{"id":7598,"date":"2020-08-05T22:06:18","date_gmt":"2020-08-05T22:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=7598"},"modified":"2020-08-05T22:06:18","modified_gmt":"2020-08-05T22:06:18","slug":"missing-persons-week-1994-disappearance-of-lake-macquarie-teen-gordana-kotevski","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2020\/08\/05\/missing-persons-week-1994-disappearance-of-lake-macquarie-teen-gordana-kotevski\/","title":{"rendered":"Missing Persons Week \u2013 1994 disappearance of Lake Macquarie teen, Gordana Kotevski"},"content":{"rendered":"

NSW Police are renewing their appeal for information into the disappearance of a teenage girl from Lake Macquarie for more than 25-years, as part of this year\u2019s Missing Persons Week.
\nGordana Kotevski, aged 16, was last seen being forced into a vehicle on Powell Street, Charlestown, while walking from Charlestown Square Shopping Centre to her aunt\u2019s home on the same road about 9pm on Thursday 24 November 1994.
\nDespite extensive investigations at the time, and over the years, Gordana has not been located.
\nIn a Coronial Inquest into Gordana\u2019s disappearance in 2003, then State Coroner, Mr John Abernethy, found that Gordana Kotevski was deceased, most likely as a result of foul play.
\nIn April 2019, Lake Macquarie detectives established Strike Force Arapaima to re-examine the investigation into the unsolved disappearance and suspected murder of Gordana, along with two other missing Lake Macquarie teens \u2013 Robyn Hickie and Amanda Robinson.
\nLake Macquarie Police District Commander, Superintendent Danny Sullivan APM, says twenty-five years on, it\u2019s crucial for any potential witnesses to come forward.
\n\u201cThis Missing Persons Week, we want you to think about the person behind the photo. She was just a teenager, she had her life ahead of her.
\n\u201cThere are people in the community who have vital information which could help Strike Force Arapaima detectives solve this case.
\n\u201cAnyone who lived in or would visit the Lake Macquarie area in late 1994, please cast your mind back and recall if you noticed a light-coloured utility in and around the area.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s been a quarter of a century of unknowns and heartache for Gordana\u2019s friends and family. Please, help us give them closure,\u201d Supt Sullivan said.
\nGordana\u2019s aunt, Julie Talevski, is encouraging members of the public to take the time to read about Gordana on www.missingpersons.gov.au<\/a>.
\n\u201cThis Missing Persons Week, we\u2019ve decided to release one of the last known images we have of Gordana \u2013 she was a bridesmaid in 1994. Young, joyous, innocent, she had the world at her feet,\u201d Ms Talevski said.
\n\u201cThe impact of Gordana\u2019s disappearance has taken its toll on her parents and siblings, extended family and friends. Missed special events bring with them a stark reminder of the emptiness felt by her disappearance. The passage of time has not made acceptance of the situation any easier.
\n\u201cPlease, if you know anything or can vaguely remember any information which could help detectives, call the police,\u201d Ms Talevski said.
\nAnyone with information about Gordana Kotevski\u2019s disappearance is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000<\/a>.
\nInformation is treated in strict confidence. The community is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.
\nMissing Persons Week is an annual national campaign to raise awareness of the issues and impacts surrounding missing persons and runs between Sunday 2 August and Saturday 8 August 2020<\/a>.
\nFor more information on the campaign visit www.missingpersons.gov.au<\/a>.
\nAnyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000<\/a> or <\/em><\/strong>https:\/\/nsw.crimestoppers.com.au<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NSW Police are renewing their appeal for information into the disappearance of a teenage girl from Lake Macquarie for more than 25-years, as part of this year\u2019s Missing Persons Week. Gordana Kotevski, aged 16, was last seen being forced into a vehicle on Powell Street, Charlestown, while walking from Charlestown Square Shopping Centre to her … Continue reading “Missing Persons Week \u2013 1994 disappearance of Lake Macquarie teen, Gordana Kotevski”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7598\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}