Sandrine’s family still searching for answers

Twelve years after Sandrine Jourdan was last seen at a Caboolture property, her family remains determined to find the truth about what happened to her.

Nakita Bull was just 12 when her mum disappeared and says she, her two older siblings – brother Sam and sister Jessie – and the rest of their family are still searching for answers.

As the 12^th anniversary of Sandrine’s disappearance on Friday, July 13, 2012 approaches, her family is urging people to reach out with any information that could bring them closure.

Sandrine, who was 37 at the time, was last seen on a property at 123 Tomlinson Rd, Caboolture owned by a friend.

Everything to live for

In June 2016 a coroner produced a three-page report handing down an open finding, but ruling Sandrine’s disappearance was likely suicide.

It’s a finding that doesn’t sit well with Nakita, who says while her mum had mental health issues, she was planning for the future.

Rather, Nakita and her family fear Sandrine was killed.

“My mother was a loving and devoted parent, and her whole world revolved around us children,” she says.

“She would never willingly leave us, and anyone who knew her would attest to this fact.

“It is inconceivable to us that she would have taken her own life.

“It’s completely baffling to our family, how police and the coroner could come to that conclusion of suicide without ever finding my mother’s body,” Nakita says.

Plea for help

She’s started a change.org petition calling for a full coronial inquest.

“There is an overwhelming amount of evidence to suggest that my mother was met with foul play.”

Nakita says the Queensland coroner reopening the case and considering whether sufficient new information has come to light to justify holding a full inquest has offered the family hope, and she’s pleading for anyone with information – no matter how insignificant it seems – to share it.

She says a podcast by Redcliffe’s Graeme Crowley, a retired police detective, has helped shine a light on the case, as has an episode of Under Investigation with Liz Hayes that aired earlier this year, with both prompting people to come forward with information.

“When there’s no exposure, there’s no pressure for anyone to do anything about it,” Nakita says.

“When Under Investigation aired, 1.1 million people in Australia watched the show and that’s the most people we’ve been exposed to since she went missing.

“The number one goal is to get people talking again.

“When Under Investigation happened, we got a lot of new ideas and people calling through Crime Stoppers.

“I really believe in the power of people - the end goal is to find out what happened.”

A beautiful person

Nakita describes her mum as a free spirit.

“She was so friendly, she would talk to anyone and she was amazing with us kids, she was a very present mother.

“She was such an organised person and wrote so many journal entries, right up until she went missing.

“Obviously she had her own struggles, but mental health is not everything about a person, it’s not your be-all and end-all.”

Sign the petition here.