Marc Kristian MIETUS
Marc Kristian MIETUS
| D.O.B: | 1983 |
| Height: | 184 cm |
| Complexion: | Olive |
| Eye Colour: | Brown |
| Hair Colour: | Dark Brown |
| Build: | Solid |
| Tattoo(s)/Marks: | Cartoon character tattoo on ankle. |
| Last Heard: |
Mark Mietus was last seen on 26 Janurary 2000 at Childers
QLD.
Mark left his family home in Melbourne in January 2000 to travel to
Brisbane. He picked up a hitch hiker in Gildara NSW who offered him
accommodation at his property at Booyal via Childers. Marc stayed at this
property until 26 January 2000. Another resident saw him get into a
vehicle containing an unidentified male at the gate of the property that
day. Marc has not been seen since. |
By DAN NANCARROW
KRIS Mietus is preparing for his sixth Christmas without his missing son.
The Victorian father has not had any contact with his son, Marc Kristian Mietus, since he went missing in Childers in January 2000.
"It's pretty tough because we are a very close family and when we get together he is the only one missing,'' Mr Mietus said.
"I fear the worst.''
Bundaberg police have been investigating the disappearance of Mr Mietus as well as the disappearance of Christine Maria Fenner, who was last seen in Kirk-Marule Road, Booyal on February 12, 1999.
Mr Mietus's son left Melbourne to travel to Queensland in early January before staying with a hitchhiker at a Booyal property.
He was last seen at the Booyal property on January 27 in a brown sedan with four other men in the vehicle.
Mr Mietus said he was seeking any information on the disappearance of his son but was not confident he would be found alive and well.
"He was very close to his older sister and for him not to contact her is out of character,'' he said.
"I think I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll get a phone call one day and I won't like what I hear.
"But you've got to move on, you can't look back.
"We want the closure.''
Marc Kristian Mietus is 184cm tall, has dark brown hair, brown eyes, solid build, olive complexion and a tattoo of a cartoon character on his ankle.
Mrs Fenner is 162cm tall with a slim build, has a fair complexion with fair hair and green eyes and a tattoo on her left shoulder.
Anyone with any information on either missing person can telephone Bundaberg police on 4153 9111 or the Missing Persons Bureau on (07) 3364 6213.
Updated
A $250,000 reward has been offered in a bid to help solve a 15-year-old Queensland missing person's case in the state's south.
Marc Christian Mietus, 21, went missing on Australia Day in 2000.
Police said earlier that month Mr Mietus picked up a hitchhiker during a car journey from Melbourne to Queensland.
He then lived in a caravan at the hitchhiker's property at Booyal near Childers in the state's Wide Bay region.
Police said Mr Mietus also spent time at a Kelvin Grove property during his time working as a plumbing apprentice but believe he was at the Booyal property the day he went missing.
Authorities are hoping the reward will prompt new information about his disappearance.
Marc Christian Mietus went missing on Australia Day in 2000 in Queensland after picking up a hitchhiker.
On January 4 2000, the young man was in the process of moving from his family home in Melbourne to Brisbane, hoping for a new start and to 'get his life back on track' according to his father, Kris Mietus.
The victim's father is pleading with the public to come forward with information so his family can finally have closure from the traumatic experience of losing their beloved son.
'I've got to be honest, I've probably resigned myself to the fact that he has met foul play,' Mr Mietus said at a press conference on Tuesday.
'The family, including myself and his two sisters, have (come to this conclusion).'
For 15 years Marc Mietus' loved ones have struggled after the 21-year-old 'vanished without a trace'.
'We're after closure and once we get that we can move on. It's very difficult not to,' Mr Mietus explained.
Mr Mietus was travelling alone from Melbourne to Queensland when he encountered a hitchhiker.
'During his car journey, Mr Mietus picked up a hitchhiker,' Detective Superintendent Steve Holohan of the Homicide Group said.
To repay the favour, the hitchhiker offered Mr Mietus accomodation at his property in the Wide Bay region, 70 kilometres inland from Bundaberg.
'Marc befriended the man who allowed him to stay in a caravan on his property on Dillarnil Booyal Road, Booyal via Childers.'
Mr Mietus made his home at the Booyal property, whilst also spending time at another friend's residence in Kelvin Grove, an inner northern suburb of Brisbane.
At about 6.30am on January 26 2000 Marc is believed to have arrived back at the Booyal property on his red 250cc Honda road trail bike.
After spending time at the property and making several phone calls he was seen leaving the home in a car with of a group of people, believed to be heading to Brisbane.
He has not been seen since and police believe Marc may have met with foul play.
Despite extensive searches and investigating all leads on the case, police are still yet to determine what happened to the plumbing apprentice after he left the house.
'Certainly, we believe there are people out there that know what happened to him and others who have crucial information regarding this case,' said Detective Holohan.
'We are offering $250,000 for anybody who gives information that leads to the identification of the person responsible for the homicide
'We strongly suspect he was met with foul play somewhere between Childers and Brisbane.'
The missing man's distressed father spoke at a police conference, speaking openly about his son in the hope it would help finally find answers.
'There were probably two key things in his life which set him in a direction which the family wasn’t really impressed with,' his father revealed.
