The family of missing Ballina woman Stephanie Cordery has questioned whether enough resources were thrown into the search for her, three weeks after she vanished without trace.

Stephanie’s mother, Joyce Cordery-Boyd, says she was shocked to discover that on some days as few as six people were physically searching the rugged country around Mt Nardi.

While praising those who took part in the search, she fears the Northern Rivers simply did not have enough resources available.

The family has spoken publicly about its concerns in an emotional interview with ABC North Coast reporter Cathy Adams, as they desperately try to keep the search for Stephanie alive.

“I didn’t realise that there were so few people there on the days that the search was on,” Mrs Cordery-Boyd told the ABC.

She said that when the family was told the SES was involved, she assumed that meant substantial numbers of people were on the ground.

“But in actual fact, sometimes there’s only six people out there,” she said.

“There’s just not the resources available.”

Mrs Cordery-Boyd stressed that those working from the search command post and on the ground had been “incredible people”, but questioned whether the region was receiving the resources needed for such searches.

“It’s almost like the north coast of New South Wales is a forgotten area when it comes to that sort of thing,” she said.

‘We live in limbo’

Stephanie, 42, left her Ballina home about 5am on August 5, with her car subsequently captured on CCTV at Lismore and Nimbin.

The vehicle was later found abandoned in a friend’s driveway at Mt Nardi, but there has been no trace of Stephanie.

Ballina News Daily had previously sought clarification from police about reports Stephanie’s car had been located in the Nimbin area, but police did not confirm the reports at the time, saying only that inquiries to locate her were continuing.

For Stephanie’s family, almost three weeks without knowing what happened to her has become increasingly unbearable.

“We’re just lost until we get an answer as to what has actually happened,” Mrs Cordery-Boyd told the ABC.

“We live in limbo. We live in limbo. There’s nothing we can do. We can’t go out there and search because we just don’t know where to go.”

Stephanie’s father, Barry, told Cathy Adams the family could not give up.

“We’ve got to keep on trying,” he said.

“Talking to the media is a start. And if we can get a few people looking a bit harder and whatever, we’d appreciate it.”

But when asked whether he was still able to hold hope that Stephanie was somewhere waiting to be found, his answer laid bare the toll of the past three weeks.

“There’s always hope, I suppose, but it’s fading.”

‘She might still be out there’

Stephanie’s sister, Monique, described the impossible position in which the family now finds itself.

“We can’t have a funeral. We can’t grieve because she might still be out there, but no one’s looking for her,” she said.

The official physical search has concluded, but the police investigation is continuing.

Mrs Cordery-Boyd said detectives were still working on the case and the family had been assigned two police liaison officers.

She said her understanding was that police were now undertaking investigative work for a report to the Coroner.

“Do we just leave it here, and she just becomes one of those statistics, another woman that disappeared on the far north coast … and hasn’t been located?” she said.

Monique said the family had considered every possible explanation for Stephanie’s disappearance and remained bewildered that no trace had been found.

She said Stephanie had experienced some mental health struggles over the past couple of years, but described her as highly functioning and said such episodes had been relatively infrequent.

The family had discussed every possible scenario, she said, including foul play.

“The tracking dogs couldn’t find any leads from the car.

“Anything’s an option. Anything’s possible.”

Police told the ABC that divers attached to Marine Area Command had searched dams and waterways near where Stephanie’s vehicle was located.

“Despite extensive search efforts, Stephanie has not yet been located,” police said.

Stephanie is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 165cm tall, of medium build, with brown hair.

She was wearing a dark-coloured hoodie, black tights and white sneakers when she disappeared.

Anyone who saw Stephanie, her vehicle, or has information that could help establish what happened to her is urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.