WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised the following story contains the name of a person who has died.
NSW Police have reopened investigations into one of Australia's most significant cold cases, launching a two-day search for the remains of 16-year-old Aboriginal girl Colleen Walker-Craig, who disappeared from Bowraville in 1990.
The search is taking place across sections of the Nambucca River in Bowraville and Macksville and marks the first official operation to look for Colleen's body in 35 years.
Strike Force investigators from the NSW Homicide Squad, assisted by the Marine Area Command, began the search on Friday morning.
Colleen was last seen between 13 and 15 September 1990.
Her family reported her missing shortly after and her clothes were later discovered in the Nambucca River, weighted down with stones.
Despite extensive community pressure, her body was never found.
The NSW Coroner later ruled she had died and was likely murdered.
Her disappearance was the first in a series of three killings that became known as the Bowraville murders.
Over the following months, two more Aboriginal children from the same street vanished - four-year-old Evelyn Greenup, Colleen's cousin, and 16-year-old Clinton Speedy-Duroux.
Evelyn's remains were later found with head injuries, while Clinton's body was discovered seven kilometres outside Bowraville.
A man was charged with the murders of Clinton and Evelyn but was acquitted in separate trials in 1994 and 2006.
Despite years of advocacy from the victims' families and the Aboriginal Legal Service calling for justice and reform of double jeopardy laws, no one has ever been convicted of Colleen's death
National Indigenous Times has confirmed the Indigenous Missing Persons Support Services (IMPSS) played a central role in reigniting police efforts through their early groundwork and community engagement.
IMPSS director Taz Millar said the search was a major turning point.
"This is the first search for Colleen, ever, it's a really big deal," she said.
"It was only yesterday morning at 6:30 from one of the detectives saying 'we'll call you at 10' where I was told they're doing a search.
"We've got Colleen's family heading out there with the hope something will be found."
Ms Millar said Colleen's family and community have waited decades for renewed action, hoping this search might finally bring closure.
A $1 million reward remains in place for information leading to an arrest or the discovery of Colleen's remains.
The Bowraville families have long called for justice, highlighting deep flaws in the original police investigation and the unequal treatment of Aboriginal victims within the justice system.
More to come.
