Old mystery comes alive

By BRIDGET CARTER

West Auckland police have been inundated with calls about the 1976 mystery of Tracey Ann Patient, found dead in the Waitakere Ranges.

The 13-year-old's strangled body was found after she disappeared one day while walking along Great North Rd in Henderson, and 28 years on, the case has never been solved.

But yesterday police said the telephone rang all day with new information after publicity was given to her murder in the Weekend Herald and on the Holmes show.

One of the few clues at the time was a number.

An anonymous telephone call led police to find the teenager's ring.

The caller quoted the number 126040, but police have never been able to crack the code.

Callers rang yesterday, suggesting solutions to the mystery, and naming possible suspects.

* Anyone with any information should call Waitakere City CIB (09) 839-0600.