Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned the following article mentions the name and displays images of a dead Indigenous person.
The reward for information over the 1988 death of a New South Wales teenager has been increased to $1 million as police press to solve the case.
The body of Gomeroi teenager Mark Anthony Haines, 17, was found on train tracks along Warral Road near Tamworth after a night out with friends, on January 16, 1988.
Following a police investigation at the time, a coronial inquest returned an open finding.
A review of investigative records finished in 2022, with the information sent to the state coroner for investigation.
A coronial inquest was announced this year to begin in 2024.
Today, the standing reward was officially doubled.
“We believe there are people in the community who have vital information about Mark’s disappearance and know exactly what happened to him on that day,” Detective Acting Superintendent Jason Darcy said.
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“Any information – not matter how small you may think it is, could be the missing piece to the puzzle.”
Mark’s Uncle Don Craigie said he hopes the reward increase will encourage people to come forward to help uncover the truth.
“We urge people to put yourselves in our shoes – we just want to know what has happened to our much-loved Mark,” Craigie said.
“It’s been too long without knowing – if anyone has any information, now is the time to come forward.”
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He said Mark had been “a lovely young man” with many friends.
“I have been on this journey to find the truth about what happened to Mark for 35 years and I can feel we are getting very close,” Craigie said.
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