It has been a decade since Kim Brassington has seen her cousin Jake.
"Jake was, is, a beautiful young man. He was 20 years old when we last saw him," Ms Brassington said.
"He had dreams, he wanted to join the army. He's a person, he's a human being and he deserves for us to find him somehow."
Jake Lyons was described by his family as kind, intelligent young man. (Supplied: Victoria Police)
Jake Lyons was last seen at his Dandenong home on Scullin Street about 9am on August 25, 2014.
The last person to see him was his father Rick, who headed off to work on the morning of August 25, leaving Jake home alone.
In the afternoon, when a friend of Jake's arrived at the house to collect him, he found the front door open and no one home.
Jake has not been seen since.
Now, on the 10th anniversary of his disappearance, Victoria Police are again appealing for anyone with information to come forward in the hopes of solving the cold case.
Final traces found at Springvale park
When Jake's father returned from work about 7pm that night, he discovered both Jake and his Holden station wagon missing.
Jake's phone was also found in the house, and had been dismantled.
After several attempts to contact his son over the following days, he reported him missing to police on August 28.
Six days after his disappearance, the Holden station wagon was found unlocked at Warner Reserve in Springvale, just over 10 minutes drive from the house.
The keys were found underneath the car.
Police say the vehicle was found near the soccer club rooms at Warner Reserve. (Mapio: XpektTom)
Police searched the area extensively, but found no trace of Jake, and were unable to confirm if Jake was the person who drove the vehicle to the park.
Ms Brassington said the past decade has taken an immense emotional toll on the family.
"It's 10 years of stress, worry, anxiety. It's a nightmare," she said.
"His father wakes up every morning and has to deal with this, and it's really hard ... wondering where your child is."
She described the last time she saw her cousin, on her birthday, and said he seemed anxious and uptight.
"I hugged him goodbye and it was like he didn't want to get out of the car and leave me," Ms Brassington said.
She said he was feeling "a little bit depressed" at the time, but was seeking counselling at the time and seemed to be more positive.
Police unable to determine whether disappearance was suspicious
Victoria Police said that 10 years on there are still gaps in Jake's movements on the day he went missing.
Authorities have been unable to definitively say whether the disappearance was suspicious or not.
Police said the lack of sightings suggest Jake is no longer alive.
Detective Acting Inspector Anthony Combridge said the front door of his home being left open suggested Jake was in a rush to leave.
"It doesn't look as though he hadn't planned to leave at that stage," Detective Acting Inspector Combridge said.
He called on anyone who may have withheld information during the past decade to come forward.
"Jake's family have had to live with this for 10 years. Ten is an arbitrary number, we're here for a 10-year anniversary but tomorrow, it'll still be there for them," he said.
"It'll be 10 years and one day."
Kim Brassington says the lack of answers around her cousin's disappearance has been devastating. (ABC News)
For the family members living through it like Kim Brassington, renewed public appeals for information provide a small glimmer of hope that they will one day know the truth.
"I'm not sure if Jake is still with us but until we know, you do hold onto that little bit of hope that he'll be found," she said.