A reward of $500,000 has been offered to anyone who can give information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person behind the suspected murder of Canberra mum Laura Haworth.
"It's critical that anyone with information passes that on to police who have worked tirelessly to investigate Laura's disappearance," NSW Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism, Yasmin Catley, said as she announced the reward.
"Laura's family have been without their loved one for over a decade and we hope this reward goes some way toward providing answers," the minister said.
The minister said there were now "five hundred thousand more reasons to come forward".
The last sighting of 23-year-old Laura was on January 5, 2008, when she left a friend's house on Collett Street in Queanbeyan.
A week later, her red Mazda car was found at Kanangra Court in Reid in the ACT. Her phone and handbag were missing. There had been no activity on her phone or bank account.
Last month, Strike Force Viking was set up jointly by ACT Policing and the NSW force.
The reward from the NSW government and police force supplements that ramping up of the investigation. "We believe there is someone out there that knows something about Laura's disappearance," NSW Detective Chief Inspector Neil Grey of the Queanbeyan force said.
Laura disappeared on the weekend of the Summernats festival, and the police wonder if her disappearance was known about by people attending.
"Queanbeyan and Canberra during the summer holiday period is a transient area with people travelling back and forth from the Coast. In addition, with Summernats on the weekend Laura disappeared, there could be people out there from other parts of the state who may have been in the ACT and have information," the detective said.
"We plead for those people to help bring Laura home and provide some closure for Laura's family who have now been forced to celebrate 16 birthdays and special holidays without Laura. They deserve to know what happened to their daughter, sister and mother."
"Anyone with information about Laura's whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000," the police said.
ACT police also made a call for information on Ms Haworth's disappearance during this year's Summernats festival.
The missing woman's family have always said she had shown no indication of unhappiness before she disappeared. She had - and has - a loving family with two children she adored.
In January 2024, her family made a heartbreaking plea for information on the anniversary of her disappearance.
"Laura is a mother, a daughter, a sister and a friend and we ache to know what has happened to her," they said.
"Every day we live with what-ifs, whys and maybes. The pain of not knowing what has happened to Laura is brutal and has a huge impact on our daily lives."
