Stories of two men who vanished in Hobart outlined in new book after 10-year labour of love

“They’re ordinary people and something terrible has happened to them”: The stories of two men who disappeared in Hobart are revealed in a new book by one of the nation’s foremost advocates.

Nicole Morris has spent decades communicating with the families of missing persons. Picture: Supplied

Jason Mazurek was a young man of 20 when he disappeared after a night on the town in Hobart.

He’d been at Regines nightclub at the Wrest Point Casino with his sister and some friends when he vanished in the early hours of September 15, 2002.

Seventeen years earlier, 32-year-old dad Billy Steffen had been visiting a Zen Buddhist retreat when he also disappeared without a trace in 1985.

He’d been planning to visit the casino too, or to climb kunanyi / Mt Wellington – but in an era before widespread CCTV or mobile phones, it’s unlikely we’ll ever know where he ended up.

Both men have since been declared deceased by Tasmanian coroners, who haven’t been able to determine exactly how, when or where they died.

For their families, the pain of not knowing has led to decades of unresolved grief.

Nicole Morris, who runs what is likely the most comprehensive directory of every long-term missing persons case in Australia, hopes her new book might be able to connect some of the missing puzzle pieces.

Ms Morris has been running for Australian Missing Persons Register for 18 years, and is about to release her book Vanished – True stories from families of Australian missing persons, on June 7.

The book details 10 cases dating back to 1979, including the Tasmanian cases of Mr Mazurek and Mr Steffen.

Jason Mazurek disappeared from the Wrest Point Casino in 2002.

Ms Morris said she’d spent 10 years researching and writing the book, with a focus on honouring the work done by the families left behind.

“It seems a common thread among missing persons that it’s the brothers and sisters that take on the role of doing the practical work, liaising with police and making appeals to the public,” she said.

“It’s a horrible job to have to do, but these brothers and sisters just keep going for years.”

Ms Morris has spent decades communicating with Mr Mazurek’s and Mr Steffen’s families, along with the other families of missing persons in the book.

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“These stories are not very well-known,” she said.

“They’re ordinary people and something terrible has happened to them on a particular day.”

She said it was difficult to know in Mr Steffen’s case if he’d boarded a Spirit of Tasmania ferry to return to his family in Queensland, or if he’d gotten lost somewhere on the island.

Billy Steffen disappeared in Tasmania in 1985 after visiting a Zen Buddhist retreat. Picture: Supplied

Ms Morris also said there was “zero evidence” that Mr Mazurek had taken his own life – and his family firmly believed his death was not by suicide.

“They were out celebrating at the casino and they’d had a great night and he was about to join the navy,” she said.

“He was really happy and had no signs of any kind of unhappiness.”

Ms Morris was interviewed for the Mercury and True Crime Australia podcast, along with Mr Steffen’s daughter.

To find out more, go to www.lostonespodcast.com.au, or listen via Spotify or Apple Podcasts.