The disappearances of two Lake Macquarie teenagers more than 40 years ago is the focus of a police operation under way on the NSW Central Coast.
NSW Police announced two $1m rewards for information regarding the disappearances of Robyn Hickie and Amanda Robinson, who were last seen in April 1979.
Detectives were seen earlier on Wednesday searching the former Camp Kanangra scout camp at Nords Wharf for the girls’ remains.
A NSW Police spokeswoman told NCA NewsWire on Wednesday the search was part of the investigation into the pair’s disappearances.
The spokesman said detectives attached to the strike force were conducting inquiries in the area but no further information was available.
Strike Force Arapaima was established in April 2019 to re-examine the unsolved disappearances and suspected murders of the teenagers.
Robyn Hickie, 18, left her home around 7.15pm on April 7, 1979 and was last seen standing at a bus stop on the Pacific Highway at Belmont North.
A fortnight later Amanda Robinson, 14, was last seen walking along Lake Road in Swansea on April 21, 1979.
She had attended a dance at her high school in Gateshead.
Neither of the girls were located despite extensive investigations.
An inquest into their disappearances found that the teenagers were deceased, most likely as a result of foul play.
NSW Police Minister David Elliott told reporters on Monday the increased reward was a sign of how strongly the government was backing the investigation.
“For far too long, Robyn and Amanda’s families have lived with the pain of losing a child but without any idea of how it happened or who is responsible,” Mr Elliott said.
“They have been in limbo for four decades not knowing. They deserve answers now and we believe that offering these new rewards should be sufficient incentive for those with information to come forward.”
Lake Macquarie Police District crime manager, Detective Inspector Steve Benson, said he hoped the reward would encourage the people holding vital information to come forward.
“The disappearances of these teenagers triggered every parent’s worst nightmare,” he said.
“The Hickie and Robinson families have been fighting for the truth for four decades. They deserve to know what happened to their girls.”
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