NSW Police arrest man 30 years after disappearance of Illawarra mum Pauline Sowry
A man has been arrested 30 years on from the disappearance of Pauline Sowry.
The shock breakthrough in the cold case was announced on Thursday morning and follows the formation of Strike Force Anthea in 2022 that was set up to examine the circumstances surrounding Ms Sowry's disappearance.
Ms Sowry, also known by her married name Pauline Lawrence, was 49 years old when she was last seen by her family in the northern suburbs of Wollongong in December 1993.
NSW Police Southern Region commander Assistant Commissioner Joe Cassar and Wollongong Police District commander Superintendent Karen Cook police will address the media on the arrest on Thursday.
It follows an earlier breakthrough in December last year when the taskforce discovered items of clothing in bushland in the Illawarra region related to the case.
Searches in 2023 and 2024 in the area of Figtree near Wollongong turned up a cream button-down long sleeve blouse with a coloured stitching design and black pants.
Mr Cassar, speaking in December, said the discoveries could prove crucial in determining Ms Sowry's final movements.
'We are releasing these images to try to jog someone's memory. The clothing includes some hand stitching in coloured cotton and we know Pauline was known for altering both her and her children's clothing, ' he said.
'We are not ruling out further searches as we continue to investigate the circumstances of Pauline's disappearance.
'Pauline's family deserve to know what happened to her and to get some closure following her disappearance.'
In a statement from December, Ms Sowry's son Jason Lawrence said he hoped the clothes could lead to a breakthrough in the investigation.
'We don't want to spend another Christmas not knowing what happened to mum. We deserve to know what happened to her and to give her a proper send-off and lay her to rest,' he said.
'It's been 30 years since my mother's disappearance, she's been sadly missed and this has been a devastating effect on our family, including the loss of her two sons, my brothers Paul and Adam, to mental health and her parents, Bill and Pat, who have also passed away not knowing what's happened to their daughter.'
A 2008 coronial inquest found that Ms Sowry had died, most likely after an unconfirmed sighting in 1994.
In May 2024, police issued a call for information on a white 1968 Holden HK Kingswood sedan said to be in 'pristine' condition that police believed Ms Sowry may have travelled in south of Wollongong.
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