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Warning: this article contains the name of an Aboriginal person who has died, and distressing details.
New South Wales Police have announced a two-day search for the remains of an Indigenous teenager who disappeared 35 years ago will begin in Bowraville on Friday.
In mid-September 1990, 16-year-old Colleen Walker-Craig vanished, leaving her family and the community searching for answers.
Colleen, along with her cousin Evelyn Greenup and Clinton Speedy-Duroux, disappeared under eerily similar circumstances within five months of each other.
Despite a quick response from her family, who reported her missing shortly after her disappearance, Colleen’s clothes were found weighted down in the Nambucca River, deepening the mystery surrounding her case.
Ms Walker-Craig was the first of three Aboriginal people to die over a five-month period, deaths which came to be known as the Bowraville Murders.
4-year-old Evelyn Greenup, Ms Walker-Craig’s cousin, disappeared from her family home in the evening of October 4 1990.
Her remains were later discovered with trauma to the skull.
In February of 1991, Clinton Speedy-Duroux also disappeared in similar circumstances to Ms Walker-Craig, following a party.
He was reported missing a day later. His remains were discovered 7 kilometres outside Bowraville two weeks later.
Given the similarity and close occurrence of the three deaths, they have been long presumed the work of a serial killer.
A man was tried for the murders of Clinton and Evelyn in 1994 and 2006 respectively, but was acquitted.
New South Wales police have announced plans to extend their search efforts to areas of the river that cross into nearby Macksville, continuing their pursuit of new leads.
