A year ago, Jessica accepted a lift from a stranger outside a pub. Then she vanished.

On November 28, 2022, Jessica Zrinski stopped by a friend's house in Sydney's south west, before making a quick visit to her grandmother's house, just one street away. 

The 30-year-old said goodbye, and then walked alone through Bossley Park towards Club Marconi. But she never made it to the club, if that's where she was going. Instead, she got into a blue station wagon, in the car park of a hotel on Mimosa Road at Greenfield Park. She was never seen again. 

"Jess was in a good mood," Zrinski's aunt Robyn Tuza tells Mamamia. "No issues were reported to me or her uncle when talking about Jess on that night. We do not know her plans or where she was going."

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Gone without a trace.

Zrinski was a creature of habit, says Tuza. 

"Jess always contacted her grandmother. She stayed between her grandmother's and (her friend's) house and the week she went missing, (her friend) assumed Jess was taking time out at her grandmother's, and her grandmother thought Jess was with (her friend). 

"It wasn't until (her friend) came looking for Jess a few days later that alarms were raised."

Her grandmother started searching for Zrinski, stopping at local hangouts and shopping centres; she called every contact of her granddaughter's she could find. Zrinski didn't have her own mobile phone. 

"All attempts at locating Jess led to nothing and the police were notified."

By the time police were contacted, Zrinski had been missing for approximately a week. Suspecting foul play, the State Crime Command's homicide squad took over the investigation and formed Strike Force Keder. 

"Cabramatta Police were wonderful with their investigation," Tuza says. "And they worked very hard to locate Jess. After the first media conference, there were leads and not long after, homicide contacted us to advise that they were taking carriage of the investigation and they held grave concerns for Jess."

It's been more than a year since Zrinski went missing, and with police unable to crack the case, they're now offering a $500,000 reward.

CCTV footage shows Zrinski in the hotel car park around 10pm, before being picked up in a blue Holden Commodore station wagon. The car was later seen travelling west on the M4 motorway and Great Western Highway towards the Blue Mountains. 

Jessica Zrinski was last seen getting into this car. Image: NSW Police

Footage shows the station wagon stopping at petrol stations in Horsely Park and Mt Victoria. 

Detective Chief Inspector Glen Browne told media that detectives had spoken to the driver of the car, but he had refused to cooperate. 

"We know who that man is, he is the registered owner of that vehicle, he has been spoken to but at this stage he hasn't provided any assistance to police," Inspector Browne said.

"They had a person of interest (POI) and they have a motor vehicle. They have a timeline. They know she was last seen in the Blue Mountains on 29 November at approximately 9:15am," Tuza says. 

"The POI was not known to Jess, her family or any known associates. He was a stranger."

Tuza is urging anyone with information about Zrinski's movements between November 28 and November 29 to come forward. 

"Anyone who saw the car. Perhaps it was driving slowly in a suspicious manner or erratically waking residents. Maybe it was parked at a strange place."

Overwhelming grief. 

"We now believe someone hurt Jess and has discarded her, went about his day and is living his best life," shares Tuza who says the family has endured further heartbreak amid online victim-blaming. 

"The family has had to read comments blaming Jess for her situation, shaming Jess. The victim blaming has been heart-wrenching. We are constantly defending Jess. Keyboard warriors and self-taught true crime experts can be unnecessarily cruel and nasty."

Jessica Zrinski. Image: Supplied.

"She didn't deserve to die at the hands of another. As a community, we need to start protecting and stop exploiting."

Tuza says the family's grief has been overwhelming.  

"Her father is extremely unwell with a serious heart condition and his health is failing due to grief and stress. Her mother is overwhelmed with grief and is too distraught to face media. Her brother is terribly sad and just misses his sister so much," she tells Mamamia. 

"Jess was a beautiful person, always loving and kind. You were always greeted with a smile and a hug. She always expressed how much she loved her family. We just want to bring Jess home and put her to rest. As a family we are tormented by thinking she is just out there alone."

Anyone with information that may assist investigators is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au.

Feature Image: NSW Police