Police find clothing in search of Illawarra bush for remains of Pauline Sowry, last seen in 1994

The son of a woman who vanished three decades ago has begged for answers ahead of Christmas, following revelations police found clothing during a search of bushland.

A white 1968-model Holden HK Kingswood sedan like the one police believe Pauline Sowry was travelling in.

The son of a woman who vanished three decades ago has begged for answers ahead of Christmas, following revelations police found clothing that may have belonged to the missing mother while searching bushland in the Illawarra region.

NSW Police released images of a blouse and black pants on Monday, when they announced they had found the items while searching bushland at the top of O’Brien’s Rd, Wollongong, for the remains of Pauline Sowry.

Ms Sowry, who was also known by her married name of Pauline Lawrence, was 49 when her family last saw her in the northern suburbs of Wollongong in December 1993.

There was subsequently an unconfirmed sighting of her the following year.

A coronial inquest in 2008 found Ms Sowry died but her remains have never been found, and police established Strike Force Anthea to re-examine the circumstances surrounding her disappearance in 2022.

The pants found during a search of bushland.

Pauline Sowry, also known by her married name of Pauline Lawrence, with son Jason Lawrence. Picture: Supplied

Officers searched the Illawarra escarpment at Figtree in March and May last year, as well as in October, as part of investigations into her suspicious disappearance.

Police revealed on Monday that, as a result of the three searches, a number of clothing items had been found and seized.

The blouse that may have belonged to Pauline Sowry. Picture: NSW Police

They included a cream button-down long sleeve blouse, with a coloured stitching design, and black pants.

Southern Region Assistant Commissioner Joe Cassar said a $500,000 reward for information, announced in March, had been the “catalyst” behind the decision to search the area where the clothing was found.

“As you can appreciate, we did get a number of calls from members of the public,” he said.

“Oe those lines of inquiries has led us up to that location, which has subsequently resulted in a number of searches.

Police have found clothing items in a search of bushland in the Illawarra.

Pauline Sowry was 49 when she went missing.

“Those searches in the bushland are quite difficult.

“We did pinpoint certain locations which resulted in excavations occurring, and we were able to locate it.”

Mr Cassar said because of the length of time the clothing had been exposed to the elements, forensic investigations had been unable to identify any DNA linked to Ms Sowry.

“We are interested in anyone that may have information as to how these items of clothing got into this location or in fact whether they’d seen Pauline wearing these items of clothing,” he said.

Police searching for remains in bushland at Figtree. Picture: NSW Police

He also described the clothing as potentially “a crucial piece” in the investigation as police look to to determine Ms Sowry’s final movements.

“We are releasing these images (of the clothing) to try to jog someone’s memory,” he said.

“The clothing includes some hand stitching in coloured cotton, and we know Pauline was known for altering both her and her children’s clothing,.

“We are not ruling out further searches, as we continue to investigate the circumstances of Pauline’s disappearance.

“(Her) family deserve to know what happened to her and to get some closure following her disappearance.”

Mr Cassar told reporters Ms Sowry had just gone through a divorce at the time of her disappearance, which was believed to be associated with her links to “a bad crowd”.

“I can tell you that at the time of her disappearance, Pauline had just recently gone through a divorce,” he said.

“She did come into some money as a result of the divorce settlement and we believe that may have been the catalyst to her disappearance.”

Ms Sowry’s son, Jason Lawrence, said his family did not want to spend “another Christmas not knowing what happened to Mum”.

“We deserve to know what happened to her and to give her a proper send-off and lay her to rest,” Mr Lawrence said.

“We know someone out there knows something.

“Aas you prepare to spend Christmas with your own family, we are pleading for you to come forward and give us some closure, by knowing what happened to my beloved mum.”

In addition to the reward announced in March, police issued an appeal for information in May regarding a vehicle Ms Sowry may have been travelling in, south of Wollongong, around the time of her disappearance.

It was described as a white 1968-model Holden HK Kingswood sedan, which was said to be in ‘pristine’ condition.

Ms Sowry is one of hundreds of women missing from NSW.

The Daily Telegraph recently highlighted a devastating list of 64 women who went missing or were murdered along the NSW north coast since 1970 and could have been the victims of one or more serial killers operating in the area.

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