Police have begun searching for the remains of a missing Melbourne teenager at the site of an infamous double-killing.
Detectives are working on the theory that 13-year-old Prudence Bird, also known as Prue, was killed and then dumped in dense bush near Fiddler's Green Creek in East Gippsland in 1992.
The bodies of schoolgirls Lauren Barry and Nichole Collins were found at the same site in 1997.
Both girls had been kidnapped in Bega, NSW, driven across the border to the isolated site and repeatedly raped and then killed.
Two men were charged and jailed for the killings.
While Prue's disappearance remained a cold case file for nearly 20 years, detectives achieved a major breakthrough last week by laying a murder charge against a 42-year-old man.
Prue had vanished from her Glenroy home in northern Melbourne and was last seen through the rear window of a car as it sped off from the area.
A court has heard how police believe the motive for her disappearance and presumed murder dates back over several years and is quite extensive and detailed.
A police spokeswoman said detectives began searching for human remains in relation to a cold case at the site on Monday but could not provide further comment.
Leslie Camilleri is expected to face the Melbourne Magistrates Court in relation to the murder charge on Wednesday.
