Raelene Eaton's mothers plea for answers ahead of Missing Persons Week

Raelene Eaton who was 16 at the time went to Scarboroughs White Sands Hotel with her 17-year-old cousin Yvonne Waters, when the pair disappeared without a trace.

The last time either of the teenagers were seen was when they left the hotel, accompanied by three unknown men, heading towards a white Holden panel van with Queensland number plates.

Their family has been living in limbo ever since, waiting for some sort of answer as to what happened to their girls.

Read more: Meet the people who vanished

I haven't had any reaction at all, because they didn't have a great lot of information, Mrs Eaton said.

They were supposedly getting into a van; whether they got into it, no one knows.

The police have no idea because there didn't seem to be any witnesses.

There were supposedly three chaps but whether they got into that vehicle, who could tell.

They were just two girls who disappeared from sight.

It was when Raelene didnt come home that Mrs Eaton first knew something was wrong.

She said wasnt like Raelene to stay at Yvonnes house.

Her mind went to the worst, thinking these must have been an accident.

But when she went to file a report at the local police station in Bayswater, their response was less than expected.

When it was reported, they said theyre probably just shacked up with some boys and will be home in two or three nights, Mrs Eaton said.

That was the attitude back then, because this sort of thing just wasnt happening.

Mrs Eaton said she remembers Raelene to be an ordinary kid.

And when asked, Mrs Eaton understandably focuses on her daughters physical attributes.

Read more: Facebook page a network for families of missing people

Things like Raelenes small four foot, 11 stature and the fact that if seen today, her hair may have gone white as she was already picking out grey hairs at 15.

But she was happy, Mrs Eaton said.

Once she started work, well it was her life and she and her cousin used to follow the bands in those days.

She had lots of friends and changed the boyfriend regularly because she didn't comply with their requests.

Sadly Raelene Eaton and her cousin Yvonne Waters are just two of the 1600 long-term missing persons in Australia.

And like Mrs Eaton, their families are still stuck, looking for answers.

Id like somebody to speak up one of the three supposed men, she said.

Where are they? Somebody knows, but why don't they talk?

Its the not knowing.

The Zonta Missing Persons Memorial Service will be held at 10am on Friday, August 3 behind Mandurah's Tourist Information Building. It will be followed by morning tea at The City of Mandurah Tuckey Room. RSVP to 0417 998 706