begun to
renovate.

Mr Walker is the cousin of Malcolm Naden (contrary to media reports,
including in this paper, Kristy is not related to Naden).

In the middle of last year, Reg's grandfather Jack had taken ill and had to travel to Sydney for an operation. Reg and his grandmother, Florry followed to support him.

"Kristy thought it would be easier for everyone if she stayed home with her children," says Tony.

Because of the renovations to their house, Kristy was staying temporarily at Jack and Florry's home.

Malcolm Naden was also living there and had been for several years.

Police believe Kristy, aged 24, was strangled by Naden some time on June 22, 2005.

Her body was discovered two days later after neighbours noticed young Libby crying in the front yard of the Bumblegumbie Road house.

Libby had let herself out of the home some hours after the murder of her mother and family were puzzled about where Kristy might be - like Lateesha, she would never leave her children alone.

It took a day for people to realise that Kristy's body was locked in Naden's bedroom, lying on his floor and surrounded by stacks of Bibles.

Naden was nowhere to be found.

The house in which Kristy was murdered is the same house at which Lateesha Nolan was last seen as she dropped off her kids.

Lateesha is Naden's cousin - they share the same grandparents.

So not only is Naden the alleged murderer of Kristy Scholes, he's also the prime suspect in the disappearance of Lateesha Nolan.


MALCOLM John Naden was known around Dubbo as a quiet, unassuming young man. He wasn't known to drink and he wasn't violent.

Most people would describe him as shy and a "good bloke".

Naden also had a reputation as a very hard worker. He was a competent shearer but prior to going on the run had been working as a boner at the local abattoirs.

When Lateesha Nolan disappeared, Naden was one of the last people in Dubbo you'd suspect as being involved.

He was never formally interviewed by police and his name never even came up as a 'person of interest' in the investigation.

But his behaviour after Lateesha's disappearance - particularly in the weeks leading up to Kristy's murder - became increasingly bizarre.

Family members have described a man who became a virtual recluse in his own home.

He would sometimes come and go via his bedroom window, preferring to leave his door bolted from the inside.

Naden's grandparents often didn't know whether or not he was in the house. They would leave fresh fruit hanging on his door handle but it went untouched.

Naden also put clothes against the bottom of his door and covered his windows with blankets.

He was increasingly withdrawing from family and friends.

The 'mug-shot' of Naden that has been widely publicised on news bulletins and in newspapers shows a man with a full face, a shaved head and a goatee beard.

But another more recent photograph of Naden exists.

It shows Naden in the kitchen of his grandparent's home, a dishcloth in one hand.

His goatee is much fuller and he's wearing a cap. Naden's face seems more gaunt.

It's one of the few pictures Naden's relatives have of him - Naden
inexplicably posed for the photo after first collecting and then destroying every photo he could find of himself.

Janette Lancaster, Naden's aunty, told the Sydney Morning Herald she
"grabbed him on a good day".

It was his last one.

The following day Naden is alleged to have strangled Kristy on his bedroom floor.

He's been on the run ever since.

MALCOLM Naden's evasion of police has made headlines around the world, due in no small part to the closure of the world famous Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo during a massive police operation on December 23 last year.

Naden had been living in and around the zoo, possibly for several months.

The head of Strike Force Durbin - the police operation investigating the death of Kristy Scholes and the disappearance of Lateesha Nolan - is headed by Detective Sergeant Bryne Ruse, a man with almost two decades experience in the police force.

"We have absolutely no doubt he was in the zoo, no doubt at all," says Det Sgt Ruse.

"And I think he's still in the west or north west of the state. I believe he's still alive and evading police."

In the 10 months since his disappearance, members of the public have
reported numerous sightings of Naden.

Some have been more credible than others.

"Police have conducted searches in Walgett, Coonabarabran, Dubbo and
Condobolin," Det Sgt Ruse says.

"There's been thousands of police hours spent investigating and trying to locate him.

