Full Name: Nicola Sallese

Alternative Name: Nick

Case Status: Missing

Record ID#: 0287

*The names “Jane Doe”  and “John Doe” are English names used when the person’s true name is not known. If used above, the name refers to a person of unknown identity.

Date of Birth*: October 10, 1939
Birthplace:
Age at the Time: 69
Age Group: 60s
Biological Sex: Male
Hair: His hair was a silver-gray and balding on top
Eyes: Green-Grey
Skin Complexion:
Shoe Size:
Ethnicity: Caucasian or White
Nationality: Australia (unclear if still maintained his Italian citizenship)
Languages Spoken: He spoke with an Italian accent and we presume he spoke both English and Italian although that has not been confirmed.

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Physical Build: Stocky

Height:

Weight

Distinguishing Marks:

• White Mustache
• Mental Stability Concerns

Medical Condition: He suffered from high blood pressure and was in the early stages of Dementia. He may have been confused or disoriented at the time of his disappearance.
Physical Abnormality:
Dental Condition:
Scars & Other Marks:
Piercings:
Tattoos:

Other Descriptors:

Clothing

• Green Jumper (pull-over)

Possessions:

• Grey-Green Flat Cap

Date of the Disappearance*: November 17, 2008

Description: Nicola “Nick” Sallese, a 69-year-old retired electrician and devoted family man, vanished without trace from his quiet home in Sheffield, north-west Tasmania, on 17 November 2008. Although Tasmania Police launched an immediate and wide-ranging investigation, and although a coronial review later presumed him deceased, neither Mr Sallese nor his silver Toyota Camry (registration FH 2973) has ever been found. More than seventeen years later the case remains one of the state’s most poignant and unresolved missing-persons mysteries, sustained by the unyielding determination of his sons and the quiet hope of a community that still remembers the kind, cap-wearing Italian who built a life on the island’s rugged north-west coast.

Born on 10 October 1939 in Vasto, Italy, Mr Sallese emigrated to Australia at the age of 21 in 1960 and settled in Tasmania the following year. Over the next four decades he forged a successful career as an electrician with the Hydro-Electric Commission, working at remote power-scheme sites across the state—Poatina, King River, Anthony, Mersey-Forth, Lake Cethana, Lake Barrington, Georgetown, Tarraleah, Wayatinah, Strathgordon and Tullah among them. In 1967 he married Jill Mary Sallese (née Pitman), and together they raised two sons, Nicholas and Jason. A skilled wood-turner, he crafted bobbins and spinning wheels for Jill’s craftwork, and the couple shared a deep, affectionate partnership until her death from cancer in 2000 left him heartbroken. For years afterward he made the annual pilgrimage to her grave in Launceston, but by 2008 early-onset dementia had begun to erode his independence. He continued to live alone at 139 Vinegar Hill Road, Sheffield, under the watchful care of his family; his son Nicholas held power of attorney, and there had been gentle discussions about whether he should retain his driving licence after minor traffic incidents.

Easily recognisable by his grey hair (bald on top), white moustache, lingering Italian accent and habitual blue-grey flat cap, Mr Sallese stood only 150 cm tall. Despite high blood pressure and sleep difficulties he remained socially active, regularly attending meets with the Sheffield Bowls Club.

On the evening of Sunday 16 November 2008, Mr Sallese spoke by telephone with his son Nicholas at around 8:45 pm. During their conversation, they made arrangements for Nicholas to stop by the next day to repair a broken microwave. Mr. Sallese also told a close family friend, Ann Ridgeway, that he expected to spend Monday working in the house and garden.

The following day, however, when Meals on Wheels arrived at around 12:30 pm to deliver his lunch, he was not at home. Instead, they left the meal at Ms Ridgeway’s home as they routinely did when he was out. Surprisingly, he never appeared to collect it and no one answered when she tried calling the home around 2:00 pm. Apparently his son also tried calling the house but was unable to get ahold of him.

Late that afternoon Nicholas, growing concerned, drove to the home on Vinegar Hill Road and found the residence securely locked. The family dog Milo was in his kennel and Mr. Sallese’s washing was still hung on the line outside. Inside, a toiletry bag lay half-packed beside an empty suitcase which seemed unusual.

Between 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm that Monday a witness had seen Mr Sallese driving his silver Camry eastward along Sheffield’s Main Street, already 500 metres past the Vinegar Hill Road turn-off and heading toward the Bridle Track Road junction. This remains the last confirmed sighting. Given the progressive effects of his dementia, both police and family believed he might simply have become disoriented and set off toward a place once familiar: Launceston to visit Jill’s grave, one of the locations where his local bowling club competed perhaps, or one of the Hydro-Electric sites where he had once worked. He had also been due to travel south to Jason’s home near Hobart the following Saturday for a granddaughter’s birthday, and it is possible the dates had become confused in his mind.

A tourist from Sydney later reported encountering a man matching Mr Sallese’s description in Southport, more than 300 km to the south. The gentleman asked for directions to Seven Mile Beach near Hobart. Although the sighting was reported only after the tourist saw a news story, police regard it as the final credible encounter and are confident he never left Tasmania.

In September 2023 a man who had known Mr Sallese in Burnie came forward with another potential lead: he recalled seeing a silver Camry with passenger-side damage at the Margate tip shop, south of Hobart, around 19 November 2008; the driver had asked for directions to Hobart. The family found the account credible and pursued it vigorously.

Tasmania Police conducted an exhaustive investigation—air and ground searches, checks of airports and seaports, scrutiny of bank records (which showed no activity), and a forensic examination of the home that uncovered no evidence of foul play. Targeted searches were carried out at locations linked to Mr Sallese’s past employment, yet the vehicle was never located. In 2012 Coroner Timothy Hill, after reviewing the file without holding a full inquest, formally found that Mr Sallese had died on or about 17 November 2008. He noted the absence of suspicious circumstances, registered the death, and left the precise cause undetermined because neither the body nor the car had been recovered.

The Sallese family, however, has never accepted finality. Maintaining the Facebook page “Help Find Nicola Sallese,” they have issued repeated appeals and financed extensive private searches of Tasmanian waterways using sonar, drones and teams of professional divers. These efforts have, on occasion, brought closure to other families; in one instance a submerged vehicle located during a Sallese search was identified as belonging to another long-missing man, Dale Nicholson. Having already spent more than $10,000 on these initiatives, they continue to work with volunteers, including a YouTube filmmaker known as “Diver Dan,” who in January 2026 assisted with further sonar and diving operations at sites including Paloona Dam.

Multiple Victims?: No

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Date the Body was Recovered:

Description: Unknown

Time of Death:

Cause of Death:

Recovered Remains (if partial):

Suspected Homicide?: No

Multiple Victims?: No

DNA Tested (No Match):

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Description: Silver Toyota Camry Sedan. Vehicle had some damage on the left side and contained a small "brown nodding dog" sitting on the rear shelf of the car.

License Plate: Registration # FH 2973

Description: