A $100,000 reward has been offered to help solve the case of a teenage girl who disappeared in a disturbing abduction 17 years ago. Jessica Small, who was 15 at the time, was abducted from Bathurst in central west NSW on October 26, 1997. The teenager and her best friend, Vanessa Conlan, were leaving an amusement arcade in Bathurst at midnight when a man in a white car approached them and offered them a lift. Jessica Small, who was 15 at the time, was abducted from Bathurst in central west NSW on October 26, 1997 . The man drove the girls in his VK Holden Commodore sedan a short distance before turning his headlights off and attacking them on a deserted rural road. Vanessa managed to escape and ran to a nearby home  thinking Jessica was right behind her. But Jessica has not been seen since. Homicide Squad commander Superintendent Mick Willing said on Friday investigators believe Jessica was murdered. 'It's been almost two decades and this was a 15-year-old girl who vanished off the street of a NSW city,' he said. Supt Willing believes there are people who know what happened to Jessica. 'I implore these people to come forward and tell us what they know.' Police have released this image of a white VK Holden Commodore sedan, which is similar to the one they believe was involved in Jessica's kidnapping . The teenager and her best friend, Vanessa Conlan, were leaving an amusement arcade in Bathurst at midnight when a man in a white car approached them and offered them a lift . The current investigation has been thwarted by serious failings by Bathurst police back when Jessica initially disappeared. At an inquest into Jessica's disappearance last year, NSW deputy state Coroner Sharon Freund found there were serious inadequacies that had complicated the investigation. Local police did not initially believe Vanessa's version of events. They failed to properly interview witnesses or potential witnesses that could have uncovered crucial evidence. Detective Sergeant Peter Smith from the NSW Homicide Squad took on the cold case in 2007 and has conducted extensive inquiries into Jessica’s disappearance in recent years both in NSW and interstate. In an interview with 60 Minutes last year, Mr Smith said one of the key witnesses who had initially been ignored by local detectives had a strange conversation with a man who matched the description Vanessa gave of her attacker. Homicide Squad commander Superintendent Mick Willing said on Friday investigators believe Jessica was murdered . '(He said) an adult male had been in the amusement centre asking about Jessica and actually pointed her out and said, “She looks like she's up for a good time, who is that?” And then, during that conversation, he made mention that he was an employee of the Oberon Timber Mill,' he told the program. 'I just couldn't believe that no-one had asked him about that before. It's just so important.' The  investigation team interviewed 400 men throughout 2011 who had worked at the Oberon Timber Mill at the time Jessica went missing. They narrowed the list down to two and they were listed as persons of interest in the inquest into Jessica's disappearance. '(One) had access to a white VK Holden Commodore with holes in the passenger foot well. The car that the girls get into on the night, Vanessa sits in the front seat. And as it's driving along, Vanessa notices there's holes in the front passenger foot well,' he said. 'That's pretty explicit. It matches acutely Vanessa's description.' The coroner found there was no direct evidence linking the two persons of interest to the girl's abduction but said there was no evidence to eliminate them either. Vanessa, now 30, managed to escape and ran to a nearby home for help but police did not initially believe her version of events and failed to properly interview witnesses or potential witnesses . Jessica's mother, Ricki Small, said she still feels hurt and angry by the lack of police investigation at the time her daughter went missing . Eight months after Jessica vanished, two forestry workers found a pair of girl's underwear, a bottle of bleach and a blanket covered in blood in bushland 75km east of Bathurst. Police did not interview the person who found the items and the potential evidence wasn't DNA tested. It was later destroyed by local police. Jessica's mother, Ricki Small, wasn't told and said she still feels let down by the police. 'I would've been in the forest scratching the dirt, looking for her, physically,' Ms Small told 60 Minutes. 'I'm hurt and I'm angry. The treatment by… local detective who were on the case was just wrong. It was abominable. 'We haven't found her. 17 years and we haven't found her. 'All I can say honestly is that I hope things were over for her quickly... My head's entertained the ideas of her being locked up for days, or held for days or tortured or… I hate to go there. Jessica Small was abducted from Bathurst, west of Sydney, alongside Vanessa Conlan in 1997 and while Vanessa managed to escape, her best friend has not been seen since . Eight months after Jessica vanished, two forestry workers found a pair of girl's underwear, a bottle of bleach and a blanket covered in blood in bushland 75km east of Bathurst (re-enactment)
Jessica Small was 15 when she was abducted from Bathurst in 1997 .
Her and a friend were leaving an amusement arcade at midnight on October 26, 1997 when a man offered them a lift home .
The man drove the girls in his white  sedan before attacking them a short time later on a rural road .
Her friend managed to escape  but Jessica hasn't been seen since .
The current investigation has been thwarted by serious failings by Bathurst police back when Jessica initially disappeared .
Underwear and blood-stained blanket found months after disappearance but local police destroyed evidence .
