Anna Banitskas’ heartbroken family search for answers 40 years after her disappearance
UPDATE: THE family of a teenage girl who disappeared 40 years ago has appealed for public help to solve the mystery that has haunted them for decades.
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THE family of a teenage girl who disappeared 40 years ago has appealed for public help to solve the mystery that has haunted them for decades.
Annastaes “Anna” Banitskas was 15-years-old the last time her family saw her in 1974.
It was around 7am on August 27 when she left her Lalor home in Melbourne’s northern suburbs to catch a bus to work at Rolex Paper Products in Thomastown.
She never arrived and has not been seen since.
It was initially believed Anna had run away with a boyfriend.
But four decades on and her family still have no answers.
“It’s the not knowing that’s the worst,” Anna’s sister Loretta Pantou said.
“There are so many options for what could have happened. Did she meet with foul play? Did she choose to leave? Questions like that keep you up at night. Our family has no closure.”
In their desperate bid to get answers, they even went to a psychic who lead them to a street in Dandenong where they doorknocked every house to no avail.
“When your desperate for answers you’ll do anything,” Ms Pantou said.
Ms Pantou and her brothers, Chris and Peter Banitskas, have joined police in a fresh appeal on the anniversary of their sister’s disappearance, in hope someone will come forward with a key piece of information to solve the case.
They hold hope she is still alive and had intentions of running away for a short period because on the day she left she took photos from a family album.
She had told her mother she wanted to show the pictures to some friends.
Anna was the second eldest of four children for Sotirios and Despina Banitskas.
The couple, both in their 70s, wanted to take part in the appeal but ailing health prevailed.
“It’s been hard — more for my parents,” Anna’s older brother Chris said. “They are getting old. They want answers.”
He urged anyone who knows what happened to his sister — or if Anna was still alive — to contact police.
“Now it’s time for her, if she’s out there, please show your face. Not for us, for mum and dad,” he said.
The Banitskas family had immigrated to Australia seeking a better life only three years before Anna went missing.
Struggling financially, Anna decided to give up her Year 9 studies at Lalor Technical School and work in a factory to help support her parents and siblings.
Her siblings recalled her being a “happy go lucky girl” who would always be dancing and singing around the house to the radio.
During an appeal on another anniversary several years ago, police revealed they were looking for an associate of Anna’s who was believed to be working for Michael Brothers Builders at a Kingsway Drive building site in Lalor near her home at the time of her disappearance.
Detective Senior Constable Craig Hall said they were still investigating that lead.
He said they had only managed to identify the company’s owner recently and that he was now elderly, but police were making arrangements with his son to speak with him.
He said the man is not a person of interest but that he may be able to help to determine who he employed and whether one of those workers had a relationship with Anna.
“There was a building across the road from where Anna grew up and we just want to know who he had employed working with him,” he said.
Det-Sen-Constable Hall added: “Anna had some interest with the building site that was at the rear of her bedroom and her parents nominated that as (being connected to) a potential person that might have been in the area at the time.”
He said it was unknown what relationship Anna had with this person.
As part of the investigation, police have interviewed work colleagues, family associates and former school friends, with no leads, he said.
“We know it’s been a long time, but we still believe there is someone out there with information relating to Anna’s case,” Det-Sen Constable Hall said.
“Any piece of information, big or small, could help us bring closure to Anna’s family.”
Anna was last seen wearing grey pants, a white jumper and brown shoes on the day of her disappearance.
Anyone with any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au