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Thought to be a hit-and-run victim, April-lee Gillen was in fact dragged into a black SUV by two men, and managed to jump from the moving vehicle, police have revealed.
Documents provided to the Mercury say police are searching for two men in relation to the discovery of 17-year-old April-lee on the side of Northcliffe Drive at Lake Heights on April 20.
Lake Illawarra police have formed Strike Force Ketik to investigate the attempted abduction, which left April-lee with critical head injuries.
Police say doctors removed part of her skull to prevent further brain damage.
She spent a month in Wollongong Hospital's intensive care unit, and is still being treated by the Illawarra Brain Injury Service. She has suffered serious memory loss.
Several Facebook pages supporting April-lee popped up in the aftermath of the incident, with one reporting she had also suffered a badly broken ankle.
Mystery surrounded the discovery of April-lee on the roadside. A message she herself posted on Facebook, just minutes before the time she was suspected to have been abducted, reads "walking from warrawong to berks [Berkeley] and some Asian guy just stopped me telling me to come home with him cause it's safe and I need help wtf sos".
It was initially thought April-lee may have been the victim of a hit-and-run.
Strike Force Ketik is now looking for a black BMW SUV seen in the area at the time of the incident.
Police have released CCTV of the car, and Detective Superintendent Wayne Starling, Lake Illawarra Local Area Commander, said detectives were now searching for its occupant and doing everything in their power to find the offenders.
Anyone with information on the incident, or the black SUV, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or Lake Illawarra police on 4232 5599.