A Sydney teenage girl last seen leaving for school 40 years ago probably ran away and may still be alive, a coronial inquest has found. Marian Carole Rees was 13 when she disappeared from Hillsdale in southern Sydney in early April 1975 after telling a friend that she had forgotten something and jumped off her school bus. The teenager often talked of running away from home and had said goodbye to her brother on the morning she disappeared, Magistrate Sharon Freund said in findings handed down on Thursday. Marion Carole Rees (pictured) who went missing 40 years ago may still be alive, according to an inquest . Ms Freund said the disappearance did not appear suspicious and there was no evidence suggesting suicide. The teenager probably ran away with the intention of permanently cutting ties with family and friends, she said. 'It is likely nothing has changed in the intervening period.' 'She may still want to avoid detection and not wish to make contact with her family.' She said she was unconvinced, on the balance of probabilities, that Ms Rees is dead. Magistrate Freund said 'the ability to assume a new identity and new life would have been a lot easier forty years ago'. Marion (pictured with her family) was reportedly fed up with taking care of her younger siblings, as her mother had a drinking problem . Marian had only been living in Australia for a year after emigrating when she went missing while on the bus to Matravill High School with her friend Tanya Davenport. The 13-year-old jumped up to say she had forgotten something and got off the bus. She hasn't been seen since, however her mother's boyfriend at the time came out to say he thought he spotted her at a bus stop in Kingsford just weeks after she disappeared. In a statement last year, Mrs Davenport told the Daily Telegraph that Marian was preoccupied during their bus journey and thought she may have seen something when she jumped off the bus. '[Marian] was sitting next to me and from memory she looked a bit upset. During our conversation, she was looking out the window. I don't know whether she saw something or what but she jumped out of her seat and said 'I've forgotten something. I've got to go and I'll see you at school,' Mrs Davenport said. Marian had spoke about running away on numerous occasions according to her aunt and grandmother . Ms Rees would now be 53 years old. It is believed that she may have been running away from her mother Margaret and her two siblings John and Joanne, who she often had to take care of due to her mother's drinking. After her disappearance Marian's relatives, including her grandmother and her aunt, told of how the teenager longed to run away from her normal life. The case has been referred back to the Missing Person's Unit for further investigation as the Magistrate believes there were holes in the police investigation at the time.
A 13-year-old girl who vanished 40 years ago may still be alive.
Marian Carole Rees disappeared from Hillsdale in southern Sydney.
She often talked about running away and an inquest has heard it was not suspicious.
Magistrate Sharon Freund believes she may still want to avoid detection.
She said she was unconvinced that Ms Rees is dead.