A previously disregarded yellow panel van could hold the key to solving a 44-year-old West Australian cold case mystery.
WA Police on Tuesday launched a fresh appeal for information in an attempt to solve the suspected murder of Lisa Mott in Collie in 1980.
WA Police believe this yellow panel van could hold clues to the disappearance of Lisa Mott in 1980. Credit: WA Police
The 12-year-old was seen leaving a local basketball court with a friend around 8.45pm one October evening to head to a nearby pizza shop. She walked home around 9pm, and was last seen crossing a railway line to Forrest Street before she vanished.
Detectives deployed a mobile facility to the area last November in the hopes of people coming forward with new leads.
From that deployment, detectives are reinvestigating a yellow Holden panel van abandoned in the bush area of Hoddell Road in Collie. The vehicle was previously reported to police and investigated at the time of the initial report in 1996 – 16 years after Mott’s disappearance.
It had been previously discounted as relevant to the case, but detectives have received new information which has led them to double down on their efforts to identify the vehicle’s owner.
Lisa was last seen by an eyewitness entering a yellow panel van, believed to be a Holden 1970 to 1978 model.
Police will conduct a search of the bushland area where the burnt-out vehicle was found on Tuesday.
Detective Sergeant Greg Dowding said he firmly believes the West Australian community could help police solve the case.
“We are seeking anyone with information in relation to this vehicle to come forward to police,” he said.
“We want to identify the owner; we want to know how long it has been here and most importantly we want to determine whether it is relevant to Lisa’s disappearance.
“It comes as no surprise that the Western Australian community is so eager to help; it’s every parent’s worst nightmare to lose a child and spend decades without any explanation.”
Lisa’s sister Bernadette Mott said it had been hard to stop her mind racing since the new details were uncovered.
“It’s very difficult to stop hoping, especially when this has come about, but it’s actually a very weird feeling to be honest. I’m just trying to get through it,” she said.
“I just urge anyone that knows who the vehicle belonged to, to come forward and let the police know.
“Somebody has to know (what happened).”