Left - Police
say a white van was seen parked in this spot. (NSW
Police)
Missing since:
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Last seen:
Rockton
Responsible jurisdiction:
NSW
Year of birth:
1955
Height:
157cm
Build:
Thin
Hair:
Greying
BrownEyes:
Blue/green
Complexion: Fair
Disappearance of Sylvia Pajuczok
Minister for Police and Emergency
Services Michael Gallacher has announced a $100,000
for information into the disappearance and presumed
murder of Sylvia Pajuczok in 2008.
The 53-year-old mother of three and
grandmother of five vanished on Christmas Eve from a
friend’s house in Bombala. She has not been seen or
heard from since, and her bank account has not been
accessed.
Ms Pajuczok’s green Toyota Tarago van
was found abandoned by the side of the Monaro
Highway, 10km south of Bombala.
The movements of a white van
described as a Toyota Hiace, seen parked near the
home Ms Pajuczok had been visiting at the time, are
the subject of police investigations.
The occupant/occupants of the van may
have been travelling from interstate at the time and
detectives want to talk to the driver to eliminate
them from the investigation.
Minister Gallacher is calling for
anyone with information to come forward.
“Someone in the community knows what
happened to Sylvia, now is the time to come forward
with information to help solve the mystery which has
haunted her family for nearly five years,” Minister
Gallacher said.
“We would like nothing more than for
someone to come forward with the information needed
to find the person or people responsible for
Sylvia’s disappearance and presumed murder.
“This case will remain active until
it is solved,” Minister Gallacher said.
Detective Inspector David Kay, from
Strike Force Lerra, said Ms Pajuczok’s disappearance
was totally out of character as she would always be
in regular contact with her family and friends.
“Investigators have been following a
number of lines of inquiries and are still treating
Ms Pajuczok’s disappearance as suspicious,”
Detective Inspector Kay said.
“The doting mother and grandmother
did not just vanish one day; we know there is
someone out there who has information about where
she is.
“Police are calling on anyone who may
have information about her disappearance to contact
them to help provide some closure for her family,”
Detective Inspector Kay said.
Anyone from New South Wales or
interstate who can assist the investigation is urged
to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
**VERY IMPORTANT NOTE
- Many of the newspaper articles below state Sylvia
was last seen on Christmas Eve, this is INCORRECT -
she was last seen December 23rd 2008.
Appeal for information
on missing woman -
Sylvia Pajuczok
Monday, 05 Jan 2009
05:24am
NSW Police are renewing
an appeal for
information following
the disappearance of an
Eden grandmother who has
not been seen since
Christmas Eve.
Police say 53-year-old
Sylvia Pajuczok was
visiting family at the
small rural community of
Rockton, just north of
the Victorian border,
and was last seen on
Christmas Eve by a
friend.
Her green Toyota Tarago
was found on the side of
the Monaro Highway, 10km
south of Bombala, on 27
December 2008.
Ms Pajuczok’s family is
increasingly concerned
by her disappearance as
she has now been missing
for eleven days.
Police seek public help to
locate missing woman – Monaro
Monday, 29 Dec 2008
01:58pm
NSW Police from the Monaro Local Area Command are
seeking the public’s assistance to locate a
53-year-old woman whos disappeared in the State’s
south last week.
Sylvia Pajuczok was last seen on Wednesday 24
December at a home on the Monaro Highway at Bombala.
It’s believed that Sylvia left the home in her van,
a green Toyota Tarago.
The van (pictured above) was located by police on the side of the Monaro Highway around 10km south of Bombala on
Friday 26 December.
A search in the vicinity of where the car was
located involving police and volunteers however did
not locate the woman. Today a second search was held
involving Polair and police, again with no result.
Police and family hold concerns for her welfare as
her disappearance is out of character.
She is described as being of white/European
appearance, around 157cm tall, of slim build with
grey hair just past her shoulders.
Anyone with information about her whereabouts is
urged to contact Monaro Police or Crime Stoppers on
1800 333 000.
Police continue search
for missing 53-year-old
woman — Bombala
Wednesday, 14 Jan
2009 10:31am
Investigators from Strike Force Lerra are making a renewed
appeal for public
assistance in an attempt
to locate a woman who
went missing three weeks
ago in the far south of
New South Wales.
Investigators are
continuing their search
today for missing Eden
grandmother Sylvia
Pajuczok and have also
released another photo
in the hope that someone
may have seen her and
know her whereabouts.
Police, along with State
Emergency Service (SES)
volunteers, are
conducting further
searches around the
Bombala and Rockton
areas, including the
Monaro Highway and
Bombala Tip.
Along with the search
operation being
conducted today, police
envisage co-ordinating
additional searches in
the area over the next
few days.
