Deidre "Donna" Joan CUNNINGHAM
Deidre "Donna" Joan CUNNINGHAM
FOR 19 years, Dwayne Cunningham has lived a life of unimaginable sorrow.
FOR 19 years, Dwayne Cunningham has lived a life of unimaginable sorrow.
From morning until night, the Maroochydore man is plagued by questions about what happened to his mother Deirdre Cunningham.
Now he has had to admit he may never know the truth.
Mrs Cunningham (pictured) went missing in June 1994 and is presumed to have been murdered.
There are nights when Mr Cunningham wakes at midnight to read police files, old newspaper articles and statements in the hope of piecing together his mother's mystery.
Last month, the 50-year-old even called on Queensland Justice Minister Jarrod Bleijie to put pressure on police to reopen the cold case.
And that's when he was hit by a bombshell.
The man he believes was responsible for her death had died in 2011.
Now Mr Cunningham is struggling to come to terms with the fact he may never know how his mother died or where her body is hidden.
"Closure is what I search for in life and it is all that keeps me going," he said.
"I will never give up looking for Mum, absolutely
never. I don't care what it takes.
"If I grow old and die not knowing, then that's just how it is."
Mrs Cunningham was 49 when she vanished after leaving a party at Hinley Ave, Maroochydore, early on Sunday, June 12, 1994.
No one has heard from her since. Her bank accounts have not been touched. No clues have come to light.
Mr Cunningham said his mum was a "little dynamite", a loving mother and friend, who would never have left without telling him.
"I know Mum really well and I know she wouldn't disappear. She had too much in life to look forward to," he said.
"She drove a 3500-tonne crane as a job and tried to get her licence to fly planes. That's how out there she was.
"Never in a million years would she have left."
Mrs Cunningham lived in Beerwah for two years after relocating from NSW.
At the time she disappeared, she was in a relationship with a man called Colin Rossow.
She also had just purchased a property at Miriam Vale, near Bundaberg.
Early in their investigation, police named Mr Rossow as a suspect in her disappearance and suspected murder.
Despite being questioned numerous times over the years, he was never convicted of any wrongdoing.
When Mr Cunningham was told of Mr Rossow's death, he was devastated.
"I was pretty upset and I thought that was the end of it, it's all over and I will never find out," he said. "I only have one option left and that's to try a television program that specialises in finding missing people.
"There has to be someone who knows something. I know there is."
Mr Cunningham said if his mother's remains were found, he would bury them in a deep grave next to his father, who died in 2000.
"Daniel Morcombe gave me hope when his body was found in 2011," he said.
"I know one day Mum will be found as well and I can give her the burial she deserves.
"Until then, I will persevere and continue to search for answers."
Mr Bleijie issued a statement saying that he sympathised with Mr Cunningham.
"I can appreciate how upsetting it must be to come to terms with a loved one's disappearance and be left seeking answers for as long as Mr Cunningham has," he said.
"I contacted the Minister for Police, Jack Dempsey, on Mr Cunningham's behalf and I'm advised that the investigation into Mrs Cunningham's disappearance remains open."
THE son of a woman who went missing from Maroochydore 20 years ago has called for witnesses to be compelled to give evidence at inquests.
Dwayne Cunningham believes he may have been spared years of pain if his mother's boyfriend had been forced to answer questions at a 1997 inquest into her death.
Deidre Joan "Donna" Cunningham, 49, was last seen at a party at Hinley Ave, Maroochydore, on June 12, 1994.
Her boyfriend at the time, Colin Rossow, declined to answer questions at an inquest three years later.
Mr Rossow died in 2011 and Mr Cunningham fears he may never know what happened to his mother.
"At the inquest, there were all the people from the party on the stand and they told the court as best they could what happened that night," Mr Cunningham said.
"The last person that went on the stand was the supposed three-month boyfriend of my mother.
"He never told the court what happened. He did not want to say anything that may incriminate him.
"He walked out of court a free man.
"If someone goes to an inquest, they should have to tell the courts what happened.
"That's why they have an inquest - to tell the relatives what happened.
"This has to stop. It's a get-out-of-jail-free card and it's just not on."
Mr Cunningham holds out hope that there is still someone alive who might know something about his mother's disappearance and who might come forward.
"For me to know now would mean a good night's sleep. I haven't had a good night's sleep in 20 years," he said. "I think it would be the best thing in the world to know what happened to mum."
After laying flowers at a park on the corner of Anzac Ave and Phillips St, where he believes his mother might have been on the night she disappeared, Mr Cunningham said he would not stop trying to get answers.
"I'll never give up, if it takes 20 years, 30 years, as long as I live."
Anyone with information about Ms Cunningham's disappearance should phone 1800 333 000 to contact Crime Stoppers.
WHEN Dwayne Cunningham moved to the Sunshine Coast, he vowed to stay until the mystery of his mother’s disappearance was solved.
In poor health, Dwayne is preparing to leave the Sunshine Coast without the answers he came for.
"After 21 years, you'd think it would be easier but it's not, not at all," Dwayne said.
"For me, it's like it was yesterday.
"The public think it gets easier over the years. I wish it did but it doesn't.
"I don't want to leave. I really, really don't want to leave, but I have no option.
"It's killing me to stay."
Ms Cuninngham has not been seen since she left a party at Hinley Ave, Maroochydore, on June 12, 1994.
Dwayne was married and living and working in Canberra when police called him to say that his mother was missing.
He struggled to keep his marriage and work going while to-ing and fro-ing between the Sunshine Coast and the ACT during the following months.
The marriage eventually ended and he moved to the Sunshine Coast in the hope he would find the answers he needed if he were closer.
He lost hope when he learned in 2013 that his mother's de facto, Colin Rossow, had died two years earlier.
Mr Rossow had refused to answer questions at an inquest into Ms Cunningham's disappearance.
The panic Dwayne felt when his mother disappeared switched to disillusionment when Mr Rossow died.
"When Rossow died, I felt the whole case died with it," he said.
"I don't think I'll every find out what happened now."
Dwayne, who lives only streets from where his mother was last seen, is haunted by dreams about her every night.
His anxiety became overwhelming when health problems - osteoporosis and a fall - forced him to give up work, leaving him with too much time to think.
Occasions like Missing Persons Week this week make him even more sensitive to the situation.
A doctor recommended he move to put the past behind him. He plans to head to the Northern Territory but will not let go altogether.
"I'll never give up. I'll always stay in contact with the police, but me living on the Coast, it's just not working for me. It's killing me."