"The sightings at Grawin (opal fields near Walgett), Coonabarabran and Condobolin are less credible than the sighting at Dubbo Zoo, but they were significant enough for us to commit a large amount of police resources."

The reason Naden has remained on the run for so long is in part due to his bushcraft skills.

Psychological profiling of Naden recently confirmed what police already knew from bitter experience - that Naden is ideally suited to life on the run.

"We now know enough about him to know he's very hard to find," Detective Sgt Ruse says. "(We know) he's a loner, that he doesn't need human relationships, that he has bushcraft skills, and that his preferred hideout would be disused housing."

But there are other factors that are hampering the search effort - the quality of most information from the public has been poor.

"One of the critical issues is that members of the community are coming forward with scant information that doesn't assist police," says Det Sgt Ruse.

"I can give you an example - someone fronting up to police and saying 'Malcolm Naden is in Gilgandra'.

"It's of no value to police.

"It's important for the community to understand that police are working night and day towards apprehending Malcolm Naden and putting him before the courts.

"But what we need is for members of the community to tell police where Malcolm is now, not where he was days ago, not where he might have been but where he is today.

"And police will immediately act on that information."

Det Sgt Ruse said all information provided to police would be treated with the strictest of confidence.

"Any information provided by members of the public at this time does not form evidence in any proceedings and will be used purely as confidential intelligence.

"It's absolutely the case that any person that comes forward can provide information to police knowing that their identity will not be disclosed and that the police will deal with them with the utmost confidentiality. They can be absolutely guaranteed of that."

Det Sgt Ruse also believes the search has been made more difficult because Naden has been receiving assistance.

"We believe members of the community may be harbouring him," he says.

"We still believe... that he's not living off his own bat."

In reality, the people harbouring Naden represent not only a tiny minority of the NSW Aboriginal population, but a very small minority of the Dubbo community.

Even so, that's small comfort to the families of Naden's alleged victims.
"We're suffering, our family is suffering from the loss of our niece. My brother is suffering from the loss of his daughter," says Tony Scholes.

"It's not right for [Naden] to be able to roam free and get support from other people.

"If people are harbouring him they need to come forward and be accountable for what they've done. They're just as bad as him - they're looking after a bloke who supposedly murdered two girls.

"I would say to them, 'Look into your hearts and find some compassion for those that are dead. And if you can find that compassion in your heart, then do something about it'.

"Inform the police. Let them know the whereabouts of Malcolm Naden."

And Tony has an added warning for people who might be aiding Naden.

"The community needs to really look at the next thing that could happen out of this.

And Tony has an added warning for people who might be aiding Naden.

"The community needs to really look at the next thing that could happen out of this.

"If he gets agitated, if he gets put in a corner he might take it out on somebody else's family. He's a dangerous person."

Naden's family is also suffering. Janette Lancaster (Naden's aunt) has posted a message over the internet, begging for Naden to give himself up.

"Pop [Naden's grandfather, who has had heart troubles] is very ill and he needs to know how you are and hear your side of the story in regards to Kristy," Ms Lancaster wrote.

"Pop won't get better until he knows what's going on and Nan is frantic with worry and the stress of all this is making her sick as well.

"Your mother is worried and needs to talk to you and all the family wants you to hand yourself in to the police and sort this mess out."

It's certainly not a competition, but perhaps no-one is suffering more than the family of Lateesha Nolan, a fact not lost on the Scholes family.

"Unfortunately, they have never found Lateesha Nolan's body. We've been able to bury our niece and my brother's been able to bury his daughter," says Tony Scholes.

"But they've never found Lateesha Nolan's body. She's never been buried.

"We all need justice, we need clarification, we need justification, we need reasons, we need an end to the story. We all need closure."

Ms Lancaster told the Sydney Morning Herald earlier this year: "Kristy's children can go and visit her grave site and look up at the stars and say mum is one of them now - but Lateesha's can't.

