Victorian police have put up a $1 million reward for information about the long-ago disappearance of a teenage girl who is presumed dead.
Cherie Westell was days off her 16th birthday on December 12, 2000 when she left an appointment at Knox Dental Group at Wantirna South in Melbourne's east about 12.30pm.
She was last heard from at a public payphone at 1.58pm.
Cherie called a family member from the corner of Selkirk Avenue and Wantirna Road at Wantirna to say she would catch the train home to Ringwood, a suburb over.
She was a ward of the state at the time and her previous foster mother, Frances, tried immediately to make a police report when she failed to return.
However officers told Frances only Cherie's biological family could do that. A missing persons report was filed six days later and police found no trace of her.
"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," Frances 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."
Frances described Cherie as a withdrawn and sad little girl when she came into her care in 1990 aged five, but said she developed into a young woman who loved horse riding, sport, music and poetry.
She was stubborn, feisty, kind and valued her friends and family, Frances said.
While Cherie was at a stage in her life where she often struggled with her future, she was looking forward to studying at Swinburne TAFE and had matured greatly.
She wanted to become a police officer like her foster sister and her family and friends were convinced she did not vanish of her own accord.
"Cherie had made Christmas cards for her family and friends; had a list of presents we were going to buy together; she did not access her bank account; did not take any extra clothes or personal belongings; and did not make contact with any of her family or friends," Frances said.
A 2003 coronial inquest found Cherie was most likely dead and police believed she met with foul play.
While detectives have spoken to several witnesses over the past 22 years, they hope the $1 million reward will encourage someone to come forward.
Two decades was a long time for someone to be looking over their shoulder, Missing Persons Squad Acting Inspector Tony Combridge said.
"After so long, friendships falter and allegiances change. There may be people out there who are now in a position to come forward and speak to police to provide answers for Cherie's loved ones," he said.
The reward is for information leading to the apprehension and conviction of the person or people responsible for Cherie's disappearance and will be paid at the chief police commissioner's discretion.
