Melbourne teenager Cherie Westell's family still wonders how she vanished 14 years ago, and holds out hope that someone knows what happened to her.
Cherie disappeared after a dentist appointment in Wantirna on December 12, 2000, just days before her 16th birthday.
"My sister literally vanished into thin air," her sister Tanya said on Friday, International Missing Children's Day.
"Shock, disbelief takes hold of you as you question why.
"To anyone with information that may solve our case, please come forward because you may just be the missing link to solving the mystery."
Cherie's foster mother, Frances Schulz, believes Cherie did not leave of her own accord.
"There are at least two people who know what happened to Cherie. One is Cherie herself and the other is the person or persons involved in her disappearance," she said.
At the time she disappeared, Cherie was a ward of the state.
A failure in the system resulted in a six-day lapse before she was reported missing, Ms Schulz said.
"When a child goes missing, there is no time to waste - a missing-person report must be made as soon as possible."
Ms Schulz says the people affected when a child goes missing experience anger, guilt, grief and nightmares.
Actor Noni Hazlehurst, who hosted an event in Melbourne marking International Missing Children's Day, hopes to spread a message of hope to the families of missing people.
"Unless you've experienced the devastating impact of having a child go missing, it's almost impossible to imagine ... wondering where they are, whether they're safe," she said.
A smartphone app, Police Child ID, was launched at the event to help parents and guardians track down missing children.
Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Andrew Colvin said 17,500 children were reported missing each year and the first 12 to 24 hours were critical.
"If we have accurate, good information straight away - photographs, dates of birth, habits of these children, friends, places they like to frequent - that gives police a good spot to start their investigation."
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