A missing person case from Mount Isa has been thrown back into the spotlight this week as part of National Missing Persons Week.
Peter English last contacted his family from Mount Isa on February 11, 2019, and his car was seen in the Tennant Creek area of the Northern Territory the following day.
Neither Mr English nor his car has been seen since then.
Australian Federal Police National Missing Persons Coordination Centre coordinator Jodie McEwan said Mr English was one of an average of 38,000 missing persons reports which police received every year.
"Thankfully, most of those people are located, and more than 60 per cent of that number either return or are found within a 48- hour period," Ms McEwan said.
"But unfortunately there is a small percentage of people who remain missing, and they're on our long-term missing persons register, and we currently have around 2,600 people on that register."
Peter English investigation
Mount Isa Criminal Investigation Bureau Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Devon Cupitt said Mr English left Caboolture in Queensland early last year and visited Mount Isa.
"We have confirmed he was in the Northern Territory at the Barkly Homestead, from there, unfortunately, our leads go cold," Acting Senior Sergeant Cupitt said.
"His family nor any associates have heard from him since the middle of February 2019."
Acting Senior Sergeant Cupitt said any missing person case was a "tremendously hard time" for a family.
"Just holding out hope that they will get some answers and closure which we always strive to try and provide, whether that's good or bad," he said.
Acting Senior Sergeant Cupitt said when someone was reported and considered missing, they were put into risk categories depending on different circumstances.
"Obviously Mr English was a high-risk missing person, and we've conducted inquiries and investigations to try and locate him from those initial times that he was reported (missing) by his ex-wife and his father," he said.
Plea for information
This year, to mark Missing Persons Week, the AFP chose eight current cases to highlight, including that of Mr English.
Mr English was 37 when he went missing but would be 38 now and is described as being 175cm tall with a heavy build, brown hair and hazel eyes.
He was driving a dark grey Ford FG Falcon sedan with New South Wales registration plates FPV849.
His family have said it is very out of character for him not to contact them.
Acting Senior Sergeant Cupitt said he would like anyone who was in the area of the Barkly Homestead in February 2019 or on the local highways to think back and report anything they remember to CrimeStoppers.
"Give us that information — it could be the piece of the jigsaw puzzles we're looking for," he said.
Editor's Note 20/11/2020: Since the publication of this article on 03/08/2020, Queensland Police have confirmed that Mr English has been found deceased. On September 24, a member of the community discovered human remains at a station in Barrow Creek in the Northern Territory. Police say there are no suspicious circumstances.
