Someone knows something: investigators baffled over mystery disappearances

They are among thousands of people in Australia who have disappeared without a trace.

Around 38,000 Australians are reported missing each year, and many are found quickly, but more than 2,500 families live with the grief of waiting for a long-term missing person to come home.

It's an agonising wait for many families who hope that a piece of information from the public will be the key to finding their loved one.

The Australian Federal Police has launched a campaign on National Missing Persons Week 2024, which runs from July 28 to August 3, to find new information on these cases.

Anyone with information that may assist police is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that this article may contain images of deceased persons.

Karen Anne Morton was 35 years old and living with her partner and their two children when she went missing from her Pennington home in Adelaide on May 1, 2002.

Ms Morton was reported missing by her father on May 27, 2002, with the last confirmed sighting of her at a doctor's surgery in the neighbouring suburb of Alberton on April 5, 2002. She was an insulin-dependent diabetic and suffered frequent hypoglycaemic attacks.

Neighbours reported seeing Ms Morton at her Pennington home after that time in early May 2002, though the sighting was not confirmed. She has had no contact with friends, family or government or medical agencies since her disappearance, and Crime Stoppers alleged that she also sought help regarding domestic violence with her partner.

Investigators connected one suspect in the disappearance of Ms Morton with the 2009 disappearance of Whyalla man Henry "Harry" Houston. Neither missing person knew the other but both were closely associated with the suspect.

Born in 1967, she would now be 56 years old and was described as being 165 centimetres tall, Caucasian, with a slim build and numerous tattoos on her legs and arms. Police believe Ms Morton was murdered and a reward of $200,000 is offered.

Barry Wood had planned to watch musician Paul Kelly in concert on Mindil Beach Casino's lawn in Darwin on the night he disappeared.

He was last seen between 6pm and 6.30pm on September 29, 2001 when he told his flatmate that he'd be out for the night.

He was reportedly in "good health and spirits", Northern Territory Police said.

But when his housemate came home that night he found that Mr Wood was gone but his belongings remained, including his passport and will.

Mr Wood would be 68 years old in 2024. He was described as 180 centimetres tall, with a slim build, brown eyes and grey, brown hair.

David Abuoi, born in 1977, was visiting friends in Canberra and had recently moved from Sydney to the ACT. He was last seen on the morning of July 10, 2012 in Canberra.

Mr Abuoi typically stayed at Bega and Allawah Flats in Canberra, and police received information that he also used the name Gabrielle and/or Malak.

Mr Abuoi was around 35 years old when he went missing and would now be 47 years old. He is described as being 175 centimetres tall with a thin build, black hair and brown eyes.

Though there is little information on the disappearance of Mr Abuoi, police said they had serious concerns for his welfare.

Ellen Wilson was 54 years old when she disappeared from outside a pub in Ballina on NSW's north coast on September 11, 2015.

The disability worker had planned to meet a friend the following day but, when she didn't show, was reported missing.

Police have been unable to find her silver 2006 Subaru Forrester station wagon, bearing NSW registration plates CB-76-QX, but believe it could hold valuable clues.

Ms Wilson, who would now be 63 years old, was described as 165 centimetres tall, with a medium build, light hair and blue eyes.

On June 2, 2009 at 8pm, 23-year-old Andrew Russell reportedly left a home on Slim Street in Bathurst, NSW saying he was going to visit family.

But 15 years later Mr Russell has not been seen again.

Police have investigated and searched "extensively" for the young man, with no luck, and in 2015 a Coronial Inquest found he was likely killed around the time he disappeared.

A $750,000 reward has been offered for anyone with information that leads to the recovery of Mr Russell's body.

"In the years since his disappearance, we have searched extensively to determine what happened to him, and we will continue until we know the facts and bring him home," Chifley superintendent Paul McDonald said.

"We know someone knows exactly what happened to Andrew and we believe there are others who can help us find him.

"Those people now have 750,000 reasons to come forward and allow his family to lay him to rest with the dignity and respect Andrew deserves," he said.

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