New DNA hope in schoolgirl search

Vicky Hamilton went missing 15 years ago

A fresh inquiry has begun into the disappearance of Falkirk teenager Vicky Hamilton in 1991.

Officers now believe the 15-year-old, who was last seen in Bathgate, West Lothian, was abducted and killed.

They have launched a murder inquiry and her relatives admit they have given up hope of ever seeing her again.

Police are hoping for a breakthrough using DNA testing on Vicky's purse, which was found in Edinburgh several days after she went missing.

I don't think we're going to see Vicky alive again, so I welcome it Vicky's father Michael

Vicky's disappearance was previously treated as a missing person's inquiry.

Detective Inspector Neil Robertson, of Lothian and Borders Police, said: "I don't believe Vicky ran away.

"Having been involved in the inquiry from the beginning and followed it through, I personally believe that Vicky was abducted and has been murdered."

Person responsible

The missing teenager was last seen in Bathgate as she returned from Livingston, where she had been staying with her sister, to her home in Redding, near Falkirk.

In 1993 Vicky's mother Janette died.

Her father Michael welcomed the fresh push to find the person responsible for his daughter's disappearance.

"I don't think we're going to see Vicky alive again, so I welcome it," he said.

"He's not just killed Vicky. He's killed her mother. He's killed half the family.

"If Vicky had been alive today we could have had grandchildren, which we've not got."