A Queensland father facing the prospect of a third straight Christmas without his twin daughters has issued a renewed national appeal for information on their whereabouts.
Michael Watter last saw his twin girls Bronte and Isabella, 7, when he dropped them off at a Townsville primary school on the morning of April 4, 2014.
He believes they never reached their classroom and were taken by their mother Catherine Watter, known as Cassie, in breach of a court order.
Mr Watter said he has not heard from them or seen them since, after police found their school uniforms in Cassie's car not far from the school
Police have generated images of what the girls, now 9, would look like today, and Mr Watter is urging anyone with information on their whereabouts to contact police.
"It's been nearly three years since my heart stopped beating, the day I found out they'd been taken," Michael said.
"I'm hoping that by being here today and getting these pictures out to the public my heart can start beating again."
It's been more than two and a half years since the girls were abducted, and police hold concerns for their welfare.
Mr Watter said he doesn't believe any harm has come to the girls because his estranged wife's relatives aren't acting like anything is wrong.
"There's people who were supporting her (Catherine) in the lead-up to the abduction who aren't particularly concerned about her now, so they must know she's okay and not truly missing."
The girls' abduction was the culmination of a long and bitter custody dispute between the couple, following claims the girls were being abused.
A police investigation found the girls were being coached by their mother, and Mr Watter was awarded full custody in 2011.
Mrs Watter's phone was found in Strathpine north of Brisbane shortly after the girls were abducted; however there's been no sign of her or the girls since.
Mr Watter said he wished everyday for the twins to come home and "get the opportunity to lead stable and happy lives".
"I am looking to get Christmas and birthday presents for them and I think firstly, should I get them their presents, when are they coming back? And then I think, well what could I buy them? I don't really know what I could buy them because I don't really know what they like now," he said.
"It is getting to the point where I don't know my children now.
"I am lucky I have a partner and two other children in our family that help make things better but everything I do I think how I might have been doing it with them."
Mr Watter said they're asking people across Australia to speak up if they see his Bronte and Isabella
"We're relying on public to be the eye and ears for police. If you think you know something and think 'it's none of my business', make it your business," he said.
AAP