Paul Wright was 27-years-old when he was last seen leaving his home address in Rosanna in September 2003.
Police and Paul’s family have been searching for him over the past 16 years, but all enquiries have proved to be unsuccessful.
When Paul left home, he was driving his blue 1991 Nissan Pintara sedan registered EMI 944 which has never been located.
He did work in the security business and may still have some involvement in the industry.
Police are aware that Paul, who would now be aged 43, sometimes used another name, Brien Hunter and may be living under that name or another alias.
Paul’s family have never given up looking for him and are appealing to him or anyone who may know of his whereabout to contact police.
Investigators have released two images, one of
Paul in 2003 and a progressively aged image, adding
approximately 15 years to his appearance, in the
hope someone can provide information on his current
whereabouts.
Anyone who sees Paul or who can provide information on his whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
'I'm sorry, I let you down': Father's plea to help find son 17 years on
By Erin Pearson - SMH
Nick Wright has never given up hope of finding his missing boy.
For 17 years his family has chased down every possible lead and lived with the hope of one day being reunited.
But the heartbroken family also fear they may never see Paul Wright again after the-then 27-year-old vanished from Rosanna in September 2003 following a minor run-in with the law.
“People may say ‘Oh let it go, it's been 17 years, let sleeping dogs lie’, but you can't," Mr Wright said. "Not a day goes by when we don't think about him.”
Mr Wright came into Paul's life when he was just two and soon became his adoptive father.
He said Paul was a good kid but when he reached high school he began to get himself into trouble.
In 2003, shortly before he vanished, Paul fell foul of the law and was charged with a minor offence.
"His barrister was very out there and said 'Look, you could go to jail with this’ and that prompted a great deal of fear in Paul," Mr Wright said.
"He was very, very worried, really nervous about the whole situation. I said 'No we’ll be fine, he's got to tell you that stuff', but he was fearful.
“Unfortunately at that time we'd been at loggerheads for some time. I was just trying to do the right thing as a parent but I was arrogant, I was stupid, I was ignorant. I did not realise, maybe I dismissed it.
“Fairly soon after that he went missing."
Mr Wright said Paul left behind everyone, including his heartbroken mother Jenny, younger brother Hayden and his Rottweiler Georgia.
The family, who moved from Melbourne to Ocean Grove about six years ago, now spend holidays searching for faces in the crowd in the hope that one day they'll be reunited with their boy.
In December the family flew to Queensland after an Aldi worker saw Paul's missing person photo and thought she recognised him as a regular customer.
Mr Wright said they sat in the car park, like undercover detectives, waiting for the man to arrive. But they soon realised it wasn't their Paul.
“That was the hardest part. I don’t think I’d cried since I was six and I wailed. And I still do," he sobbed.
“The first thing I'd say to Paul is 'I'm sorry, I let you down'. I’m a tradesman, I like to fix things, but I can't fix this."
Police said Paul was last seen in September 2003, driving from his Rosanna home in his blue 1991 Nissan Pintara sedan, with number plates EMI 944. The car has never been found.
On Wednesday, police released a digitally altered image of the missing man in the hope someone may recognise him.
Banyule Detective Senior Constable Cameron Robinson said while police had never closed the missing person case, they'd never been able to establish what happened to Paul, who would now be 43.
They do believe though, he may be living under an alias somewhere in Australia.
“We’re not ruling out foul play but we're also not ruling out the fact that Paul might have decided to take up a life somewhere else,” he said.
“At some point in time he was using the name Brien Hunter. There's no information that's come to light to indicate where he may be.”
Anyone who sees Paul or who can provide information on his whereabouts should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
August 22nd 2021