Police have received
significant information
from members of the
public to date. However,
they are seeking further
assistance particularly
from people who may have
spent the Christmas
period in, or travelling
through, the Rockton or
Bombala areas.
The last reported
sighting of the
53-year-old was on
Christmas Eve by a
friend after visiting
family at a small rural
community at Rockton,
north of the Victorian
border.
While police continue to
investigate a number of
suspected sightings,
none have been
identified as being Ms
Pajuczok.
She is described as
being of white/European
appearance,
fair-skinned,
approximately 157cm
tall, with a thin build
and grey hair past her
shoulders.
Monaro Local Area
Commander, Acting
Superintendent Ian Davey,
said, “Fears for the
welfare of Ms Pajuczok
increase with every day
that passes and police
are seeking information
from anyone who may have
details of her
whereabouts or who saw
the green Toyota Tarago
on the side of the
Monaro Highway on
Christmas Eve.”
Members of the public
with information about
Ms Pajuczok’s
disappearance or
whereabouts are urged to
contact Crime Stoppers
on 1800 333 000.
Homicide Squad
detectives join
investigation into
grandmother’s
disappearance - Bombala
Thursday, 22 Jan
2009 02:21pm
Police from Monaro Local
Area Command assisted by
the State Crime
Command’s Homicide Squad
are continuing their
search for missing
grandmother Sylvia
Pajuczok.
Strike Force Lerra was
established to
investigate the
disappearance of Ms
Pajuczok after she went
missing on Christmas
Eve. She was last seen
at Rockton near the
Victorian border.
Ms Pajuczok’s green
Toyota Tarago was found
abandoned on the Monaro
Highway on 27 December
2008 near the
intersection of Mila
Road.
Investigators have this
week continued with
extensive ground
searches in the Rockton
area and a team of
Mounted Police. Police
Rescue Squad officers
will scour the Gulf Road
and Bondi Forest Way
areas today using all
terrain vehicles, with
the assistance of a
police cadaver dog.
Homicide Squad
Detectives are also
involved in the
investigation and have
assisted in interviewing
a number of witnesses.
Detective Inspector
Shane Box, Crime
Manager, Monaro Local
Area Command said, “Its
been nearly a month
since Sylvia’s
disappearance and as
time goes by, the
possibility that she has
met with foul play
increases.
“I continue to urge
anyone who may be able
to supply further
information regarding
Sylvia’s last known
movements to contact
police,” Detective
Inspector Box said.
“Members of the
community who may have
seen or heard something
suspicious over the
Christmas and New Year
periods are encouraged
to come forward. All
information received
will be dealt with in
the strictest
confidence.”
Anyone who can assist
investigators is urged
to contact Queanbeyan
Police Station on (02)
6298 0555 or Crime
Stoppers on 1800 333
000.
Police
to scale down missing woman
search
Posted
Mon Jan
26, 2009 12:44pm AEDT
Police say
they will wind down a search
this week for a woman who has
been missing on the New South
Wales Monaro since Christmas
Eve.
Sylvia Pajuczok, 59, from
Eden on the state's far south
coast, was last seen visiting
relatives at Rockton, south of
Bombala.
Her vehicle was found
abandoned on the Monaro Highway,
near Bombala, on Boxing Day.
Police using dogs and
State Emergency Service
volunteers searched properties
and dense forest area near
Rockton on the weekend.
Police detective Inspector
Shane Box from the Monaro area
command says the search for Ms
Pajuczok is not linked to other
alleged disappearances in the
area over the past two decades.
"It is a stand-alone
investigation," he said.
"There are a number of
rumours that we hear of course,
and in small communities the
word does get around - sometimes
it is the wrong information.
"All I can say is any
information that people wish to
give us, no matter how minute
they think it might be, it maybe
a crucial link in our
investigation."
Final
search for missing grandma
Posted
Wed Jan
28, 2009 2:09pm AEDT
Authorities
have confirmed that they have
received information indicating
that a missing New South Wales
far south coast grandmother is
dead.
Police have been searching
for Sylvia Pajuczok, 59, from
Eden, for more than a month
after she disappeared after
visiting relatives at Rockton,
in the Monaro border country.
Her van was later found
abandoned on Boxing Day near the
Monaro Highway, south of Bombala.
Detective Inspector Shane
Box says police will mount a
final search for Ms Pajuczok's
body in a national park on the
southern Monaro.
"I am not suggesting at
this stage that she has been
murdered, what I am suggesting
is that it is suspicious in its
nature, and by that I mean we
think - as investigators - it is
more than just a missing
person," he said.
"There is something a
little more suspicious, the word
'murder' is yet to be
determined.
"What has made it a
different focus is the different
information we have received and
different lines of inquiries
that I am unable to discuss."
