26 Jan 2012

No new leads in hitchhiker cold case

9:19 pm on 26 January 2012

A new investigation in the cold case murder of an 18-year-old hitchhiker thought to have been murdered in the North Island 37 years ago has failed to turn up any new evidence.

Detective Inspector Mark Loper says Bay of Plenty Police received information late last year about the disappearance of Mona Blades as she hitchhiked from Hamilton to Hastings in 1975.

He says they followed up the lead by doing exploratory excavation work at a house in Kawerau but did not uncover any items of interest.

Investigators left the site on Thursday, but Detective Inspector Loper urges anyone with more with information to come forward to police.