The distraught mother of a teenage girl who disappeared from a railway station in Sydney's south three days ago has pleaded to her daughter to: "Please, please, just go for help."
Cassie Olczak, 16, has not been seen since 6.30pm on Sunday, when she got off a south-bound train at Banksia train station, where she was due to catch a connecting train to Hurstville just before 7pm.
But Cassie's mother Connie Olczak said her daughter did not return to their Sylvania home that night, and there had been no trace of her since.
Her mobile phone is off, and she has not accessed her bank account since she vanished.
Ms Olczak said her daughter, who had returned to Australia on Saturday from a two-week trip to Abu Dhabi to visit her father, had never gone missing like this before.
Cassie's family has barely slept since she disappeared, and spent last night handing out flyers at train stations and searching places Cassie was known to frequent.
Ms Olczak said she was concerned that someone might have given her daughter "a substance" that had left her confused and disoriented. She urged Cassie to "go for help".
"You're not in trouble. If you're confused or lost, people want to help you. I'm trying, I just don't understand," she said.
Cassie met some friends on Sunday afternoon, when she is understood to have received some news that agitated her. That news was believed to have involved a boy in their friendship group.
Ms Olczak believes her daughter, who was quiet and did not like crowded places, might have fallen asleep on the train home and ended up in Waterfall.
"My daughter doesn't have street smarts or a great sense of direction," she said.
Cassie was last seen wearing a multi-coloured shirt, grey tights and white and gold adidas sneakers. She is about 175 centimetres tall with a thin build and dark brown hair.
Ms Olczak said several people had reported seeing girls matching Cassie's description, including at Mount Druitt, Bondi and Wolli Creek. None of the sightings have been confirmed.
"One report was that she was at Wolli Creek train station about 2.10pm on Tuesday. The description was that she was alone and she looked confused," Ms Olczak said.
She said her daughter was known to visit Tempe, Wolli Creek, Burwood, and Hurstville, and urged people there to keep a look out for her.
Police urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
