Fresh calls for information on missing Tasmanians during National Missing Persons Week

THE family of a man who went missing in Hobart almost 16 years ago is still seeking answers about why he disappeared.

Sisters Jo Fisher, 38, of Glenorchy, left, Rose Mazurek, 22, of West Moonah, and Bek Morris, 33, of Howrah, and their family are still seeking answers to the disappearance of their brother, Jason Mazurek, in 2002. The sisters are siting on a bench dedicated to him at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

THE family of a man who went missing in Hobart almost 16 years ago is still seeking answers about why he disappeared without explanation.

Jason Mazurek was last seen on CCTV footage leaving the Wrest Point Casino in Sandy Bay about 2am on September 15, 2002.

His oldest sister Jo Fisher, who he was living with in Glenorchy at the time, said he’d gone to the casino to celebrate the local hockey grand final with one of his five sisters and best friend.

“I told him to have fun and behave, he ducked his head around the door about seven times before leaving to say ‘goodbye and I love ya’, that was the last time I saw him,” Ms Fisher said.

Jason Mazurek went missing in 2002.

Mr Mazurek had only recently moved from Bushy Park and was unfamiliar with the Hobart city area at the time of his disappearance.

Ms Fisher, 38, said she realised something was wrong when he did not come home.

“He’d never ever not come home, he would even call to let us know if he was going to be five minutes late,” she said.

“I know he wouldn’t do this to us, that’s not Jason. I think he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and saw something that he wasn’t supposed to see.

“We just hope someone, somewhere, remembers something and comes forward. It would mean everything to have some closure after all this time. It’s left a hole in our lives.”

Another of Mr Mazurek’s sisters Bek Morris, 33, told the Sunday Tasmanian not knowing what happened to her older brother was the “worst feeling in the world”.

“You go through so many emotions, but that feeling of the unknown, the constant whys and what ifs, they never leave you,” she said.

“All we’re searching for is some answers. We’re not out to blame anyone, we’ve moved past that, we just want to understand the emptiness and officially say goodbye.”

Jason Mazurek’s mother Eva, left, and sister Jessica made an impassioned plea for information shortly after he disappeared in 2002.

Mr Mazurek’s youngest sister, Rose Mazurek, was just seven at the time of his disappearance.

She thinks about her “best friend” every day.

“He took care of me, he gave me piggy backs around the house, and then one day I woke up and he wasn’t there,” she said.

“I still don’t understand why he’s not here with us, he was the nicest person and all he wanted to do was take care of others.”

All we’re searching for is some answers. We’re not out to blame anyone, we’ve moved past that, we just want to understand the emptiness and officially say goodbye.

Mr Mazurek, now aged 36, was last seen wearing stone wash blue jeans, a white short sleeved shirt and sandy coloured Colorado shoes.

He has brown hair, brown eyes, olive skin and a tattoo on his upper left arm and a tribal tattoo on his back.

With the start of National Missing Persons Week today, families, police and advocacy groups are turning the spotlight on the hundreds of unsolved cases across the country.

The Missing Persons Advocacy Network, which has a branch in Tasmania, has partnered with 20 Melbourne cafes to raise awareness.

The cafes will serve takeaway coffee in artist-designed biodegradable cups with portraits of six long-term missing people on them.

Two of the people featured are Tasmanians Nazrawi ‘Naz’ Woldemichael, of Hobart, and Nicola Sallese, of Sheffield.

MPAN Founder and CEO Loren O’Keeffe said the Unmissable coffee cup campaign allowed families to reinvigorate their search for a missing loved one.

“Back in the 80s they use to have milk cartons for missing persons, so we thought we’d come up with a modern take on the old milk carton campaigns,” she said.

“Ultimately, it’s something we’d love to roll out nationally next year. There are many many families that need help trying to engage the public.”

Nazrawi Woldemichael was last seen in October 2016.

Hobart arts student ‘Naz’ Woldemichael was last seen on October 9, 2016.

Despite intensive searching and ongoing inquiries, there have been no confirmed sightings of the 20-year-old since.

His older brother Promise Tekeste, 25, said he remains hopeful Mr Woldemichael will return home.

“He always shows up in my dreams and I’ve kept faith that he’ll come back,” Mr Tekeste said.

“There hasn't been any fresh information for a while and we feel like we’re in the dark. It’s been difficult, we can't sleep and we don't have peace of mind.

“There’s was so signs or reason that he’d want to leave. He was a really easygoing, quiet guy.

“I’m hoping the coffee cups bring more awareness and someone comes forward with more information, not matter how small or insignificant they think it might be.”

Mr Woldemichael is thin, about 170cm tall, with curly short black hair.

Nicola (Nick) Sallese went missing in November 2008.

Beloved Sheffield father and grandfather Nicola Sallese, who disappeared in November 2008, will also be shown on the coffee cups.

The 69-year-old was last seen driving his silver Toyota Camry down Main St, Sheffield, before he vanished without a trace.

He is described as 150cm tall, stocky, with some close-cropped white hair and a moustache. He was last seen wearing a green pullover and a blue driving cap.

Tasmania Police Missing Persons co-ordinator, Constable Andrew Lockley, said about 125 people were reported missing in the state each year, with about 99 per cent of those people located within 48 hours.

In Tasmania there are 163 people listed as missing since 1955. “Over the coming days, I urge people to take a look around for Missing Persons Week profiles, particularly on social media, look at the faces of our missing people and keep the families of those missing in their thoughts,” Constable Lockley said.

“The impact on families and friends left behind when someone goes missing is significant. Families always deserve answers to what happened to their loved ones and police will not close a missing person case until the answers are found.”

To report a family member as missing in Tasmania, interstate or overseas, contact Tasmania Police on 131 444 or 000 in an emergency. You can also visit www.mpan.com.au