Sixteen years of anguish for missing Vicky

THE mysterious case of Vicky Hamilton has been in and out of the headlines for 16 years.

But in the past month, her family has finally started to believe that they may soon be able to find out what happened to their 15-year-old daughter after she disappeared without trace from a West Lothian town.

Last night's announcement that Peter Tobin had been charged in connection with their daughter's disappearance came 16 years after they last saw her.

Just a fortnight ago, the schoolgirl's father, Michael Hamilton, revealed his desperation for the nightmare to come to an end.

But yesterday's development came too late for the teenager's mother, Janette, who died in 1993, two years after Vicky vanished.

Michael Hamilton was speaking after police confirmed they were carrying out a search of a house in Bathgate.

It was prompted when Lothian and Borders Police decided to carry out a "cold case review" of the inquiry after receiving new information about the disappearance.

Hamilton senior said: "There has been nothing for almost 17 years, so this is a break for us. If it comes to the crunch, then we can finally put her to rest.

"I am hoping she is still alive but I do not know how I am going to feel if they find her. It will be a disaster for me."

He continued: "She was a bright and bubbly teenager, tall for her age, who was starting to strike out on her own. I believe she was abducted and murdered. I hope the police will knock on my door some day soon and finally let me know what happened."

His daughter was last seen in George Square, in the centre of Bathgate, just after 5.35pm on Sunday, February 10, 1991.

She had spent the day visiting her elder sister, Sharon, who lived in Livingston, before taking the number 281 bus to Bathgate.

There she was due to catch a second bus onwards to her mother's home in Redding near Falkirk.

It is known that the teenager arrived in Bathgate's King Street at 5.05pm. She was then seen asking for directions to the bus stop in South Bridge Street, where she was due to catch the 6.10pm bus home.

According to eyewitnesses, after arriving in the town, the schoolgirl, who was 5ft 5in, and of medium build, bought a bag of chips from Valente's in George Place. She was eating them at a place known locally as "the Steelyard", where she was last seen.

Eleven days after Hamilton vanished, her purse was found near St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, but some believe it had been dropped deliberately to put investigators off the scent.

No trace of her or any of the clothing - a black pilot jersey, blue jeans, maroon T-shirt, grey 'Unisys' sweatshirt or brown Hush Puppies shoes - which she was wearing at the time, has ever been found.

The "cold case review" was headed by Detective Superintendent Brian Doneghan, who said he and his team had been reviewing the circumstances surrounding the girl's disappearance for several months.

Announcing the new probe, he explained: "Many people will be familiar with the story of Vicky's disappearance and we are keen to hear from anyone, particularly those who lived in Bathgate, who may remember something that they think could help our officers.

"Her family has lived with unanswered questions and with grief since her disappearance. They deserve to know what happened to Vicky."

Last month, forensic teams descended on a semi-detached property in the Falside area of Bathgate.

The teams spent around two weeks taking the house apart, removing hundreds of items of potential evidence, including carpets, skirting boards and kitchen and bathroom fittings.

The back garden of the property was also excavated and a specially trained dog, a Springer Spaniel called Keisha, which can sniff out minute blood traces, was also brought in to help the new inquiry.

Police divers also carried out a systematic search of the lake in the nearby Boghead Nature Reserve.

DS Doneghan added: "Clearly, considerable time has elapsed since Vicky went missing and it is incumbent on us to use methodologies which allow us to satisfy ourselves as to whether or not she was ever in that house.

"The house has been occupied by different families over that period of time.

"We are using methods to make sure their traces are eliminated and we are attempting to ascertain if there is any trace of Vicky within the house."

He continued: "Anybody will leave traces of themselves, whether it is DNA, fingerprints or fibres from clothing, so we have a number of experts on board within the police service.

"We also have experts from academic institutes and private industry who have experience in this sort of search, and they are advising us on the best places to look."