THREE years ago, the parents of missing Bathurst man Andrew Russell painted a small white cross on a brick wall in their garden and made a makeshift headstone for their son.
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It was on October 11, 2010, when Andrew would have turned 25, and the cross became a lasting memorial where they could place a flower and reflect on Andrew’s life.
Today, he would have turned 28 and, despite extensive searches by police around the Sofala, upper Turon and Hill End areas, Andrew’s parents, Bruce Herbert and Suzanne Wallace, are no closer to bringing their son home.
Andrew was last seen alive on June 2, 2009, when he bought a birthday card for his father from a newsagency in William Street, Bathurst.
Despite their pain, the couple still live in hope that someone in the Bathurst community will come forward to police and tell them where Andrew’s remains are.
“Someone out there knows [where he is],” Mr Herbert said.
“I just wish they would have the balls to come forward and tell the police so we can bury him.”
Mr Herbert said police have done a wonderful job in trying to locate Andrew’s body but, as parents, waiting for “the phone call” has been terrible.
“It’s frigging horrible,” he said.
“It’s like being on a roller coaster, in the days leading up to the search our hopes get up and we’re thinking this could be it, and when nothing turns up, it’s just terrible,” he said.
“It’s heart breaking,” said Bruce’s partner, Suzanne Wallace, who said the stress of Andrew’s disappearance and alleged murder had taken its toll on the family.
“Bruce hasn’t had one night’s sleep since Andrew went missing,” she said.
“It certainly doesn’t get any easier.
“People say things to us like ‘it happened years ago and we should get over it’, but we never will. We just want to bring him home,” she said.
Suzanne said she and Bruce can’t help but think of Andrew’s fate, and it is soul destroying.
“I just keep thinking poor Andrew. He didn’t deserve this,” she said.
“At least if we could get his body back we can place him in the ground and cover him, so his spirit can go to heaven,” Bruce said.
“He deserves that much.”
“Someone knows where he is and if they have any sort of conscience they will tell the police where they can find him.
“The poor bugger is just dumped somewhere, and he deserves so much more,” Bruce said.
Anyone with information on Andrew Russell can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
