Search for Armidale's Niamh Maye continues, 20 years since Riverina disappearance

The Armidale woman's family have missed the "beautiful, loving, cheeky, fun" woman every single day of those 20 years.

As part of Missing Persons Week four years ago they joined police in another attempt at finding out what happened to their daughter, sister, aunt, near a small town in the Riverina.

Watch the video conference for the launch of Missing Persons Week from 2018 below:

Police know Niamh left a campground at Jingellic on Saturday March 30, 2002.

She had told her mother she was leaving for Sydney and was expected at her sister's home there on March 31.

After getting a lift from an associate to Gocup Road at Tumut, she had planned to leave Batlow for Sydney however never made the journey.

Niamh had been fruit picking in the Riverina area to save money before embarking on a film production course at university.

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A coronial inquest in Glen Innes ten years later determined Niamh was a homicide victim.

She died at or near Tumut on March 30 or 31, 2002, the findings stated.

No one has ever been charged in connection with her disappearance.

The man who last saw her alive, fellow fruit picker Jason Nicklason, committed suicide in Brisbane after being arrested for rape in 2002.

Despite extensive investigations over the years, including another publicised push in 2015, no trace of Niamh has ever been found.

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Police inquiries were hindered with the suicide of Nicholson, a person of interest in her disappearance.

Riverina Police District are continuing investigations, together with the State Crime Command's Unsolved Homicide Unit and Missing Persons Registry, under Strike Force Yola.

The investigation is currently being formally reviewed under the new unsolved homicide framework.

In 2018, Niamh Maye's father, Brian Maye, remembered his daughter as a happy and creative young woman with a great sense of humour.

"Niamh is always with us in spirit and we will always honour the 18 years she filled us with her brightness," Mr Maye said.

"Not a day goes by we don't think of Niamh and the life she would have lived. We miss our beautiful, loving, cheeky, fun daughter, sister and aunt.

"On behalf of our family, we would like to thank the local community for their support and police for their dedication to finding Niamh - we hope one day we can bring her home," Mr Maye said.

Her mother Anne Maye, said her daughter was a devoted and much-loved sister and aunt to her six siblings and one niece.

"As a family, we have never given up hope that we might be able to find Niamh and give her a proper resting place," Mrs Maye said.

"Niamh's memory lives on with us - including eleven new nieces and nephews, two of whom carry her name as their middle name, in honour of the aunt they never had the opportunity to meet."

At the time of her disappearance, Niamh was described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 170cm tall, with a slim build, shoulder-length dark blonde hair and blue/grey eyes.

She was last seen carrying a backpack, tent, sleeping bag and metre-long stick.

Anyone with information about Niamh Maye's disappearance is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

A version of this story was first published by The Armidale Express during Missing Persons Week in 2018.

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