"Lateesha's children wake up every morning hoping that she'll be there and ask if they can go in to the bush and go looking for her.

"The kids need to know - even if someone has information about where she's buried at least we can give her a proper grave that the kids can go to and at least they'll be able to look up at the stars."

"I know somebody out there knows something and they're not saying."

Mick Peet also has a message for anyone who may be harbouring Naden.

"I know the elders wouldn't harbour him, I think it would be more the younger generation," says Mick. "I'd say to them to put themselves in Lateesha's kids' place.

"How would they feel if their mum disappeared off the face of the planet?

"They need to think about how much damage has been done to these kids - they're growing up without their mum.

"If they ever watch TV and they've seen footage of the tsunami, they need to think about the little kids who have lost their mum and look at the expressions on their faces.

"Just try to imagine how these kids must feel. Adults can try and cope with it, but with kids, how do they cope?

"I've got two kids who are never, ever going to see their sister. They keep asking me questions all the time."

Of course, the compassion from the broader Dubbo community has been strong and consistent.

"When we first heard they had found Kristy's body, my brother had so many people around him supporting him," says Tony Scholes. "And it was a big funeral. A lot of members of the family, a lot of friends of Kristy's, a lot of people you wouldn't see every day of your life turned up.

"Last year at the [state rugby league] knockout in Sydney they named the girl's football team after Kristy as a memorial."

THE investigation into Kristy's death and Lateesha's disappearance has several obvious goals.

"We want to bring Malcolm before the court to answer the charges in relation to Kristy's death, and we want to speak to Malcolm in relation to any knowledge he has about Lateesha's disappearance," Det Sgt Ruse says.

"But ultimately the investigation's goal is to bring closure to the family members."

Of course, Naden has been convicted of nothing - he only stands accused of the murder of Kristy Scholes (an arrest warrant has been issued).

In the case of Lateesha Nolan, police believe Naden can assist with their inquiries, but they retain "an open mind".

"He is a person of interest [in relation to Lateesha], no more than that," Det Sgt Ruse says.

"In simple terms he resided in the same house Lateesha went missing from and he has never been interviewed by police in respect to her disappearance.

"Police are keeping an open mind in relation to all possible avenues of investigation."

But the focus, of course, remains on the search for Naden. And on that front, Det Sgt Ruse has a message for Malcolm Naden, or anybody who might know how to contact him.

"The message I'd like to get to Malcolm is that if he wants to hand himself in, he should have no fears about doing that.

"If he wishes to contact a person within the community who he knows and trusts and that person in turn can contact me, I'd be more than happy to come to an arrangement to meet Malcolm personally and process his arrest. If that person wishes to contact Crimestoppers they'll contact me immediately,"

In the meantime, Mick Peet will keep logging onto the internet, all day, every day.

He'll keep posting information about his daughter, he'll keep checking his emails, visiting the message boards for tip-offs and checking the news alerts he receives when media file stories on the disappearance of his daughter.

And above all, Mick will watch for news - credible or otherwise - on any possible sighting of Naden.

"I go on to Google Earth and I look at the towns and areas around where he's been sighted to look for spots where he might be hiding," says Mick.

Google Earth is a website that allows web-users to zoom in, via satellite imagery, on virtually every square inch of the earth.

The images are static and in many cases more than a decade old.

Mick knows he won't find Naden on the internet, but for now it's all he's got.

"I haven't stopped since the day she disappeared. Every day I'm trying to work out what to do," Mick says.

"I just want answers. I wish tomorrow they could catch him and get some answers."

. Anyone with information about the murder of Kristy Scholes, the
disappearance of Lateesha Nolan or the possible location of Malcolm John Naden should contact Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000. Callers can remain anonymous. And anyone who believes they have sighted Naden or has information about his immediate whereabouts should phone 000.


. Getting help online

Nicole Morris started the Australian Missing Persons Register a year ago after realising there was a great need to make the public aware of the large numbers of people who go missing each year in Australia. She has offered considerable help to Mick Peet in his search for information in relation to the disappearance of his daughter, Lateesha Nolan.