Police believe
grandmother victim of
homicide
Thursday, 05 Feb
2009 04:25pm
Strike Force detectives
believe a missing
grandmother might be the
victim of a homicide and
are renewing their call
for information from the
public.
Monaro Local Area
Command (LAC)
established Strike Force
Lerra to investigate the
suspicious disappearance
of Sylvia Pajuczok after
she went missing on
Christmas Eve last year.
Investigators have been
joined by detectives
from the State Crime
Command’s Homicide Squad
as they continue their
inquiries.
Ms Pajuczok was last
seen at Rockton near the
Victorian border. Her
green Toyota Tarago was
found abandoned on the
Monaro Highway on
Saturday 27 December
2008 near the
intersection of Mila
Road.
Local and Homicide Squad
detectives are piecing
together Ms Pajuczok’s
last known movements,
and are continuing to
interview witnesses and
examine other evidence.
Detective Inspector
Shane Box, Monaro LAC
Crime Manager, said,
“This investigation is
being treated as a
homicide. We are now
focusing our attention
on Ms Pajuczok’s
movements on the days
immediately preceding
Christmas.
“The Monaro Highway is a
well-used main
thoroughfare and in the
lead-up to Christmas
there would have been a
number of people living
on the New South Wales –
Victorian border who
travelled on the
highway.
“I continue to urge
anyone who travelled
along the Monaro Highway
past Rockton on either
22, 23 or 24 December,
and who may have seen
the missing person or
her green Toyota Tarago,
to contact police,”
Detective Inspector Box
said.
“Members of the
community who saw any
suspicious activity or
odd vehicle movements on
the Monaro Highway on
those days prior to
Christmas are also
encouraged to come
forward. All information
received will be dealt
with in the strictest
confidence.”
Anyone who can assist
Strike Force Lerra
investigators is urged
to contact Queanbeyan
Police Station on (02)
6298 0555 or Crime
Stoppers on 1800 333
000.
Emotional appeal by family
of missing woman, feared murdered – Bombala
Tuesday, 29 Dec 2009
01:51pm
The children of missing woman, Sylvia Pajuczok, have
made an emotional, national plea for help to find
their mother on the first anniversary of her
disappearance from Bombala on the NSW south coast.
The 53-year-old mother of three and grandmother of
four vanished on Christmas Eve, 2008.
Ms Pajuczok’s green Toyota Tarago van was found
abandoned by the side of the Monaro Highway, around
10km south of Bombala, three days later.
Detectives from the Monaro Local Area Command fear
she’s been murdered.
She has not contacted anyone, her bank account has
not been accessed and personal belongings like her
glasses, clothes and mobile telephone were left
behind when she disappeared from a friend’s house.
Ms Pajuczok’s adult children, Belinda, Toni and Brad
are pleading with the public to come forward with
any information about their mother’s disappearance.
The movements of a white van, seen parked near the
home she’d been visiting at the time, could prove
crucial to the investigation.
The occupant/occupants of the van may have been
travelling from interstate at the time and
detectives want to talk to the driver to eliminate
them from the investigation.
The vehicle is described as a white van, perhaps a
Toyota HiAce and possibly a camper-style van.
Ms Pajuczok’s children describe her as a kind woman
who doted on her four grandchildren, including her
two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter, Madison, who
can’t comprehend her grandmother’s disappearance.
Madison’s mother, Belinda Hillier, can’t bring
herself to explain to the heartbroken toddler that
her beloved “grandma’ is thought to have met with
foul play.
“She (Madison) has a song she plays for grandma, she
has a star,” Belinda said,” She looks at grandma in
the sky every night and she cries when there are
clouds because there’s no grandma.
“I tell her grandma’s missing and we can’t find
her.”
The family doesn’t want to endure another Christmas
without knowing what happened.
“Christmas…what a time,” Sylvia’s daughter, Toni
Curtis, said, “We’re sure going to remember that
every year, aren’t we?
“My daughter just graduated (from) high school,
she’s turning 18 in two weeks and she just wanted
grandma to be there, you know.”
Ms Pajuczok’s disappearance is totally out of
character and highly suspicious in nature.
“Sylvia Pajuczok did not just vanish off the face of
the earth, somebody knows what has happened to her,”
Detective Acting Inspector, Tim Pieper, said.
“Please, if you know something, contact police and
help put an end to his heart-wrenching mystery,” the
Acting Monaro Crime Manager added.
Police have released video images and photographs,
including stills of the location where the white van
was last sighted, to the media in a bid to enlist
the public’s support,
Anyone from New South Wales or interstate who can
assist the investigation is urged to contact the
Monaro Local Area Command on (02) 6298 0599 or Crime
Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
“Anonymously or not, we don’t really care,” Sylvia’s
son, Brad Taylor, said, “We don’t really care who
calls up…we just want to find out where mum is.”
