A mystery remains about how a bright young student disappeared on her way to school, never to be seen again.
Siriyakorn ‘Bung’ Siriboon, 13, was usually accompanied by one of her seventh-year classmates on the 1km walk to Boronia Heights College from her home in Melbourne’s far east.
But one morning on June 2, 2011, Boronia teen stepfather Fred Pattison waved goodbye and went to school alone, wearing her blue and white uniform and carrying her backpack.
She didn’t make it to school and never came home to her elder sister Pang, mother Vanidda and stepfather.
Twelve years later, Bung’s unsolved disappearance continues to baffle police, despite a $1 million reward, police investigating numerous leads, and a renewed public appeal two years ago.
Her family’s long search for answers continues and recently marked another anniversary of Bung’s disappearance with prayers at Melbourne’s Wat Dhammarangsee Buddhist temple.
Siriyakorn ‘Bung’ Siriboon (pictured) disappeared without a trace on June 2, 2011
Bung’s mom Vanidda and stepdad Fred Pattison (pictured last month) are still fighting for answers 12 years later
Her best friends have never forgotten their classmate and have tattoos of Bung’s name in her honor.
Police revealed they were still being called “every week” on the 10th anniversary of Bung’s disappearance in 2021.
“Ten years is a long time with no answers and I’m sure losing Bung feels as raw today as it did in 2011,” Detective Chief Justin Tippett said at the time.
“Unfortunately, despite a comprehensive and thorough investigation, we have been unable to solve this case and provide answers to Bung’s family or hold the perpetrator accountable.”
“We’ve never given up hope that one day we’ll be able to find out exactly what happened to Bung that day.”
Prosecutors offered to grant immunity in exchange for information identifying the person responsible for the missing teen’s disappearance.
“The prosecution will also consider awarding damages from prosecution to anyone who provides information on the identity of the main offender or offenders,” Victoria Police said in a statement at the time.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Victoria Police for an update on the case.
Siriyakorn ‘Bung’ Siriboon (pictured) would be 25 if she were alive
Police launched a week-long search in 2013 in the Old Joe’s Creek basin near Bung’s home after a man claimed he accidentally ran over her and dumped her body. No trace of the teenager was ever found
Bung’s mother and stepfather have been the face of numerous public appeals and conducted several television interviews, the latest being with The Project in 2021.
“She was very attentive, she knew not to get into a car with strangers, it was only a 5-10 minute walk,” recalled Mr. Pattison.
No one realized anything was wrong until hours later when her best friend Dyamai called Bung’s house to tell her about soccer the next day.
Mr. Pattison asked Dyamai why she hadn’t told Bung at school that day.
The friend had assumed she was home sick because she hadn’t been to school that day. Dyamai still feels terrible for telling Bung’s parents that their daughter was missing.
“He told me she wasn’t there so I was very confused and after my bath she still wasn’t home,” Dyamai recalls.
Bung’s disappearance had taken a harrowing toll on her friends
‘It was a very bad time. I couldn’t walk down the street alone,’ Dyamai said.
“I couldn’t walk that road we used to walk to school together. It took me five years to walk that road again’
Best friend Dyamai (pictured) could no longer walk the path she and Bung would take if they walked to school together
Were previous kidnappings connected?
Just weeks before Bung’s disappearance, a similarly disturbing incident occurred in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.
On her way to school, an 11-year-old schoolgirl of Asian descent was walking down Bennett Street in Boronia when she came across an elderly man wearing a white surgical mask. The man tried to lure her into his vehicle, but the brave young girl soon threatened to use her cell phone and managed to escape.
The police have learned of the disturbing parallels between these cases. In addition, on June 21, there was another incident of attempted kidnapping involving a 16-year-old girl, although limited information is available on this particular crime.
A police parable of a man about a child abduction attempt in Boronia, close to where 13-year-old schoolgirl Bung Siriboon disappeared
What do the police think happened to Bung?
Police believe Bung was kidnapped or possibly murdered, but ten years after her disappearance, there are still no suspects in the case.
In 2013, a Boronia man claimed he accidentally drove over Bung and dumped her body on a nearby reservation, sparking a weeks-long search in the Old Joe’s Creek retarding basin, a few miles from where the teen was last seen. had been seen.
However, the large-scale search turned up no trace of her. The man was questioned twice by the police and released without charge.
Taskforce Puma, a strike force dedicated to the disappearance, was shut down in October 2013 when leadership dried up and the case was referred back to homicide detectives.
Three years later, police released information about a reported sighting of a heavily tattooed man driving a white Kingswood station wagon with a girl of Asian appearance in the passenger seat on the day of Bung’s disappearance.
The vehicle was driven by a white man in his 30s or 40s with balding or light-colored hair. The man had full sleeve tattoos on his arms and a large tattoo on the left side of his neck.
Detective Inspector Hughes investigating Bung Sriboon’s disappearance stated:
“There are two specific pieces of information that we’re asking the public to consider, the description of the man with a large tattoo on his neck and the description of the white-colored station wagon.”
“We’re asking the public to think about someone who may fit the description and who owned or may have had access to a similar vehicle.”
“If we can connect those two pieces of information, we’ll be better able to identify the person of interest.”
A $1 million reward will remain with anyone who has information about what happened to Bung
Bung’s mother Vanidda (left) and stepfather Fred Pattison have participated in numerous public appeals
Last month, the Wat Dhammarangsee Buddhist temple shared photos of the emotional visit by Bung’s mother and stepfather to commemorate the 12th anniversary of her disappearance.
Born in Thailand, Bung and her family immigrated to Australia in 2007.
She was a very good student who excelled in mathematics.
“It wasn’t like Bung to miss school. She was a diligent and intelligent student. When she was absent from school for the day, her teachers and friends assumed she was ill,” the temple said.
“Her parents thoroughly searched their property before contacting all of Bung’s friends to make sure she wasn’t staying with them. When her parents tried to reach her on her cell phone, they realized that Bung had left her phone at home that day.
Bung would have turned 25 today.
Bung was last seen by neighbors leaving her school on June 2, 2011 at around 8:30 am as she left her home on Elsie Street in Boronia and headed towards Albert Avenue.
She was wearing her school uniform and carrying her school backpack, which has never been found.
A $1 million reward remains for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for Bung’s disappearance.
13-year-old Siriyakorn ‘Bung’ Siriboon was last seen on her way to school. But on June 2, 2011, she never made it to Boronia Heights College
Bung’s school friends (pictured on A Current Affair in 2019) have never forgotten the teen