The taskforce created to investigate the disappearance of 13-year-old Melbourne schoolgirl Siriyakorn ’Bung’ Siriboon has been dismantled and the case will be handled by the homicide squad.
Detective Superintendent Tess Walsh said that shutting down the specialised Puma taskforce did not mean police had given up hope of finding Bung and the person responsible for her disappearance.
“We’ve met with Bung’s family and explained to them that the investigation is still very much active, and we remain committed to providing them with some answers,” she said in a statement.
She said the taskforce was established to ‘‘provide dedicated support to the investigation, and to follow up the large volume of information’’ generated from calls to Crime Stoppers.
Homicide detectives have always investigated the case but the dedicated taskforce has been dismantled.
‘‘If new information is received, or the investigation gets to the stage where we need to draw on additional resources, we have the ability to upscale our response if needed,’’ Detective Superintendent Walsh said.
The teenager vanished from her home in Boronia in Melbourne’s east on June 2, 2011. She was seen by a neighbour shortly after 8.30am in Elsie Street, walking towards her school.
Another witness came forward in June 2012 to say that they had seen Bung about 130 metres from her school that morning, but she has not been seen since.
Police have interviewed more than 250 registered sex offenders, searched more than 1000 homes and investigated more than 1100 pieces of information since her disappearance.
They will hold a press conference on Friday morning, where they are expected to outline the latest developments in the case.