Information will be treated with the utmost
confidence.
White van clue in woman's
disappearance
PostedTue
Dec 29, 2009 2:26pm AEDT -
ABC
Detectives and family members of a woman who went
missing a year ago in southern New South Wales are
again appealing for public assistance to help find
out what happened to her.
Sylvia Pajuczok was 53 when she was last seen on
Christmas Eve in 2008.
The mother-of-three and grandmother-of-four lived in
Eden on the far south coast, but her abandoned van
was found further west on the Monaro Highway, about
10km south of Bombala.
She left her clothes, mobile phone and glasses at a
friend's house and has not touched her bank account.
Detectives fear she has been murdered.
They have released details of a white, possibly
camper-style van, that was seen parked on the Monaro
Highway near a home Ms Pajuczok had been visiting.
Police say the van's movements could prove cruical
to the investigation and detectives want to speak to
the driver.
Detective Sergeant Dave Kay, says they want to
eliminate the van from their investiagtions.
"Anyone who had a white van and they were travelling
the Monaro Highway between Bombala and Cann River on
the 24th dec 2008," he said.
"Or, if you had family who may've been travelling in
that area or anyone who owns a van, may've even lent
it to someone for a holiday or a drive we would like
to speak to them as well."
This morning Ms Pajuczok's adult children, Belinda,
Toni and Brad, released an appeal for infromation
about their mother's disappearance.
Anyone with information has urged to contact the
Monaro Local Area Command on (02) 6298 0599 or Crime
Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Police search
bush for remains of missing woman
January 6th
2010 - ABC
Police are searching
bushland in the south east of New South
Wales looking for the remains of a woman
who has been missing for more than a
year.
Sylvia Pajuczok, 53, vanished from
a friend's home at Rockton near Bombala
on Christmas Eve in 2008.
Her van was found abandoned on the
side of the Monaro Highway, south of
Bombala two days later.
The car was found to have had no
mechanical error, and the mother of
three left behind essential belongings
including her phone, clothes and reading
glasses.
Police and her family believe she
met with foul play.
Following a public appeal for
information last week, police, with the
use of cadaver dogs, are carrying out a
search of the nearby Bondi State Forest
for Ms Pajuczok's remains.
Rural Crime investigators on
horseback have also joined the search.
New search for missing
Eden grandmother
BY DAVID STOCKMAN
POLICE REPORTER -Canberra Times
07 Jan, 2010 10:48 AM
The effort to find missing Eden grandmother
Sylvia Pajuczok has moved to a detailed search of
forest area near where she was last seen.
Specialist police and cadaver dogs are being used in
the search of Bondi State Forest about 20km
south-west of Bombala with police hopeful of finding
the 53-year-old's remains.
Ms Pajuczok was last seen at a friend's house
in Rockton near the NSW border on Christmas Eve
2008.
Her green Toyota Tarago was found on the
Monaro Highway on December 27 last year about 10km
south of Bombala near the intersection with Mila
Road. A number of personal items including her
mobile phone, glasses and purse were left in the
van.
Her bank accounts have not been touched since
her disappearance nor has she been in contact with
family members.
The search comes just a week after an appeal
for information in the case, with Mrs Pajuczok's
three children hoping to find answers to the
mystery.
Detective Acting Inspector Tim Pieper said
while some calls had come in following the appeal,
the search was part of a continuing effort to bring
Mrs Pajuczok's family answers.
The search began on Monday, with police
scheduled to continue working in the area today.
Detective Pieper said police had not been
impeded by the difficult terrain or recent warm
weather in their search.
Those involved in the remote area search
included rural crime investigators on horseback and
uniformed officers.
A number of items have been found, which will
be forensically examined to determine whether they
are linked with Mrs Pajuczok's disappearance.
Anyone with information should phone Crime
Stoppers on 1800333000
Police still hope to find
missing woman's body
Updated
Mon Aug 1, 2011 8:11am AEST - ABC
Police say they have not given
up searching for the body of an Eden woman who
disappeared three years ago in southern New South
Wales.
Sylvia Pajuzok, 53, was last seen on Christmas
Eve 2008, shortly before her vehicle was found
abandoned south of Bombala.
Police believe she has been murdered and have
asked the state coroner to investigate.
Detective Sergeant Dave Kay says there is not
enough evidence to charge anyone with murder.
"The fact that we have to establish that she's
no longer alive is the natural step that we have to
take," he said.
"What the coroner does is look at all the
evidence that we've obtained and scrutinises it.
"He suggests other areas where we should be
looking before the coroner can even get to a stage,
without a body, deciding that someone is no longer
alive."
Mystery over NSW grandma's disappearance
Gemma
Khaicy
Yahoo
After
years
of
investigations
police
still
don't
know
what
happened
to a
grandmother
who
went
missing
in
NSW
on
Christmas
Eve
in
2008,
an
inquest
has
heard.
Sylvia
Pajuczok,
a
53-year-old
mother
of
three
and
grandmother
of
five,
vanished
from
a
friend's
house
in
Bombala
in
southern
NSW
more
than
five
years
ago.
Police
searched
the
area
surrounding
Ms
Pajuczok's
abandoned
van
but
failed
to
find
her
or
any
related
evidence
such
as
clothing
and
car
keys,
the
Glebe
Coroner's
Court
heard
on
Monday.
Counsel
assisting
the
coroner
told
the
inquest
she
probably
met
with
foul
play.
Friend
Rachel
Bush
says
the
lack
of
closure
has
been
"torture"
and
she
believes
Ms
Pajuczok
was
murdered.
"I
want
to
know
exactly
what
happened
to
her,
did
she
die
quickly
or
did
she
die
slowly?"
Ms
Bush
said
outside
court.
She
said
they
had
a
"pact"
to
help
each
other
through
difficult
times.
"She
wouldn't
put
us
through
this,
she
was
my
eyes
and
my
legs,"
Ms
Bush
said.
Ms
Pajuczok's
green
Toyota
Tarago
van
was
found
abandoned
by
the
Monaro
Highway,
10km
south
of
Bombala,
on
Christmas
Eve.
On
the
day
she
vanished,
she
had
been
staying
at
the
property
of
her
brother's
neighbour,
James
Hawes,
but
the
pair
argued
and
Ms
Pajuczok
left.
Mr
Hawes,
who
did
not
wish
to
comment
outside
the
court,
was
the
last
person
to
see
or
speak
to
the
grandmother.
Her
brother
Igor
was
in
Victoria
at
the
time
of
her
disappearance.
Police
have
offered
a
$100,000
reward
for
information
into
the
presumed
murder
of
Ms
Pajuczok.
The
inquest,
which
began
in
December,
has
been
adjourned
until
October.
Inquest
reopens
into
missing
New
South
Wales
south
coast
grandmother
Sylvia
Pajuczok
By court reporter Jamelle Wells ABC
Posted , updated
An
inquest
has
heard
police
have
been
unable
to
find
the
body
of a
New
South
Wales
grandmother
presumed
to
have
been
murdered
six
years
ago.
Sylvia
Pajuczok,
53,
was
last
seen
at a
male
friend's
home
at
Rockton,
near
Bombala,
on
the
NSW
far
south
coast
on
Christmas
Eve
in
2008.
Two
days
earlier
the
grandmother
of
five
had
driven
from
her
home
in
Eden
to
visit
her
brother
and
friends
in
the
Bombala
area.
Despite
an
extensive
search
and
$100,000
police
reward
for
information,
her
body
has
never
been
found.
The
inquest,
which
started
in
December
2013
but
later
adjourned
so
police
could
continue
their
inquiries,
is
being
heard
by
Coroner
Mark
Douglass.
Detective
Philip
McCloskey
told
Glebe
Coroners
Court further
searches
on
horseback
have
been
conducted
around
the
area
where
Ms
Pajuczok's
green
Toyota
Tarago
van
was
found
on
the
side
of
the
Monaro
Highway,
10km
south
of
Bombala
on
December
27,
2008.
He
said
nearby
creeks
have
been
searched
and
property
owners
in
the
area
have
been
questioned.
"We
physically
searched
abandoned
shacks
and
abandoned
wells...
there
was
nothing
there
to
be
found,"
Detective
McCloskey
told
the
court.
The
counsel
assisting
said
Ms
Pajuczok's
van
was
locked
with
many
of
her
personal
belongings
including
her
glasses,
cigarettes,
food
and
her
mobile
phone
left
inside.
He
said
her
car
keys
and
wallet
were
missing
and
she
had
probably
"met
with
foul
play".
The
inquest
also
heard
there
was
evidence
Ms
Pajuczok
was
suffering
from
an
emotional
or
psychological
disturbance
at
the
time
because
she
thought
her
phones
were
bugged.
The
coroner
adjourned
the
inquest
until
October
and advised
the
male
friend
who
last
saw
Ms
Pajuczok
alive
to
continue
to
have
legal
representation
when
the
inquest
continues.
Outside
court
Ms
Pajuczok's
long-time
friend
from
Eden,
Rachael
Bush,
said
she
was
a
gentle
person
and
not
knowing
what
has
happened
to
her
has
been
torture
for
her
friends
and
family.
"She
wasn't
in a
good
place,"
she
said.
"She
was
depressed
but
definitely
not
suicidal."
Ms
Bush
said
Ms
Pajuczok's
disappearance
was
out
of
character
and
asked
anyone
who
had
information
about
it
to
come
forward.
"This
has
been
a
long,
hard
process
and
we're
pretty
sure
she's
gone,"
she
said.
"There's
no
way
Sylvia
would
not
have
contacted
her
family
or
me
if
she
was
able
to
do
so."
Rachael Staunton-Bush was best friends with Eden
grandmother Sylvia Pajuczok, who disappeared
just before Christmas in 2008 from near
Rockton.
Nearly six years after Sylvia’s disappearance,
and with no Coronial Court finding as yet,
Rachael fears that people have forgotten her
friend.
She is determined to jog memories, and is
travelling the footprint between Eden, Bombala
and Bega in coming weeks, putting up a new
missing person’s poster, in the hope that
Sylvia’s case may be resolved.
Rachael has asked Fairfax Regional Media to help
her in her efforts.
RACHAEL'S STORY
Rachael Staunton-Bush of Eden experienced a
tragedy every parent fears, the death of a
child.
Her 17-year-old son Jason went surfing with four
mates and never came out of the water.
Dealing with Jason’s death shattered the mother
of five.
Throughout the years of grief she has since
suffered, Rachael managed to draw comfort and
support from her best friend of nearly 20 years,
Sylvia Pajuczok.
That was until Sylvia also went missing, just
before Christmas in 2008.
“She was a very beautiful person, she had a big
heart,” Rachael told the Magnet.
“I loved her to death.
“When I lost my boy, which was in 1999, we had
only been friends for about four years then, I
couldn’t physically look for my son.
“And they wouldn’t really let me anyway, I
suppose...
“I remember Sylvia said to me at the time,
‘Don’t worry, I’ll be your eyes and your legs.’
“In going through that together she was my rock,
she held my hand through the whole thing.”
Supporting each other through the grief, the
best friends made a pact with each other.
“If something happened to one of us, we would
make sure we would find a way to let each other
know where we were.
“We both knew how it felt to not have a body to
put to rest, there’s no closure.
“The grieving process never stops.”
Rachael’s grief for her best friend Sylvia,
missing now for nearly six years, remains fresh.
“The hard bit for me has been to drive past her
house, nearly every day, just round the corner
from me.
“It’s in my face all the time.
“Sylvia and Grace (Rachael’s daughter) planted a
tree in the front yard. I remember that every
time I see that tree.”
Sylvia is godmother to Grace, mother to three
children and grandmother to five, the youngest
of whom she has never met.
It was Rachael and her family who first found
Sylvia’s abandoned Tarago on the Road between
Rockton and Bombala, just after Christmas Day in
2008.
According to Rachael, Sylvia had travelled to
the remote area to spend a quiet Christmas on a
relative’s property at Rockton.
She did not make contact with her children or
friends on Christmas Day.
No one could reach her on the landline or mobile
phone.
Alarmed, Rachael and her family drove up to
Rockton, and discovered the Tarago, but no
Sylvia.
Extensive searches and investigations by Police
since have uncovered no further trace of Sylvia.
Appeals to the public for anyone who may have
been travelling from interstate on those roads
over Christmas have failed to solve the mystery
of her disappearance.
The Coroner’s Court has met a number of times in
the interceding years, and will meet again in
Bombala on October 20, 2014.
“People just forget,” Rachael said.
“I don’t want this to happen with Sylvia.
“None of us are in a really good place, none of
us will ever be ‘normal’ again.
“I don’t think we will ever find her…so long as
we can get some justice for her at least we have
done something.”
Anyone with any information on Sylvia Pajuczok’s
disappearance are asked to call Crime Stoppers
on 1800 333 000.
An inquest into the disappearance of Eden
grandmother Sylvia Pajuczok in July heard police
are still no closer to finding out what happened
to her.
Ms Pajuczok, 53, went missing from a friend’s
home in Rockton, near Bombala, on Christmas Eve
in 2008 and is presumed to have been murdered,
but her body has never been found.
Police offered a $100,000 reward for information
on the case and launched a fresh search of
farmland and waterways in the area earlier this
year, but found no new leads.
At the time of her disappearance, an extensive
ground search involving the police rescue squad
and a police cadaver dog was conducted.
The inquest into her disappearance reopened in
Sydney’s Glebe Coroners Court after being
adjourned to allow police to continue their
investigation, and has again been adjourned
until October.
Unfinished business in Bombala
search for Sylvia Pajuczok
Eden's
Rachael Bush knows what it's
like to lose people she
loves, and after five years
since her best friend Sylvia
Pajuczok went missing, she's
returning to where it all
happened to remind locals
and hopefully uncover fresh
information.
When Rachael
Bush's son went missing at
sea 15 years ago, it was her
friend Sylvia Pajuczok who
provided emotional support
and helped look for him.
