Police have issued an arrest warrant over the murder of Hayley Dodd, 16 years after the teenager went missing while hitchhiking about 200km north of Perth, Western Australia.
Dodd was 17 years old when she was last seen walking along the North West Road near Badgingarra, on 29 July 1999.
She had arrived in the beachside town of Dongara, about 150km north of Badgingarra, a week earlier with the intention of getting work, but decided to leave the friend she was travelling with and hitchhike 160km to another friend’s farm, which was just south of Badgingarra. She never arrived.
On Monday, WA police announced they would be charging a 59-year-old man with her murder.
State crime commander Pryce Scanlan said police would allege the man abducted Hayley while she was walking on the North West Road on the same day she was last seen alive, before murdering her and disposing of her body.
Scanlan said the man had been “notified” that a Perth court had issued a warrant for his arrest. He refused to name the accused, but did say the charge “follows a review and investigation conducted by the special crime squad”.
“This investigation was referred to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for its consideration in February and advice was received in support of criminal proceedings” he said.
Dodd’s body still hasn’t been found.
Police said the Dodd family had been notified about the arrest warrant.
The family, led by mother Margaret, have ran a public campaign for police to pursue the case, and sister Toni maintains a Facebook page urging people to report suspected sightings from the week the teen went missing.
Her brother, Martin, made a brief statement on Facebook after the police announcement on Monday afternoon.
“Finally we might have a chance to move forward,” he said. “There is definitely some hard and trying times ahead but I pray we can get some answers from this and Hayley can rest.”
Police reopened their investigation in 2013 after a cold case review revealed new evidence, and have conducted extensive searches around Badgingarra.
Damage to one house during the four-week police search in 2013 was so extensive WA police were forced to offer compensation to the current owner, who said the house had been “destroyed” and the damage bill would top $200,000.
