Homicide detectives are conducting a search of bushland near the Jenolan Caves in New South Wales for the body of missing Sydney woman Jessica Zrinski. The 30-year-old was last seen outside a Sydney pub in November 2022 before being driven towards the Blue Mountains.
The search, which involves the police dog squad, began on Friday about 13km north of the caves in the Jenolan state forest and is expected to run until Sunday. Officers previously searched the nearby Hampton state forest in May 2023.
Zrinski was last in contact with her family late on Sunday 27 November 2022. Police were alerted to her disappearance a few days later on 3 December. Detectives later discovered she had been in the car park of a hotel at Greenfield Park at about 10pm on Monday 28 November before leaving in a blue Holden Commodore station wagon about 10 minutes later.
CCTV footage released in late 2023 showed Zrinski in the car, which was seen travelling through Horsley Park at about 10.15pm and then Mount Victoria the next morning at about 8.50am. Investigators say the car travelled west on the M4 motorway and Great Western Highway towards the Blue Mountains.
At the end of last year, police offered a $500,000 reward for information regarding Zrinski’s disappearance. Her mother, Michelle Barton, released an emotional statement saying, “Living life without my baby girl Jess has been the most difficult pain I’ve ever had to endure.”
