Most of those people are found within 12 months, but there is one person still missing from the Southern Highlands more than 15 years later. 

Ian Stanton was last seen at his apartment in Bundanoon on May 9, 2003. His father had dropped off some mail and a bag of groceries, but four days later his mother returned to find the front door open and the groceries untouched. 

Ian’s disappearance remains the only outstanding case in Wingecarribee Shire, but represents one of more than 2600 long-term missing persons cases on the Australian Federal Police (AFP) register. 

As part of the 30th National Missing Persons’ Week, the AFP, along with state and territory police forces, have profiled 30 long-term missing people from around the country to raise awareness about these and many other unsolved cases. 

The campaign is also an opportunity for police to dispel a few myths surrounding the process of filing a missing persons report. 

“It’s a myth that you have to wait at least 24 hours to report someone missing. If you are concerned for the welfare of a loved one and their whereabouts are unknown, you can go straight to your local police and report them as missing straight away,” a police spokesperson said. 

Anyone with information about a missing person should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.