IT HAS been almost a year since Ballarat woman Karen Gilligan mysteriously disappeared and her family are still struggling to come to terms with the loss.Ms Gilligan’s sister, Christine, said she would never give up hope of finding her eldest sister alive, despite almost 12 months without contact.“If we could do anything to bring her back we would,” she said. “We miss the phone calls, the chats over a cup of coffee and most of all that bubbly laugh of Karen’s when she gets the giggles up.”Karen Gilligan was last seen in Avoca on March 26, 2010, when she put fuel in her car at about 7.30pm — the day after her family reported her disappearance. Later that night her red 1993 Holden Barina sedan was found abandoned in Wycheproof. Ms Gilligan suffered from a medical condition which required daily medication and which police said would have run out just weeks after she went missing.“It’s been very hard, a bit of a nightmare,” Ms Gilligan’s father Francis said.“You always want to know what actually happened, and that’s what makes it so hard.”But Mr Gilligan lamented he had all but given up hope for his daughter, who he described as “a very quiet girl” who “you struggled to get a word out of”.“It’s been a long time now hasn’t it?,” Mr Gilligan said. “You know it’s the same old story, no money taken out of the bank, you cant live on nothing. I wouldn’t be expecting to find her alive now.”Karen’s brother Colin Gilligan said not knowing his sister’s fate had been the hardest part.“Most of the time you’re trying not to think about it,” he said. “But even the slightest radio announcement that says ‘body found’, you think here we go. It’s always playing on your mind.”He said the tight-knit family were given hope a number of times when people had called or posted on Facebook that Karen was alive, but said they had all turned out to be false alarms or pranks.Since Ms Gilligan’s car was found abandoned in Wycheproof, police have struggled to piece together what happened next.Detective Senior Constable Steve Campbell said there had been no sighting of Ms Gilligan in the past 12 months, no use of bank accounts, no contact with family members and no attempt to access the medication she needed.He said police had conducted numerous searches of the area. “We have done extensive canvassing of all likely places she might of been and we’ve drawn a blank on everything,” Senior Constable Campbell said.“Given she had a medical condition which, if un-medicated, would have brought attention to her if around other people, it’s baffling that nobody in the township saw her.”Anyone with information should call police on 5336 6080 or Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000.