Two decades later, a $100,000 reward has been offered to help solve case .
A $100,000 reward has been offered to help solve the case of a teenage girl who disappeared in a disturbing abduction 17 years ago. Jessica Small, who was 15 at the time, was abducted from Bathurst in central west NSW on October 26, 1997. The teenager and her best friend, Vanessa Conlan, were leaving an amusement arcade in Bathurst at midnight when a man in a white car approached them and offered them a lift. Jessica Small, who was 15 at the time, was abducted from Bathurst in central west NSW on October 26, 1997 . The man drove the girls in his VK Holden Commodore sedan a short distance before turning his headlights off and attacking them on a deserted rural road. Vanessa managed to escape and ran to a nearby home  thinking Jessica was right behind her. But Jessica has not been seen since. Homicide Squad commander Superintendent Mick Willing said on Friday investigators believe Jessica was murdered. 'It's been almost two decades and this was a 15-year-old girl who vanished off the street of a NSW city,' he said. Supt Willing believes there are people who know what happened to Jessica. 'I implore these people to come forward and tell us what they know.' Police have released this image of a white VK Holden Commodore sedan, which is similar to the one they believe was involved in Jessica's kidnapping . The teenager and her best friend, Vanessa Conlan, were leaving an amusement arcade in Bathurst at midnight when a man in a white car approached them and offered them a lift . The current investigation has been thwarted by serious failings by Bathurst police back when Jessica initially disappeared. At an inquest into Jessica's disappearance last year, NSW deputy state Coroner Sharon Freund found there were serious inadequacies that had complicated the investigation. Local police did not initially believe Vanessa's version of events. They failed to properly interview witnesses or potential witnesses that could have uncovered crucial evidence. Detective Sergeant Peter Smith from the NSW Homicide Squad took on the cold case in 2007 and has conducted extensive inquiries into Jessica’s disappearance in recent years both in NSW and interstate. In an interview with 60 Minutes last year, Mr Smith said one of the key witnesses who had initially been ignored by local detectives had a strange conversation with a man who matched the description Vanessa gave of her attacker. Homicide Squad commander Superintendent Mick Willing said on Friday investigators believe Jessica was murdered . '(He said) an adult male had been in the amusement centre asking about Jessica and actually pointed her out and said, “She looks like she's up for a good time, who is that?” And then, during that conversation, he made mention that he was an employee of the Oberon Timber Mill,' he told the program. 'I just couldn't believe that no-one had asked him about that before. It's just so important.' The investigation team interviewed 400 men throughout 2011 who had worked at the Oberon Timber Mill at the time Jessica went missing. They narrowed the list down to two and they were listed as persons of interest in the inquest into Jessica's disappearance. '(One) had access to a white VK Holden Commodore with holes in the passenger foot well. The car that the girls get into on the night, Vanessa sits in the front seat. And as it's driving along, Vanessa notices there's holes in the front passenger foot well,' he said. 'That's pretty explicit. It matches acutely Vanessa's description.' The coroner found there was no direct evidence linking the two persons of interest to the girl's abduction but said there was no evidence to eliminate them either. Vanessa, now 30, managed to escape and ran to a nearby home for help but police did not initially believe her version of events and failed to properly interview witnesses or potential witnesses . Jessica's mother, Ricki Small, said she still feels hurt and angry by the lack of police investigation at the time her daughter went missing . Eight months after Jessica vanished, two forestry workers found a pair of girl's underwear, a bottle of bleach and a blanket covered in blood in bushland 75km east of Bathurst. Police did not interview the person who found the items and the potential evidence wasn't DNA tested. It was later destroyed by local police. Jessica's mother, Ricki Small, wasn't told and said she still feels let down by the police. 'I would've been in the forest scratching the dirt, looking for her, physically,' Ms Small told 60 Minutes. 'I'm hurt and I'm angry. The treatment by… local detective who were on the case was just wrong. It was abominable. 'We haven't found her. 17 years and we haven't found her. 'All I can say honestly is that I hope things were over for her quickly... My head's entertained the ideas of her being locked up for days, or held for days or tortured or… I hate to go there. Jessica Small was abducted from Bathurst, west of Sydney, alongside Vanessa Conlan in 1997 and while Vanessa managed to escape, her best friend has not been seen since . Eight months after Jessica vanished, two forestry workers found a pair of girl's underwear, a bottle of bleach and a blanket covered in blood in bushland 75km east of Bathurst (re-enactment)
A $100,000 reward has been offered to help solve were leaving an amusement arcade in Bathurst at them and offered them a lift. Jessica Small, who was 15 at the time, was abducted from Bathurst in central west NSW on October 26, 1997 . The man drove the girls in his VK Holden Commodore rural road. Vanessa managed to escape and ran to in Bathurst at midnight when a man in a white car current investigation has been thwarted by serious failings by Bathurst police back when Jessica initially disappeared. At an inquest into escape, her best friend has not been seen since .