The discovery of Dale Nicholson's car — with his body inside — has given another Tasmanian family hope that their missing loved one will one day be found.
On Monday, Tasmania Police said human remains found inside a car in the River Derwent at New Norfolk, north of Hobart, were believed to be 61-year-old Mr Nicholson, with formal identification to happen as soon as possible.
The Ford sedan belonging to Mr Nicholson was found by independent divers commissioned by the family of 69-year-old Nicola "Nick" Sallese, who has been missing since November 17, 2008, along with his silver Toyota Camry.
Since 2010, Mr Sallese's family have maintained a social media presence in search of answers to his disappearance, posting Monday's news about Mr Nicholson to the Facebook page Help Find Nicola Sallese.
For about 12 months, the family has been crowdfunding to finance ongoing underwater searches of Tasmanian rivers and creeks, activities that have located a number of vehicles.
In a YouTube video from last year, Mr Sallese's son, Jason, described access to sonar technology as a "game changer" in the long-running search for his father.
"We currently have access to sonar technology and that allows us to search the waterways of Tasmania, which we haven't had access to do before," he said.
"This service has been provided by Downunder Dan Diving and this could be a game-changer.
"We hope that this will be what brings Dad home so we can lay him to rest."
Last year, the dive team found a "target" in the Huon River, near Franklin, about 290 kilometres from Sheffield, Mr Sallese's place of residence.
Video shot by Jason shows the moment the diver, Dan, emerges from the water with a number plate, announcing: "Sorry, it's not [your] dad's car mate."
"This … shows the moment things could have changed. We had marked this spot on our maps weeks before as a very high possibility of finding a vehicle because of the road being right beside the river with no barriers at all," Jason Sallese said.
"When we sonar-scanned the area, a car became visible straight away. So it was time for Dan to dive to see what we had found.
"It felt like a lifetime. Dan was diving on the location of the car, he was only underwater for a few minutes and I held my breath the whole time, you can actually hear me finally take a breath at the 46-second mark of the video."
"But now we know it wasn't Dad, time to regroup and keep on searching."
That car proved to be a Subaru Liberty, with no one inside.
Two weeks ago, the Sallese family posted that a vehicle found submerged in the South Esk River at Longford, about 70km from Sheffield, "isn't Nicola's car".
"After a dive [to] the car this morning, we can confirm it's a Ford Laser, no number plates," the page announced.
That car was also empty.
Sarah Wayland — senior lecturer at the University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales — described the grief of families dealing with unanswered questions over a loved one's disappearance as "unending torture".
"The loss gets easier over time but it becomes more complicated, as they have to consider how to live their lives alongside this ultimate mystery," she said.
"Most families of long-term missing persons will seek out independent advice, whether that be connecting with a psychics, speaking to a private investigator or private search and rescue [operators]."
Dr Wayland — whose research is focused on trauma and loss — said she was aware of a family who rented out the services of a light plane and pilot to search an area due to police not having the resources.
"There are [more than] 50,000 people who [are] reported missing in Australia every year. Only a small percentage become long-term missing people," she said.
"The police are dealing with a number of cases. They have to make decisions as to the balance of probability as to what resources can be used to locate somebody. Whereas, for family members, that is their only focus."
Dr Wayland said the families of those individuals who go on to be missing for months or years attempt to "make sure no stone is left unturned".
"Even if a body is found years later, it is not like [the family] has a jump start on the grieving process. They have been living through this unresolved loss for all of this time.
"Once a body is found, a different type of grief is experienced … a grief that is final."
A Tasmanian coroner found Mr Sallese died "on or about November 17 2008".
In his finding, the coroner said he was "unable to make any findings as to the cause and manner of Mr Sallese's death".
He added that he was "satisfied based on the information that has been made available to me that the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Mr Sallese are not suspicious".
To report a missing person call 131 444 or contact your nearest police station
