CENTRAL Midlands and Coastal Advocate newspaper journalist, Merrel Pond travelled to the crime scene yesterday afternoon where WA Police have launched a forensic search of a Badgingarra property as part of the investigation into the 1999 disappearance of Hayley Marie Dodd – 14 years ago.
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The forensic search of the property on North West Road close to the school, was initiated after the Special Crime Squad conducted a review into the case.
Police are not releasing any information apart from they have a substantial lead and they know what they are looking for.
State Crime Acting Commander Scott Higgins said police were speaking to several different people but they do not live at the property.
He declined to say if the people they are speaking to used to live at the property.
The people living at the property now are not connected to the investigation.
He said that no one was in custody or under arrest.
Cdr Higgins said their investigation could lead to search of other properties.
A full forensic team including the special crime squad and a team from UWA were part of the search.
Cdr Higgins said the search is expected to continue for several weeks and will involve the use of specialised ground penetrating machinery.
State Crime Acting Commander Scott 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.”
Hayley travelled from Mandurah to Dongara on July 22, and had been working with a friend as a rouseabout at Dongara prior to her disappearance.
She left Dongara, about 150km north of Badgingarra, about 8am on Thursday July 29, 1999, to visit a family friend who was working at a farm between Badgingarra and Moora.
She made a phone call from a public telephone box near the Badgingarra Roadhouse before accepting a lift as she walked along North West Road.
At 11am, Hayley was dropped off at the corner of North West Road and Winjardie Road, about 10km east of the Bandgingarra townsite.
11am – 11.45 – More than 10 witnesses report seeing Hayley walking on North West Road, with the last witness reporting seeing her about 5km east of Badgingarra Road.
She was last seen crouching down on the side of the road and looking into a day pack that she was carrying.
About 12pm – Witnesses report driving past North West Road and not seeing Hayley.
Hayley was last seen on North West Road near Badgingarra between 11.30am and 12pm on July 29, 1999.
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 a Cavadere dog and a British geographical profiler in the past decade to try to crack the case.
Dates have been set for a coronial inquest in January next year after years of campaigning by Margaret Dodd.
A $250,000 reward has been offered for information into her disappearance.
