Markiah's family are desperate to find their boy, they're not alone

The teenager was seen leaving the Cairns home he shared with his mother on August 15, 2023 but has not been seen since.

The months following his disappearance have been grief-filled for friends and family of Markiah who are desperate to hear news of his whereabouts.

"Your absence weighs heavily upon our hearts, and each passing moment without news of you leaves us in agonizing uncertainty," his family wrote in a plea to the missing boy.

"Your father's stoic demeanour betrays the turmoil within him, his silence echoing the depths of our collective anguish.

"We ache to see your face, to hear your voice once more. Please, my son, reach out to us or to the authorities without delay.

"Know that you are dearly missed and loved beyond measure."

Markiah's family are not alone in the unending grief of waiting for a lost loved one to be found. There are 2,600 long-term, unsolved missing persons cases in Australia.

Every year on May 25, the Global Missing Children's Network marks International Missing Children's Day by honouring lost and abducted children and celebrating those who have been recovered.

Efforts are also continuing to find children and teens who have remained missing, Australia's National Missing Persons Coordination Centre said.

A $1 million reward has been put up by Victoria Police for information about the disappearance of a teenage girl, Cherie Westell, who is presumed dead.

The teenager was days away from turning 16 when she went to a dental appointment at Knox Dental Group in Wantirna South, Melbourne at 12.30pm on December 12, 2000.

She called her foster mother just before 2pm from a payphone, on the corner of Selkirk Avenue and Wantirna Road, saying she planned to catch the train to their home in Ringwood.

Her foster mother Frances reported the teenager missing when she failed to arrive home but police waited six days to file a missing persons report because the call did not come from a member of Cherie's biological family.

Police have found no trace of the 15-year-old and a coronial inquest in 2003 found that she had likely died.

"Even after almost 22 years I still look for Cherie on the street, in the shopping centres and wonder what she would look like now," her foster mother said.

"There will never be closure for Cherie's family or friends but there could be answers if her disappearance was solved and justice if a perpetrator was charged and punished."

Cherie was a withdrawn and sad little girl when she came into Frances' care in 1990 aged five, the foster mother said.

Over time she developed into a young woman who loved horse riding, sport, music and poetry and was stubborn, feisty and kind, Frances said.

Debbie Ashby's mother has never stopped looking for her then 16-year-old daughter after she disappeared in 1987.

She was last seen leaving her home in Leumeah in Sydney's West at 1pm on October 9 to go to a friend's house.

Debbie didn't take any clothes with her and has not been seen since. However, her family received a call a few days after she left home.

She told them she was alright.

Debbie experienced threats at school and was keen to give it up, police said.

A coronial inquest found that Debbie died on, or after, 11 October 1987.

A $100,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction for the persons responsible for her death.

"Even though the coronial inquest might be closed, we never close a cold case until we reach a satisfactory conclusion," detective senior constable Maria Feher said in 2016.

"Our police recording of missing person investigations has improved with the introduction of electronic recording. We have access to more documents now and can access things that may have relevance to the case.

"Any new piece of evidence could lead to looking somewhere else. Over the years people's allegiances change or they have a change of heart.

"If you can help or believe you have information you can come forward. We are really happy to get information and investigate to see what little pieces may help get to the bottom of it."

If you have any information on missing persons call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000