Western Australia's homicide squad is investigating the disappearance of a
mother and her baby more than 20 years ago, and are calling for information.
Australian Associated PressMARCH
14, 20195:24PM
The family of a woman and her seven-month-old daughter who vanished in Western
Australia more than 20 years ago hope they are still alive.
The homicide squad is investigating the disappearance of Veronica Philomena
Lockyer, 33, and her baby Adell Sherylee Partridge, who were last seen in
the Merredin/Burracoppin area in late 1998.
The indigenous mother-of-six led a transient lifestyle, often visited
women's hostels in Perth, and has extended family in WA's northern Pilbara
and Gascoyne regions.
"They all assumed that Veronica was staying with other family members and it
wasn't unusual for Veronica to not be heard or seen for quite a period of
time," Detective Senior Sergeant Adrian Richards told reporters on Thursday.
Unconfirmed information indicates in November or December 1998 Ms Lockyer
and her baby may have caught a taxi from the Centre Point Shopping Centre in
Midland.
One of Ms Lockyer's other children, known only as Donna, reported the pair
missing in July last year.
"My family thought she was living in Perth with myself and Adell, and I grew
up thinking that she lived in Port Hedland, so that's where the gap is," she
said.
"It's important to me because it's been 20 years that my mother has not been
in my life, my sister has not been in my life, and it feels like missing
pieces.
"My kids go to sleep and wake up to a photo of my mother ... it's just that
they've never met her in person."
Ms Lockyer has an impaired left eye, which she often covers with her hair,
and walks with a slight limp.
She was in an on-again off-again relationship with the infant's father at
the time she disappeared and police have spoken with him.
Det Sen Sgt Richards said police had serious concerns about the welfare of
Ms Lockyer and her baby, and were prepared for the worst.
"We're approaching this investigation with an open mind," he said.
Some documents and records have been destroyed since 1998, which has
hindered the investigation.
Police urge anyone with information to come forward.
WA Police have launched a homicide investigation in the search for a mother and
her child who have not been seen for two decades, after the alarm was only
recently raised by family members.
Veronica Philomena Lockyer and her child Adell Sherylee Partridge were last seen
in Perth in late 1998, but had been living in the Merredin–Burracoppin area of
the Wheatbelt.
Ms Lockyer was known to lead a transient lifestyle and had visited women's
hostels and refuges in Perth, as well as in communities in northern WA.
She had six children but was only caring for seven-month-old Adell when she was
last seen.
Police did not receive a missing persons report until one of Ms Lockyer's other
children contacted them after attempting to reconnect with her mother in recent
years.
Relatives shocked at date of last sighting
Detectives have spoken to a number of family members who,
over the years, had all assumed Ms Lockyer was in contact with other
relatives.
Police said the family was shocked to learn the last
confirmed sighting of the pair was 20 years ago at a shopping centre in
Midland in Perth's east.
Ms Lockyer's daughter Donna was two years old and living with
other family members when her mother and Adell were last seen.
She now has children of her own and unsuccessfully tried to
contact her mother in recent years, before reporting the pair missing in
July 2018.
"My family thought she was living in Perth with myself
and Adell, and I grew up thinking that she lived in Port Hedland, so
that's where the gap is," she said.
"I've only just learnt that my mother is missing and it's
important to me because it's been 20 years.
"My mother has not been in my life, my sister has not been in
my life and it feels like missing pieces. My little family need to know who
their grandmother and aunty is."
Police hold out hope amid 'challenges'
Detective Senior Sergeant Adrian Richards said it was a
complicated investigation, but police were keeping an open mind.
"I'd be lying if I said it hasn't had its challenges," he
said.
"Twenty years is a long time. We have issues of documents
and records being destroyed, and obviously, unfortunately, potentially
witnesses who are no longer with us."
Detective Senior Sergeant Richards said while the
investigation was being handled by the homicide squad, it was possible the
pair were still alive.
"Obviously Veronica and Adell's family, along with the WA
Police Force, are hopeful that they're alive and well," he said.
"However, it's been a significant period of time.
"The fact that they've been missing for 20 years, no one has
seen them, we have no documentation or record since late 1998, that gives us
serious concerns about their welfare."
Police said Ms Lockyer would often style her hair covering
the left side of her face, which had a physical impairment.
She is described as being Aboriginal, 162 centimetres tall,
of medium build with brown hair and brown eyes.
Ms Lockyer would now be 54, and her missing daughter would be
20.
