Georgina Gharsallah, 31, was last seen leaving a store near her home in Worthing, Sussex, on 7 March last year.
She was comprising what police described as “a number of mobile phones”.
Her mother, care worker Andrea, operates tirelessly in what she now calls her “second job”, handing out posters and raising awareness of her family’s search.
“I often supposes the door being knocked, ” she says. “I go to answer and she’s standing there and I just say ‘where have you been you silly thing? ‘”
Georgina’s two sons, aged eight and nine, had begun to wave to photographs of her and say “hello mummy” – it is the closest they can get to her right now.
She is one of 17 missing people whose portraits will feature in a new exhibition which opens next week.
The show, entitled Unmissable, has been organised by the charity Missing People, which supports family and friends looking for their loved ones.
Someone is reported missing in the UK every 90 seconds, according to the charity.
‘We would tell the boys ‘mum’s poorly”
Two humen were arrested on suspicion of slaughter after Georgina went missing but were later released without giving further action.
Since she was reported missing, examiners say they have responded to nearly 60 sightings of her.
Image copyrightSussex PoliceImage caption The last sighting of Georgina Gharsallah on the day she vanished was at a mobile phone shop
On some sightings Andrea has dropped everything to hurry-up to the scene to see if she can help identify her daughter, but says her hope “isn’t as strong as in those early days”.
“In the beginning we would tell the boys ‘mum’s poorly’, but as the weeks went on we had to say we don’t know where mummy is but that we and the police are looking for her.
Image caption Richard ‘Richey’ Edwards went missing in January 1995
Image caption Tom Moore’s brother Ben curated the exhibition
Image caption Damien, who vanished a month after he started sixth shape in 1996, is described by “his fathers” Edward as “creative, artistic and musical”
Image caption Sybil Appelquist features in the exhibition
Image caption Lee Boxell went missing on 10 September 1988
Image caption Luke’s mother, Nicki, says this photograph proves a deeper side to Luke, who would usually be wearing his “infectious” smiling
Image caption Matthew’s mother, Karen, says her son has a “passion for the natural environment”
Image caption Eddie, Carl’s father, says this photograph depicts his son “outwardly happy” but that his “furrowed forehead shown in the stress he was under”
Image caption Charles Horvath-Allan as last discovered on a camp website while hiking in Canada
Image caption Mary’s sister Brenda says this is the last “precious” photograph they took of her before she went missing nearly 59 years ago
Image caption Andrew’s father Kevin says this photograph is “a reminder of how readily he smiled”
Image caption Darren did not like having his photo taken, says his mother Ann
Image caption Lana’s father, John, says Lana “was honest, very household orientated, enjoyed her daughter Megan and was a very happy-go-lucky girl”
Image caption Bek Stratfield, Finn’s mother says this photograph proves a “deep thinking, caring& intelligent young man with a bright, beautiful young mind”
Image caption Simon’s sister, Rachel Pickthall, describes him as “extroverted, fun, smart-alecky( both intellectually and sartorially ), unpredictable, grandiose, creative and extraordinary”
Image caption Quentin’s mother says when she looks at this photograph her son “is very clear in my mind”
Image copyright Rebecca Fontaine Wolf 