Missing for 44 years: Fresh police search reignites hope in Lisa Mott case

Australian Community Media

WA Police have launched fresh searches in Collie’s bushland, revisiting a 44-year-old cold case. Investigators are re-examining a yellow Holden panel van linked to the disappearance of 12-year-old Lisa Mott, who vanished in 1980. Vision courtesy: WA Police

Transcript

00:00My name is Detective Sergeant Greg Dowling, I'm part of the team from Cold Case Investigations

00:05and we're the team that is investigating the disappearance of Lisa Mott.

00:09So Lisa, as we know, disappeared on the 30th of October 1980 and the reason we're here

00:16today is that we've received information from the public in regard to an abandoned

00:20Holden panel van.

00:21This search today is also subject to other searches in the Collier area, but they'll

00:26be at a future date.

00:28So in regard to Lisa disappearing, she was observed by an eyewitness to enter a yellow

00:34Holden panel van.

00:36We think it's a year between 1970 to 1978.

00:40November last year we had a police facility at the Collier area.

00:46We spoke to a number of people, members of the public came up to us, and a lot of those

00:49people they were originally resided in Collier and still reside in Collier.

00:55So they came up, provided us with further information about this abandoned Holden panel

00:58van.

00:59So we came out, had investigated it, and obviously all the identification had gone.

01:06But during the course of that investigation, we've established that there's possibly

01:09a chassis number on the chassis rail of the Holden panel van.

01:14So we've been able to remove that rail, we've taken it to our forensic people, and

01:18they've been able to bring up the chassis number.

01:21So we do have a chassis number on it, but unfortunately the records don't show the

01:25owner of that panel van.

01:27Today we've got 20 recruits from the police academy, we've also got staff from the emergency

01:33operations unit assisting us.

01:35So all up we've got 25 staff out here.

01:38This stage we're just going through, like I said, to try and find the identity of the

01:41owner, maybe number plates, vehicle identification plates.

01:46They're a very resilient family, they're hoping for answers, and at the end of the

01:50day they just want closure, they want to bring Lisa home.

01:54And as I said, if members of the public have got some information out there, they may think

01:58it's relevant, they may think it's not relevant, but just bring it forward, just let us know.

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