The sister of missing Bathurst woman Janine Vaughan says she feels renewed hope that answers will come after a major breakthrough in an unrelated case at a nearby town.
Kylie Spelde said she was excited when news broke of a man being charged in the two-decade-long unsolved murder of Gulgong teen Michelle Bright.
"My gosh, I was just beside myself," Ms Spelde said.
"It sort of gave me that boost to think, well, that these things can happen."
But Ms Spelde said she felt disappointed a $1 million reward for information solving her sister's case had yet to bring an outcome.
"It has been very disheartening," she said.
"It still hasn't solved Janine's murder and we still don't have Janine's body."
In the early morning of December 7, 2001, Janine Vaughan was last seen getting into a red car on Keppel Street, Bathurst, in central-western New South Wales.
The investigation into her disappearance was the subject of two Police Integrity Commission inquiries.
A 2009 coronial inquest concluded Ms Vaughan was suspected to be murdered by an unknown person.
Searching for answers
Ms Spelde, who lives in Muswellbrook, NSW, said her family had relentlessly pursued answers to her sister's disappearance.
At times they had taken matters into their own hands.
"It does consume me and there are times when I have to step away," she said.
"It's horrendous just to sit there and wait, and wait, and wait for a phone call or any information."
Recently, her family commissioned a roadside billboard in Bathurst that features a photograph of Ms Vaughan appealing to the public for any clues.
Ms Spelde said she had been involved in a documentary film about the case, which has been in production for two years.
The mystery has also been the focus of a new podcast by investigative journalist Hedley Thomas, creator of the true crime series The Teacher's Pet.
Ms Spelde said she was "very hopeful" The Night Driver podcast would shed new light on the case.
But while some listeners may treat the podcast about Ms Vaughan as entertainment, Ms Spelde wanted to remind people of the serious nature of the story.
"Remember that it is a human being, a person's life that you're getting entertainment from," she said.
"Just remember that it's somebody's sister, somebody's daughter."
