THE Victorian parents of a woman who went missing from a small WA town with her daughter more than four years ago are hoping National Missing Persons Week will re-ignite new leads and help them find their family.Chantelle McDougall, 27, and her six-year-old daughter Leela went missing in July 2007, together with Ms McDougall’s partner – and alleged con man – Gary Feldman and friend Antonio Popic.They are among 1600 Australians who have been missing for more than six months.Their family and friends are among 42,000 Australians who live with the emotional, physical and psychological pain of not knowing what has happened to someone they love.Ms McDougall’s father Jim, who lives on a farm near Wodonga and has many links to central Victoria, including several family members living in the Bendigo area, said the family wanted to be a part of this month’s National Missing Persons Week – which starts today – in the hope that someone, somewhere in Australia will hear their plea and provide police with the information they need to find Chantelle and Leela.The theme of Missing Persons Week, which will be launched nationally in Queensland today, is ‘‘the impact of missing persons on family friends and the community’’.“We last heard from them at noon on July 14 four years ago,’’ Mr McDougall said.“Chantelle rang a couple of days beforehand and said she was going on a holiday. I rang back on the 14th and gave her our email and that was the last we heard from her, on the 14th of July, four years ago.’’Mr McDougall said he and his wife initially believed the group had travelled to South America for a holiday, but became worried after not hearing from them despite providing them with contact details before they left.They were reported missing in October 2007.Following the report, police discovered information that Mr Feldman, then known as Simon Kadwell, had come to Australia illegally.Mr McDougall said Mr Feldman had stolen the identity of a man he had worked with in England.Police have also investigated links Mr Kadwell had to a sect based on a doomsday book called Servers of the Divine Plan. The book calls on “servers” to take up their positions on Earth before the world’s imminent end and rebirth.Mr McDougall said he and his wife initially believed the group had travelled to Rio Branco, a Brazilian city known for its religious cults, but inquiries with immigration and customs found no trace of them leaving the country.“When Chantelle rang she said they were going to Rio Branco in Brazil which is near the Amazon Jungle and they were going to go to a cult community and live there for while,’’ he said.“But there is no evidence that the passports had ever got used.”Mr McDougall said the police investigation, although lengthy, had turned up few clues and had provided no closure for the family.“You never know if they’re alive or if they’re still safe somewhere,’’ he said.“A friend of ours, their son got killed about the same time and that was terrible for them, but they’ve got closure.“We don’t want closure as in they’re dead, we just want to know if they are safe and well and happy. That is all we want.’’