SYDNEY — On Feb. 7, 1987, Suzanne Lawrance, 16, of Healesville, Victoria, attended a friend’s 21st birthday party at Healesville Town Hall on Maroondah Highway. Suzanne’s three brothers, Glenn, Tony, and Ben, were also there.
Suzanne had been involved in a severe car accident and was still using a cane and walking with a limp. It was her first night out since the accident.
Her mother, Liz Westwood, let Suzanne borrow a pair of diamond and pearl earrings to go with her white satin dress. Westwood then dropped Suzanne off at the town hall.
When Suzanne failed to return home, her mother was not overly worried. Westwood thought her daughter had spent the night at a friend’s house.
When Sunday came, and she still was not home, her brothers drove around the area looking for her. They found no trace of their sister. By Monday, Suzanne still had yet to return home. Westwood reported her daughter missing to the police, who said they usually found missing children within 48 hours. But Suzanne never returned home.
Investigators later discovered that Suzanne had left the birthday party distressed, but what upset her is unknown. She spoke with two boys at the nearby Queen’s Park gates. They offered her a ride home, but she declined.
The following morning, Suzanne was seen in Healesville wearing a pink and white top. There was a sighting of Suzanne at a country music festival at Yarra Glen, but police could not confirm it.
Westwood now lives in Bowan, Queensland. Suzanne has several nieces and nephews she has yet to meet. Suzanne would have turned 17 on March 17, 1987. If alive today, she would be 53. Her family never believed Suzanne had run away.