Nicole started by simply collecting all available information and cases together in one place and posting them on a website. She found she was being contacted by a growing number of families in need of help and support while they searched for their missing loved ones.

Nicole's site provides a place for families to send a message in case their missing person searches for themself on the internet. She also includes information on gaining assistance from police, as well as comprehensive information about missing persons cases stretching back decades. You can view the register at www.australianmissingpersonsregister.com

. Reward has always been available

It shouldn't take a reward to tempt someone to report to police the
whereabouts of Malcolm John Naden. But every little bit helps. Detective Sergeant Bryne Ruse, who is heading the investigation into the murder of Kristy Scholes and the disappearance of Lateesha Nolan, said police have existing powers to reward people who aid the capture of Naden.

"In any investigation, if any person assists with the capture of a person that leads to a prosecution there's a facility for the officer-in-charge to make a recommendation to the rewards evaluation committee for their consideration in relation to a reward," Det Sgt Ruse said.


Visit http://www.nit.com.au for more stories.

20 December 2007 - 12:52PM

Children's Plea by EMILY WHEELER  - Dubbo Daily Liberal     Lateesha Nolan's children Erica, Jayden, Kiesha and Shaqkayla Nolan         "I'll be back in a sec'" Lateesha Nolan said almost three years ago when she dropped her children off at her grandmother's house in Bumblegumbie Road. The date was January 4 2005, and Lateesha has not been seen since. As the third anniversary of her disappearance looms for her four children, Kiesha, Erica, Jayden and Shaqkayla, who are still "waiting for her to come walking through the door". On the anniversary, Lateesha's family will release balloons filled with messages and prayers at the spot where her car was found abandoned. Four-year-old Shaqkayla's message was simple, "God can you please bring my mother home". Lateesha's mother and aunty, Joan Nolan and Margaret Walker, are using the anniversary to renew their pleas for any information on her disappearance. "Someone's got to know something," Margaret said. "It might jog someone's memory, she's got to be somewhere - we just want to bring her home. "Her kids wake up every morning waiting for her to come home, they're just waiting for her to come walking through the door." Lateesha's car, a Ford Falcon station wagon, was found abandoned on the eastern bank of the Macquarie River, below Tamworth Street. Her family is inviting relatives and friends to join in the memorial on January 4, starting about 6pm. In June the same year that Lateesha disappeared, Dubbo mother Kristy Scholes was found dead. The 24-year-old was found in a house at Bumblegumbie Road where she was staying temporarily while her home was being re-painted. Lateesha's cousin, Malcolm Naden is wanted for questioning in relation to both cases. There is also an arrest warrant for Naden in relation to an alleged indecent assault offence on a child in 2004. He is described as being of Aboriginal appearance, 177cm tall, about 85kg with a medium build and brown eyes.

Third anniversary of missing Dubbo mother

Posted January 4, 2008 14:24:00 - ABC

The children of missing Dubbo woman Lateesha Nolan will mark the anniversary of her disappearance tonight by releasing balloons.

The mother of four was last seen three years ago at her grandmother's home in Bunglegumbie Road.

Malcolm John Naden is wanted for questioning over the 24-year-old's disappearance and the murder of Kristy Scholes.

Ms Nolan's aunt, Margaret Walker, says the family has not given up hope of finding her and will mark the three-year anniversary at the place her car was found near the Macquarie River.

"We're going to let off balloons with little messages from the kids and the family," she said.

The family has renewed its appeal for information into her disappearance.

Mrs Walker says the children are still waiting for their mother to come home.

"We've searched just about everywhere, we're just hoping someone will find her so we can bring her home," she said.

"Lateesha's baby, she starts school this year. The children are still waiting for her to come home.

"They have little presents for her and they pick flowers for her and say little prayers for their mother."

Lateesha missing for five years