The West Australian Police Force have requested a reward be attached to an almost 40-year-old cold case, after the Mandurah Mail produced a series of stories shining a light on the suspected murder.
The Mail's true-crime investigative podcast Annette: Cold Case Unlocked examines the suspicions and secrets surrounding the disappearance and death of 19-year-old Annette Deverell from Mandurah.
The four-part podcast launch coincided with the anniversary of Annette's disappearance on September 13, 1980.
Annette was given a lift into town by her mother, Margaret Carver, to buy some cigarettes, but never returned home.
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Police said she had met with friends at the Brighton Hotel and the Boathouse Tavern. She was last seen outside the Mandurah post office on the corner of Sholl Street and Pinjarra Road.
Annette's remains were found almost two years later in Pinjarra bushland about 30 kilometres from where she was last seen.
Annette's case has never had a reward despite other cold cases in Western Australia offering up to $250,000 for information that could help solve the case.
Mrs Carver asked for a reward ahead of the series and said she wanted answers before she died.
Last month, Mandurah MP David Templeman told the Mail a reward should be issued as a "matter of urgency".
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This week, a WA Police spokeswoman said police would be taking action.
"The Western Australian Police Force are progressing a request for a reward in relation to this matter," she said.
Annette's brother Michael "Digger" Deverell said he was relieved police had requested a reward, but it would have to be a substantial amount for someone to speak after so many years.
"Someone or more than one person has been sitting on information for that long," he said.
"We hope the reward will be $250,000, the same as other cases, to encourage these people to speak up."
Digger said it was important the reward be posted "sooner rather than later".
"The case is now in the spotlight after the Annette podcast and stories came out," he said.
"Everyone who was around back then is talking about it.
"If police wait too long, the people who were involved with Annette's death or know what happened have time to make up a story to cover their tracks."
Digger said there was also a chance someone with information could be threatened and silenced by people involved.
"You never know," he said.
"And police won't know unless they are investigating the case and going after the suspects."
Digger said he wanted the case to be solved before his mother Margaret Carver passed away.
"It needs to be solved before then," he said.
"It also needs to be solved before the people involved die. If this case is ever going to be solved, it will be after this podcast."
The last episode in the series, Justice for Annette, was released last week, with the series so far reaching more than 37,000 downloads.
- Written and presented by journalist Carla Hildebrandt, Annette: Cold Case Unlocked is available now on your favourite podcast app. Search "Annette: Cold Case Unlocked" in Apple Podcast, Spotify, PodBean, TuneIn and SoundCloud. Episodes will be released weekly.
If you have any information that could help police solve this case, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. You can contact Carla Hildebrandt by emailing annettepodcast@gmail.com.