Police search property in Hayley Dodd case
Police are searching a property near Badgingarra in relation to the disappearance of schoolgirl Hayley Dodd 14 years ago.
The 17-year-old was last seen hitchhiking on the North West Road near Badgingarra, about 205km north of Perth, on July 29, 1999.
Police are searching a house on North West Road.
The house is 10km east of the town site.
Seven News reporter Grant Taylor told 6PR the search appeared to be concentrated on a house on the property and the immediate vicinity.
He said there was a large police contingent present.
State Crime Acting Commander Scott Higgins said police were speaking to several different people but that they do not live at the property.
He declined to say if the people they are speaking to used to live at property.
The people living at the property now are not connected to the investigation, he said.
He said non-one was in custody or under arrest.
It is possible that other properties could be searched.
Commander Higgins said a full forensic team including the special crime squad and a team from UWA were part of the search.
The Badgingarra property being searched by police.
In Seven News at 4.30 and 6. | The latest on a major new development in a WA murder mystery. | What happened to schoolgirl Hayley Dodd? | Details of a new search - 14 years on - north of Perth. | Police use ground penetrating radar. | See the pictures from the Seven News helicopter.
The forensic search was initiated after the Special Crime Squad conducted a review into the case.
Cdr Higgins said Hayley’s family had been briefed on developments regarding the case, and WA Police recognised this would be a difficult time for them.
“Hayley’s disappearance has long been a case that has proven difficult but one that WA Police remain committed to solving,” Cdr Higgins said.
“We know the family members of long term missing persons and unsolved homicide victims suffer, and we want to find the answers that may bring them some comfort.
“The job of the Special Crime Squad is to go back over long term unsolved cases and find new opportunities that may hold the key to unlock these mysteries.”
Cdr Higgins said the search is expected to continue for several weeks and will involve the use of specialised ground penetrating machinery.
Hayley's mother Margaret has been tireless in her efforts to find out what happened to her daughter, pushing for an inquest that was granted earlier this year.
The push for an inquest has gathered momentum in recent years after the case was investigated by the special crime squad, which handles cold-case homicides and long-term missing person files.
Detectives have narrowed Hayley's time of disappearance down to a 20-minute window on July 29.
Mrs Dodd said her daughter was last seen standing on North West Road about 11.35am by a travelling salesman and she was gone when a motorcyclist passed the area about 11.55am.
No one has been charged with her disappearance, although the movements of Bradley John Murdoch - the infamous killer of Peter Falconio - were examined in relation to her disappearance.
The family has enlisted psychics, a private investigator, an Aboriginal tracker and a British geographical profiler in the past decade to try to crack the case.
A $250,000 reward has been offered for information into her disappearance.
Police search a property in Badgingarra. Picture: WA Police
