It has been 400 days since Nicole Dickie last saw her son, Dylan.
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Dylan, then aged 19, has been missing since he left his family’s Cessnock home on June 23 last year.
Ms Dickie said it has been an “emotional rollercoaster” of a year for her family.
“It's still unbelievable,” she said.
“It doesn't feel real sometimes and other days it's all too real and we get consumed by grief and sadness.”
Dylan was riding a Yamaha 250 trail bike when he left the family home that night.
The bike, a helmet and a set of gloves were discovered six days later during a large search of the Corrabare State Forest near Congewai (about 20 kilometres south-west of Cessnock).
Forensic analysis of these items failed to uncover any new clues, as did a renewed search of a wider area of the state forest in October.
Ms Dickie said she believes there are people out there who know what happened to Dylan.
“We wish they were brave enough to speak up,” she said.
“It’s only a matter of time.”
Christmas has passed without their beloved boy, as has Dylan’s 20th birthday in April, and his family continues to wait for answers.
“My mum always tells me ‘one day at a time’, so I guess that's one way of concentrating on what's happening right now, instead of feeling bad about the past and worrying about the future,” Ms Dickie said.
“We often talk of Dylan when something silly things happen, as he was such a clown.
“He made me laugh more than anyone else.
“His Nanna says he gave the best hugs and foot massages and she misses those.”
She said Dylan's father Damien has set up a memorial spot in honour of Dylan, where friends and family can go.
“It's really nice and peaceful out there, it's somewhere I feel really close to him,” she said.
Ms Dickie said if she could see Dylan again, she'd “hug him forever and never let go”.
“I'd tell him to lean on those around him, we're all here for each other,” she said.
“That’s what family is for, right? Unconditional love.”
Dylan is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 175 centimetres tall, of slim build, with a fair complexion, blond hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information about a missing person can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
National Missing Persons Week runs from July 30 to August 5.
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