Missing Persons Advocacy Network (MPAN) has partnered with cafes around the country for this year’s National Missing Persons Week (4–10 August) to raise awareness of the 38,000 Australians who go missing every year.
Cafés across the country will serve coffee in artist-designed biodegradable cups that feature eight Australians who have been missing for up to six years.
MPAN Founder and CEO Loren O’Keeffe said The Unmissables coffee cup campaign is a modern take on the well-known stark, grainy photos on milk cartons that often depict individuals as cases rather than people.
“We paired families of long-term missing Australians with authors and artists to capture the essence of the individual, rather than just stats on a poster.
“The cups are so beautiful and striking, you don’t realise right away it’s about a long term missing Australian. It’s a beautiful image of a person with a story,” said O’Keeffe.
Families of missing loved ones hope the campaign will help bring their loved ones home by reinvigorating the search, which often dies after the initial spike of media coverage.
Emily Tann, cousin of missing Perth man Marty Tann, says that keeping the stories of missing loved ones alive is important, especially for family and friends.
“We have to always remember that these are people with families, friends, and memories. It’s about keeping their stories alive, so we never stop looking for them.
“It’s been really tough. For our family and friends it’s not fair for so many reasons. All we can do is remain hopeful that one day Marty will come back to us.”
Marty Tann is remembered by his family as an easy going, kind individual, who worked as a marine biologist.
“The day he went missing he told me he wanted to go for a walk to the beach. He loved the outdoors, he loved nature, and it was a big part of who he was.
“It was just a complete mystery to the whole family because Marty’s not the type of person that would just leave without letting anyone know.”
“Every day we hold onto the hope that Marty is going to come home and walk through the front door with his big dog smile.”
Marty went missing in April 2013 after he was last seen at Mullaloo Beach. Witnesses reported seeing him just north of the surf lifesaving tower between 1pm–3pm on 2 April.
Building on the success of the charity’s ongoing The Unmissables initiative, O’Keeffe is passionate about educating the public on the impact of ambiguous loss, and how important it is for vulnerable individuals to reach out for help.
/Public Release.
