The Terrifying Abduction That Has Haunted Newcastle For 25 Years

Gordana Kotevski Abduction Newcastle Unsolved

Growing up in Newcastle in the 90s and noughties, it was all about listening to Silverchair, going to the beach and hanging out at the shops on a Thursday night.

That’s what makes the case of Gordana Kotevski, covered in this week’s episode of PEDESTRIAN.TV‘s unsolved mysteries podcast All Aussie Mystery Hour (which you can hear below) so damn terrifying.

The 16-year-old had been hanging with a friend at Newcastle’s Charlestown Square shopping centre on the night of November 24, 1994. She’d bought some new clothes and lay-byed some swimmers, ready to hit the beach in summer.

Gordana parted ways with her mate at around 8.45pm to make the short 7 minute walk down to her aunt and uncle’s house in nearby Powell Street.

At around 9, Gordana’s aunt Sonya Simonovich heard female screams from out on the street, and became alarmed when they continued for more than 30 seconds. She took her husband Greg outside to see what was going on, but once they got outside they saw nothing aside from a white Toyota Hilux ute driving slowly up the road.

They thought nothing of it at the time, but chillingly, they were most likely watching their niece’s abduction taking place.

Gordana Kotevski was never seen again, and had been snatched just 30 metres from the safety of her aunt and uncle’s house.

For 24 years, the mystery has remained unsolved, with a 2003 inquest ruling that Gordana’s cause of death was homicide “by person or persons unknown”. But who would brazenly snatch a teenager off a quiet suburban street?

In the new episode of All Aussie Mystery Hour, we go into some of the theories behind the case, including the frightening revelation that Gordana was being stalked by a stranger in the weeks leading up to her disappearance.

To hear the full episode, you can stream it or download it below, subscribe / listen on Spotify HERE, or find it on iTunes HERE.

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