Police are appealing to locate Russell Gregory Wright as part of this year's 'Forever Loved' Missing Persons Week 2025.
Russell Wright, 57, was last seen by his mother in 2022. At the time, Mr Wright was living on Rowland Avenue in Wollongong before it is believed he left for either Ulladulla or Blue Mountains areas where he is known to frequent.
Since 2022, Mr Wright was residing in bushland in the Ulladulla area and then bushland at Linden in the Blue Mountains area; but has not made contact with his family or police since.
He was last spoken to by police at Mount Druitt Railway Station on Friday 20 January 2023. Mr Wright frequently used public transport and trains as his primary mode of transport.
Despite extensive efforts by Lake Illawarra Police District and the Missing Persons Registry to locate Mr Wright, he remains missing.
Russell's mother, Margaret Keats, said she and Russell's five children just want to know what happened.
"We are all desperate to know what has happened to Russell. We are shattered and just want to know."
Russell is described as being of Caucasian appearance, with a fair complexion, and 175cm – 185cm tall.
He is bald with some short, grey hair and hazel-coloured eyes.
Russell also has tattoos on both forearms depicting women, with mixed inked images on his throat and upper arms.
Missing Persons Week is an annual national campaign to raise awareness of the issues and impacts surrounding missing persons and runs between Sunday 3 August and Saturday 9 August 2025.
This year's 'Forever Loved' campaign focuses on acknowledging the experiences of families of missing persons and the impact it can have on their lives.
For more information on the campaign visit www.missingpersons.gov.au
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is managed on a confidential basis. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.