'His mother walked out when he was 15 years of age,' Kris Mietus explained.
This abandonment is believed to have had a profound effect on the teen who became involved with 'the wrong crowd'.
'Up until 15 he was a very gifted child and had a great association with everybody in the family,' said Mietus.
The talented athlete was also rejected in his attempts to become a professional AFL player.
'It set him off on the wrong path and he probably associated with the wrong people. He probably shouldn’t have been smoking marijuana,' his father told the press conferenece.
But as the 21-year-old set off for Queensland just weeks before his disappearance he was determined to turn over a new leaf.
Instead, it is believed he lost his life and 15 years later his family are still fighting to uncover how.
'Someone’s obviously done away with him and we want that person brought to justice,' said Kris.
$250,000 reward in 15-year-old Marc Mietus cold case
Marc Mietus' father is the first to admit his son was no angel.
Nearly 15 years after he vanished without trace near Childers, Kris Mietus said his only son was a good kid, a talented athlete, the youngest of three children who wanted for nothing growing up on a semi-rural property on the outskirts of Melbourne.
But when his mother walked out on the family and the then-15-year-old's dreams of playing AFL at the highest level came crashing down, the teenager rebelled, trading his middle-class existence for one that revolved around drugs.
Six years later and two states away, that world is believed to have cost Marc his life.
Aged just 21, Marc disappeared near Childers on Australia Day, 2000, three weeks after moving to Queensland to start a new life.
Mr Mietus said he long ago came to the conclusion his youngest child was murdered.
"I've got be honest, I have resigned myself to the fact that he has met with foul play, the family have," Mr Mietus said.
"He has two sisters and we're after closure."
Mr Mietus said he hoped that now, on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the his disappearance, a new $250,000 reward offered by police, along with indemnity from prosecution in the event of charges being laid, would finally give his family some answers.
Queensland police homicide squad detective Steve Holahan said Marc was last seen climbing into a van filled with people at a property at Booyal, west of Childers.
He has not been seen since and his bank account has remained untouched.
Superintendent Holahan said his disappearance had all the hallmarks of murder.
"We're certainly confident Marc's met with foul play, there are certainly no signs of life, no transactions with banks, doctors, Centrelink, no record of any activity after January 26," he said.
The homicide investigator said he believed people in the van that collected him that day, some of them known to police, knew what happened.
Superintendent Holahan said it was hoped the $250,000 reward and prosecution indemnity would prompt one of them to come forward.
"We are certainly interested in speaking to anyone in the vehicle that day with Marc," he said.
"We believe there are people out there who have definitive knowledge of what happened to Marc on that day."
After 15 long years without answers, Mr Mietus said he, his two daughters and his elderly mother just wanted to know what happened to Marc, who would now be 36.
"Someone has obviously done away with him and we'd like for that person to be brought to justice," he said.
"Up until he was 15, he was a gifted kid and a really good kid and had a great association with everyone in the family.
"It's just these two things that happened that sent him in a different direction."
Mr Mietus said not long before his presumed death, his son had obtained a plumbing apprenticeship and appeared to be getting his life on track.
"He got an apprenticeship, we thought he was on the straight and narrow and he wanted to start a new life and moved to Queensland," he said.
"He and I had a very close relationship, he didn't leave because he didn't like family members he just wanted to go on a different path and he obviously met the wrong people in his endeavours.
"After 15 years the family is desperate for closure."
Anyone with information about the disappearance of Marc Mietus is urged to contact CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000 or crimestoppers.com.au
On the 15th anniversary of his disappearance, police and the family of Marc Mietus are appealing for anyone within the community with information regarding this case to come forward.
On January 4, 2000 Marc Christian Mietus (aged 21 at the time) moved from Melbourne to Brisbane to join friends he had made while living in Queensland during the mid to late 1990s.
“During his car journey, Mr Mietus picked up a hitchhiker. Marc befriended the man who allowed him to stay in a caravan on his property on Dillarnil Booyal Road, Booyal via Childers. It is believed this favour was in return for the lift to his home address,” Detective Superintendent Steve Holahan of the Homicide Group said.
During this time, it has been established Mr Mietus was residing between the Booyal property and another friend’s residence in Kelvin Grove.
About 6.30am on January 26 2000 Marc is believed to have arrived back at the Booyal property on a red 250cc Honda road trail bike. Investigators believe that Marc remained at the property for some hours during which time he contacted associates.
Marc was then seen leaving the Booyal address in the company of a group of people and has not been seen since. Police believe Marc may have met with foul play.
“We strongly believe there are people within the community with crucial information regarding this case. His family including his father Kris Mietus, are appealing for those people to come forward so we can help provide answers for the family,” Detective Superintendent Holahan said.
A reward of $250,000 has been offered for information which leads to the apprehension and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the suspected murder of Marc Christian Mietus on an unknown date in January 2000. The reward of $250,000 is offered for information leading to the location of the remains of Marc Christian Mietus.
INDEMNITY FROM PROSECUTION:
In addition, an appropriate indemnity from prosecution will be considered
for any accomplice, not being the person who actually committed the crime,
who first gives such information.
The allocation of the $250,000 reward will be at the sole discretion of the Commissioner of the Police Service.