Family urges more resources as search for missing North Coast woman stalls

On the morning of August 5, Stephanie Cordery departed her Ballina home and was tracked by CCTV through Lismore to Nimbin, where her vehicle was found abandoned at a friend’s driveway on Mt Nardi. Despite a 13-day emergency-services operation involving NSW Police, search dogs, Marine Area Command, the State Emergency Service, Rural Fire Service, Queensland Remote Area Tracking, drones and a text alert sent to over 68,000 phones, no trace of her has been located.

Her mother Joyce described the uncertainty as “indescribable,” and both Joyce and her sister Monique have criticized the limited manpower in the rugged terrain. Deputy Captain Charlie Cohen explained the difficulty of searching steep, densely-canopied valleys, while the family worries the case will join a growing list of missing women on the North Coast. A New South Wales parliamentary inquiry into historic unsolved murders and disappearances has highlighted at least 22 missing women and 32 unexplained deaths between the Hunter and the Queensland border, and is pushing for a statewide search authority. Police continue to request tips via Crime Stoppers.