By CASEY NEILL
IT’S been almost a year since Dandenong North man Jake Lyons disappeared without a trace.
He missed Christmas with his family. He missed his 21st birthday.
“It’s occasions like those when it hurts the most,” his cousin Kim Brassington said.
“Not knowing where Jake is, who he’s with, if he’s OK …
“It’s a numb feeling. He disappeared without a trace, no explanations, no ceremony – just gone.
“You don’t know how you’re supposed to feel when someone just leaves your life unexpectedly.”
Jake’s family and police made a renewed appeal for information about his whereabouts during National Missing Persons Week, from 1 to 8 August.
His father Rick left him to get ready for the day on Monday 25 August and returned to find his Scullin Street house unlocked and the gas stove on.
That was the last confirmed sighting of Jake.
Police believe he left home and visited a supermarket on Springvale Road, Springvale, where he bought a drink and snacks, withdrew $50 and vanished.
They found Rick’s Holden Astra in the car park at Warner Reserve in Springvale, locked and with the keys placed underneath.
Detectives still don’t know what happened in that car park.
Assistant Commissioner Steve Fontana said they had many of the same questions as Jake’s family.
“Did Jake meet with foul play? Did he have a plan? Was he meeting someone?” he said.
“At this stage, we are of the belief that Jake left of his own accord.
“Nothing within the car suggests that he left in a rush.
“Despite common misconceptions, going missing isn’t a crime.
“If Jake is out there somewhere, that’s okay – we just want to give his family some closure.”
Kim also believes Jake left of his own accord.
“I think he might have made up his mind and gone ‘I’m out of here, I’ve got to leave now’,” she said.
She said he was suffering from depression, “wasn’t in a good place” and had previously mentioned finding work in a rural area.
Kim fears he’s taken his own life but remains optimistic that police can track him down.
“That’s what I’m really hoping for,” she said.
“You try and get on with your normal life because you have to, but it’s hard.
“We just need some sort of closure. We just need to know. Someone knows something, I think.”
Jake is described as Caucasian, 178 centimetres tall with a medium build and straight brown hair.
He was last seen wearing green-coloured jeans, a blue jumper and black runners.
Police urged anyone who saw Jake to immediately call triple zero or provide information to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or www.crimestoppers.com.au.
