On this day every year, Uncle Don Craigie makes the short journey from his home to the Tamworth Police Station.
It's a journey he's repeated for the past 35 years, ever since his nephew's body was found on railway tracks outside the regional NSW city.
It doesn't get any easier.
"We're still looking for the truth of what has happened to Mark and I will continuously do this every anniversary year that passes," the Gomeroi man said.
"I will be outside that police station, making statements to the effect that we are still not happy with how this investigation has been proceeding over all these years.
“To let all and sundry know that Mark has not been forgotten."
Mark Haines was just 17-year-old when we was killed and his body discovered by a train driver on the railway tracks outside the NSW town of Tamworth in the early hours of January 16, 1988. Credit: Karen Michelmore, NITV
Fresh hope
Today, on the anniversary, the family may have a reason to have fresh hope.
Oxley Police District Crime Commander Jason Darcy told NITV that persons of interest had been identified in the new investigation, and he supported a second inquest being held.
"Persons of interest have been identified in this case, but at this stage there's insufficient evidence to go to the next stage of a legal process," Detective Inspector Darcy said.
"That's why a second inquest would be valuable."
Oxley Police District Crime Manager Jason Darcy confirmed to NITV that persons of interest had been identified in the death of Mark Haines. Credit: Karen Michelmore, NITV
Police conducted a review of the case with the homicide squad last year, with the report handed to the coroner.
"I do think a second inquest will hopefully give some answers to the family," Detective Inspector Darcy said.
He supported Uncle Don Cragie's calls for the reward to be lifted to $1 million, and described his tireless efforts to seek justice for his nephew as "staunch" and "courageous".
"We want to get the family some sort of closure as to what happened. He's a stalwart for the family."
'A lovely boy'
Uncle Don was living in Moree, 250 kilometres away, when the body of his 17-year-old nephew whom he describes as like "a special son" was found on a lonely stretch of railway on the outskirts of town.
A train driver discovered Mark's body in the early hours of January 16, 1988 with only a spot of blood and a towel found under his head.
"It did not add up and we believed he met with foul play all those years ago, and we still maintain it today," he said.
Uncle Don Cragie called for the police reward to be lifted to $1 million on the 35th anniversary of his nephew's death. Credit: Karen Michelmore, NITV
"As I said way back at that time, if our boy was not Aboriginal we believe that every attempt would have been made to unearth what has happened to him," he told reporters outside the station.
"Subsequently there's been other murders in this township and the police were all over them, they resolved them."
The family is being represented by the National Justice Project, and Greens MP Sue Higginson supported Uncle Don outside the police station today.
"We've been receiving some very positive news from the coroner's office that there will be an inquest, a much-needed inquest," she said.
Mark Haines' uncle Don Craigie describes him as a lovely young man who was taken from his family too soon.
He promised Mark's mother and father, as well as his own mother, that he wouldn't stop until he learned the truth.
His nephew's death has since been the subject of two documentaries and a podcast, leading the NSW Police to reopen the cold case five years ago with a $500,000 reward.
Heartbreak, as the city celebrates
This time of year, Tamworth is packed with visitors for the Country Music Festival. In 1988, the year Mark died, Australia was also marking its bicentenary.
"We were in so much pain with Mark's death, while Australia was celebrating 200 years of occupancy of our land," he said.
"There was no celebrations for us. And as each year goes by I don't feel there's much to celebrate anymore.
"Mark has not been forgotten. We are still looking for the truth."
Uncle Don has been calling for a fresh inquest for years and is hopeful it may be held this year.
It will be one of two inquests the family will likely endure, with an inquiry into the death of his nephew William Haines at Cessnock Correctional Facility two years ago also expected to be held.
Uncle Don Craigie believes he is getting close to finding the final piece of the puzzle to solve the heartbreaking mystery of his nephew Mark Haines' death. Credit: Karen Michelmore, NITV
"I am very disappointed in the way the investigation... started out and how it was performed," he said.
The unanswered questions have continued to haunt him. But he remains hopeful it is just a matter of time until the truth emerges.
"There only seems to be one piece of this puzzle that's missing," he said.
"That will tie everything and everyone together.
"I believe we are getting very close to that piece of that puzzle."
Watch Cold Justice- Mark Haines, as Allan Clarke presents a raw and unfiltered look at the injustice Indigenous people face when it comes to unsolved homicides .
A train driver discovered the body of 17-year-old Mark Haines on the railway line outside of Tamworth in the early morning of January 16, 1998. Credit: Karen Michelmore, NITV
