Missing teen Jessica Small's memorial restored for her 26-year anniversary

October 26, 2023, marks 26 years since 15-year-old Jessica Small was abducted and last seen along Hereford Street, where her memorial now stands.

Jessica's family live everyday with grief and unanswered questions as to what happened 26 years ago, so when they became aware her memorial had been vandalised it broke their hearts all over again.

Jessica's sister Rebecca Small, with the help of her kids and former partner Rob Neal, have worked hard to restore the memorial, with having it finished in time for her anniversary meaning a lot to the family.

"A lot of effort has gone into the restoration," Mr Neal said.

"We stripped it back to the bare minimum to make it stand out again and hopefully it jogs somebody's memory.

"That's the most important part of this, to jog people's memories. If anybody knows anything, that's what we need to get out there and hopefully find answers to her being missing."

The restored memorial features a pink cross - Jessica's favourite colour - with flowers attached and a plaque screwed to the middle.

The plaque was made by Fifty8George out of stainless steel, to make it a bit more sturdy than the previous plaque that was centred on the cross for 12 years before being destroyed.

The family also took the opportunity to clean up the love heart shaped concrete slab where the cross stands.

Made by Mr Neal in 2011, the heart features little messages for Jessica engraved into the concrete, but over time the writing faded.

So the family scrubbed the slab back and traced the engraved messages with black paint to make them stand out.

Ms Small said she is incredibly thankful for the effort Fifty8George put into making the plaque for Jessica's memorial.

She also thanked Mr Neal for his endless efforts in maintaining the site over so many years, a place that holds great sentimental value to the family.

"If there's one thing for people to take away, it's this is a place for us to reflect and remember and lean on the good memories, so hopefully nothing happens to it again," Ms Small said.

A $1 million reward, which was announced in 2018, still stands for information leading to the conviction of Jessica Small's killer.

Anyone with information on her abduction is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Reading this on mobile web? Download our news app. It's faster, easier to read and we'll send you alerts for breaking news as it happens. Download in the Apple Store or Google Play.