Her niece Shae Francis, 35, has been missing since October 2018.
Police have since confirmed Shae is deceased, however her body has never been found.
The former Shepparton woman is currently one of about 2600 long-term missing persons in Australia. She is one of the 38,000 people who go missing every year across the country — shockingly, one every 15 minutes.
Unfortunately for Shae, she is part of the one per cent of cases which have not been solved within a year of the person's disappearance.
Because of this Janine has spent the past year-and-a-half desperately searching for Shae, never giving up hope that she will be found.
The News is featuring Janine's story later this week to help focus on National Missing Persons Week.
“The aim this week is to get Shae back into the forefront ... when someone goes missing it's not only that person that gets lost,” Janine said.
“Someone goes missing in Australia every 15 minutes — there is so many families out there that could have answers.”
National Missing Persons Week, organised by the Australian Federal Police, runs from August 2 to 8.
The week aims to give families and investigators answers to long-standing questions as well as provide the community with insight into the unresolved grief felt by the loved ones of a missing person.
This year's campaign features the stories of eight missing people from around Australia, with the AFP’s National Missing Persons Coordination Centre urging community members to unite to raise awareness of the issue of missing persons.
“In telling the stories of these missing people ... we hope to draw out new leads and piece together these sad and enduring puzzles,” NMPCC's Jodie McEwan said.
“We hope the community connects with these stories, and if you have any piece of information – no matter how small – please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.”
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