Fresh appeal for information on 15th anniversary of Peter Falconio murder
Police in Australia have used the 15-year anniversary of the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio to renew calls for information to help find his remains.
Mr Falconio, who was originally from Huddersfield, was shot dead on the spot while travelling through Central Australia with his girlfriend Joanne Lees, who managed to escape after hiding for hours in the desert.
She later hailed down a passing road-train but all that was left of her boyfriend was a pool of his blood on the road.
Speaking to ABC Australia, Acting Deputy Commissioner Jamie Chalker said the case was still open and they would welcome any new leads.
Mr Falconio's body has never been found.
Mr Chalker called on anybody with information to contact police.
"If anybody has any information as to his whereabouts … come forward," Mr Chalker said.
He said the case continues to fascinate the media and the public, leading to new avenues of inquiry, some which are more reliable than others.
"Recently there was another media expose in respects of locating an item that was believed to be linked to Falconio, but further investigation showed the item had no linkage whatsoever
Mr Chalker said police took all relevant information from the public seriously.
"What we're hoping is that at some point in time we still do get calls around skeletal remains in particular, if people happen to stumble over them by happenstance.
"Australian law enforcement has a history of many cold cases where somebody finally has the realisation that they themselves may not have long left on earth and make the decision to impart information that they've held onto for a very long period of time."
Police still hope Falconio's convicted killer, Bradley John Murdoch, will reveal where he hid his victim's body.
"We continue to urge Bradley to think about that and to think about the family and the resolution he can give them."
The Australian Northern Territories Government recently enacted new laws called "no body, no parole".
The laws deny convicted killers of their parole, unless they reveal where the remains of their victims are.
Click below to watch Matt Price's report: