Police may search rubbish tip for missing North Queensland girl

Rachel Antonio went missing on Anzac Day, 1998. Photo / Supplied

Police are considering whether to excavate a North Queensland rubbish tip where it is feared missing schoolgirl Rachel Antonio may be buried.

The 16-year-old vanished without a trace after being dropped off at a Bowen cinema on Anzac Day, 1998.

Rachel's parents, Ian and Cheryl Antonio, believe her body may have ended up at the Bowen dump which could finally be searched after investigators received new information about the case.

Mackay District Detective Inspector Nikki Colfs said police were determining the feasibility of digging up the tip after being provided with maps detailing where rubbish was located at the time of Rachel's disappearance.

She said cost wasn't a consideration, with the search instead hinging on the likelihood of finding any evidence.

"Cost is never a consideration when we are dealing with someone's life," she told reporters in Mackay on Thursday.

"It's really important that the family know what actually happened to their daughter."

Det Insp Colfs inspected the Bowen dump on Wednesday along with the former manager of the site and a forensic officer.

She said it appeared the search would be a fairly difficult job and couldn't give a time frame of when police would decide on whether to proceed.

A coronial inquest into Rachel's disappearance was held last year after former surf lifesaver Robert Hytch was acquitted of her manslaughter at a retrial in 2001.

The inquest found Hytch most likely killed her but Coroner David O'Connell was unable to ascertain the exact cause of Antonio's death or where her body was.

"Ultimately I cannot determine what Hytch did with Rachel's body unless her remains are located," O'Connell said.
A A$250,000 reward for information which leads to the discovery of her body has been offered.

Det Insp Colfs said investigators were hopeful the latest development in the case may generate some more information.