Nine years on
in 2008, Ms Pajuczok herself
went missing somewhere
between Rockton and Bombala
on the New South Wales far
south coast.
"It's a
double whammy for me and my
family," Ms Bush says.
"She looked
for [my son for] me and I
haven't been able to do
anything for her to find
her, and now I'm at the
stage where we need to speak
out and get Sylvia back into
people's minds."
So she's
travelled back to Bombala -
a place she says she had no
desire to go back to after
discovering Sylvia's
abandoned Tarago in December
2008.
She's driving
a car covered in posters
featuring the most recent
photos of Sylvia and will be
encouraging locals to speak
out if they have any
information on her friend's
disappearance.
"It amazes me
how people still don't want
to get involved when it can
mean finding the perpetrator
of a murder enquiry," she
says.
"I'm hoping
some Bombala locals will
talk to me and the pictures
will jog a few things they
may have seen or heard.
"I want her
to be in their face so they
can't ignore it anymore."
Despite an
extensive search and a
$100,000 police reward for
information, Sylvia's body
has never been found.
Ms Bush says
she's been impressed with
the level of work done by
police in investigating her
friend's disappearance, but
she's become frustrated with
the lack of answers.
Detectives
have said it's likely Sylvia
had met with foul play.
"When you
don't have a body for
closure you forever live
with everyone's assumptions
until you know they're
dead," Ms Bush says.
"It's it ten
times harder - you're pretty
sure of what happened but
you never really know."
Missing person: Family seeks closure from
coronial inquest
Every day, four-year-old Charlie
Hillier asks questions about the
grandmother she has never met.
They are questions to which her own
mother, Belinda Hillier, has no
answers.
Mrs Hillier is the daughter of Eden
woman Sylvia Pajuczok who was last
seen alive on December 23, 2008,
while visiting a friend at Rockton,
near Bombala.
While it is presumed the 53-year-old
grandmother was murdered, her body
has never been found.
Speaking to the Magnet, Mrs Hillier,
38, of Sydney, said because of the
circumstances surrounding her
mother's disappearance it was
impossible to answer Charlie's
questions, or those of her eldest
daughter, Maddison, who was only a
toddler at the time.
"There are no answers," Mrs Hillier
said on Monday. "It's horrible and
it's very hard."
"Only yesterday, Charlie wanted to
know why we couldn't put a ladder up
to heaven so grandma could climb
down and be with us."
A coronial inquiry into Ms
Pajuczok's disappearance will resume
on October 20 in Bombala.
It has been set down for four days
and it will be the first time that
hearings have been held outside
Sydney.
"I believe the move [to Bombala] can
only benefit our long time mystery,"
Mrs Hillier said.
"It will mean that Mum's
disappearance will be right in the
faces of the people of Bombala.
"It's a small town, the arrival of
the coroner from Sydney to
investigate will be a big thing,"
she said.
Mrs Hillier also believes it will be
beneficial for the coroner to gain
an understanding of the geographical
nature of the district - as well as
its psyche.
"When he sees where Mum's Tarago was
found [abandoned on the Monaro
Highway between Rockton and Bombala
on December 27, with her handbag,
glasses and cigarettes locked
inside] he will know that it wasn't
a case of her stepping out of the
car and, for example, accidentally
falling," she said.
Mrs Hillier is full of praise for
the detectives who have worked long
and hard on the case involving her
mother's disappearance, and also the
coroner's office.
"I can feel their frustration," she
said. "They want to find answers for
us and also themselves."
"At the end of the day they are also
husbands and wives, fathers and
mothers, sons and daughters, who
have missed birthdays, anniversaries
and school concerts all because they
have been tied up on my Mum's case.
"Millions of dollars and countless
hours have been devoted to it."
Mrs Hillier believes someone in
Bombala knows something.
A person of interest has been
identified and she believes he will
be asked to appear before the
coroner.
With all hope of finding her mother
alive all but over, Mrs Hillier's
wish now is for her body to be
found.
"I would love to be able to lay her
to rest," she said.
"I would love to be able to finally
say goodbye.
"I will never give up hope of that
happening."
Bombala inquest into suspected death of
Sylvia Pajuczok hears foul play likely
The inquest into the suspected death
of Eden grandmother Sylvia Pajuczok
in December 2008 has resumed in
Bombala with three witnesses giving
evidence on Monday morning.
In an opening address before
Magistrate Mark Douglass, Senior
Counsel Ian Bourke told the court
that the evidence at the Sydney
hearings last year did not support
the theory that Ms Pajuczok had
committed suicide or had "wandered
off".
Mr Bourke said the evidence pointed
to her having met with foul play on
or
around December 23 or 24, 2008.
He said more than 200 witness
statements had been taken and
extensive physical searches of the
Rockton area - by foot, on horses
and trail bikes, from helicopters,
and with tracker dogs - had failed
to find any trace of her.
Ms Pajuczok - who had been married
and divorced twice and was living
off a disability support pension -
was staying between properties owned
by her brother, Igor Pajuczok, and
James 'Jim' Hawes at Rockton, near,
Bombala, when she disappeared.
Earlier in December 2008 Ms Pajuczok
had phoned her brother, asking to
spend Christmas with him because she
was frightened someone in Eden was
after her.
But Mr [Igor] Pajuczok was planning
to spend Christmas in Melbourne, so
suggested she stay with Mr Hawes.
The first person to give evidence on
Monday was Adele Cameron of Towamba,
near Eden, who had been in a
romantic relationship with Mr Hawes
around 2009-2010.
Ms Cameron recalled being at Mr
Hawes' place one night for dinner
when a man by the name of Chris
Murdoch showed up uninvited.
She said Mr Murdoch had had a few
drinks and during "chit chat" at the
kitchen table mentioned that Mr
Hawes had been the last person to
see Ms Pajuczok on Christmas Eve,
2008.
The dinner had taken place near the
anniversary of Ms Pajuczok's
disappearance, she said.
Ms Cameron said Mr Murdoch wasn't in
a very good mood and it "wasn't
nice" the way he had brought it up.
"Jim didn't look very happy about
it," she said, adding that she could
tell by the look on his face.
When she later asked Mr Hawes what
Mr Murdoch had been talking about he
admitted to her that Mr Pajuczok had
been at his place on Christmas Eve,
and that the pair had had a row, and
he told her to leave.
Mr Hawes told her the police were
out to get him, she said.
"He told me he was [a suspect]," she
said.
In evidence, Mr Murdoch conceded
that he may have said something
along the lines of "look under the
bed for an axe" to Ms Cameron in
order to "stir" Mr Hawes the night
of the dinner.
He said that his partner, Barbara
Fox, was in hospital in Canberra
during December 2008 and early
January 2009.
Mr Murdoch said he visited Ms Fox in
hospital on December 24 because it
was her birthday.
He said he was at home on December
23 and had phoned Ms Fox at 9.54pm.
When questioned as to why he was
able to be so precise about the time
of the phone call, Mr Murdoch said
he had checked his phone records
with Telstra "a week or so back".
Mr Burke asked him if he had wanted
to have an "alibi".
He said he was "just interested" in
where he was.
Ms Fox also gave evidence; she said
that she and another woman had
played matchmakers between Mr Hawes
and Ms Cameron as she knew Ms
Cameron was seeking a relationship.
She said Mr Hawes had been going
around the neighbours giving his
version of events.
He said he felt persecuted by police
who were making him out to be guilty
of an offence he was in no way
guilty of, she said.
Mr Hawes had told her that he and Ms
Pajuczok had had an argument, that
he had been drinking, she had got on
his nerves, and when he told her to
leave, she did.
Magistrate Douglass adjourned the
hearings at lunchtime Monday to
enable him to visit some sites of
interest in the Rockton area.
The inquest resumes Tuesday.
Sylvia Pajuczok inquest: Not enough evidence for
murder charge
Police are reiterating their
call for information into the
disappearance and presumed
murder of Sylvia Pajuczok in
2008.
They are offering a $100,000
reward for information into the
case.
The 53-year-old mother of three
and grandmother of five vanished
on Christmas Eve from a friend’s
house in Bombala.
She has not been seen or heard
from since, and her bank account
has not been accessed.
Ms Pajuczok’s green Toyota
Tarago van was found abandoned
by the side of the Monaro Hwy,
10km south of Bombala.
The movements of a white van
described as a Toyota Hiace,
seen parked near the home Ms
Pajuczok had been visiting at
the time, are the subject of
police investigations.
The occupant/occupants of the
van may have been travelling
from interstate at the time and
detectives want to talk to the
driver to eliminate them from
the investigation.
Someone in the community knows
what happened to Ms Pajuczok,
now is the time to come forward
with information to help solve
the mystery that has haunted her
family for nearly seven years.
Police would like nothing more
than for someone to come forward
with the
information needed to
find the person or
people responsible for
her disappearance and
presumed murder.
This case will remain
active until it is
solved.
Ms Pajuczok’s
disappearance is totally
out of character as she
would always be in
regular contact with her
family and friends.
Investigators have been
following a number of
lines of inquiries and
are still treating Ms
Pajuczok’s disappearance
as suspicious.
The doting mother and
grandmother did not just
vanish one day; police
know there is someone
out there who has
information about where
she is.
If you have any
information that may
assist police report
online at
www.nsw.crimestoppers.com.au or
call Crime Stoppers on
1800 333 000. You can
remain anonymous.
