Police investigating the historic disappearance of Mona Blades say they'll be following reports of an abandoned vehicle spotted by a hunter in the Rangitaiki Forest near Taupo.
The vehicle, thought to be an orange Datsun, was found last week. An orange Datsun stationwagon was linked to the disappearance of Miss Blades, who went missing while hitchhiking to Napier in 1975.
Detective Inspector Mark Loper confirmed a sighting of a car in the forest had been reported and said police were arranging to visit it.
Miss Blades' body has never been found and no one has ever faced charges in connection with her death.
She went missing on May 31 as she was hitchhiking from Hamilton to Hastings.
The 18-year-old got into an orange Datsun 120Y stationwagon on the Napier-Taupo road and disappeared without a trace.
- By Laurilee McMichael of the Rotorua Daily Post
