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Police search WA property for missing teen

Police are questioning people and searching a property north of Perth in connection with 17-year-old Hayley Dodd, who went missing in 1999.

Missing WA teenager Hayley Dodd
Several people are being questioned over the disappearance of WA teenager Hayley Dodd 14 years ago. (AAP)

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Source: AAP


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A property is being forensically examined and several people are being questioned over the disappearance of West Australian teenager Hayley Dodd 14 years ago.

Hayley was 17 when she was last seen in July 1999 walking along North West Road near Badgingarra, north of Perth, after picking up a lift while hitchhiking from Dongara.

But in what is shaping as a major breakthrough, a re-examination of evidence has led police to return to a property just minutes from where Hayley disappeared.

Commander Scott Higgins from WA Police said ground-penetrating radar technology would be used to search the property, while several persons of interest were being quizzed.

"Hayley's disappearance has long been a case that has proven difficult, but one that WA Police remain committed to solving," Commander Higgins said.

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"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 search could take up to a week, he said.

Police were reluctant to give details of the people being questioned, only to say there was more than one and some of them had been interviewed before.

They also confirmed they had visited the property before, but had not searched it in detail.

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.

A coronial inquest into the teen's disappearance had been provisionally set to take place in January, after a concerted appeal by Hayley's mother, Margaret Dodd.

She was informed of the developments on Wednesday, and was said to be happy at the new information provided.


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