Furlong homicide team offers reward

Police are offering up to $50,000 as a reward to any person or people who provide material information or evidence that leads to the identity and conviction of anyone responsible for the 1993 death of Jane Furlong.

Officer in charge of the homicide investigation, Detective Inspector Mark Benefield, says the reward announcement comes 10 months after Jane's skeletal remains were found in sand dunes at Sunset Beach, Port Waikato, on May 12, 2012.

"The investigation team continues to work tirelessly on this mystery and has done so ever since the remains were confirmed as Jane's. This announcement is just another phase in the operation.

"We have interviewed and spoken with literally hundreds of people, some of whom have been less helpful than others. Our investigations have taken us far and wide and may continue to do so.

"We know there are people who know what happened to Jane after she was reportedly last seen on May 26, 1993 and those people owe it to themselves, Jane's memory, her family and friends to tell us what they know."

Jane Marie Furlong was 17 and the mother of an infant when she went missing, last seen by friends on Auckland's Karangahape Rd, in May 1993. It's not clear when she died or when she was buried at Port Waikato, but Police believe it's possible she may have been alive for at least a few days after she was reportedly last seen.

"Our overriding objectives have always been to establish - as best we can - when, where, how and at whose hands Jane died and how she ended up buried at Port Waikato," Mr Benefield said.

"We believe more than one person was involved or at least has vital information about her disappearance and death."

A large billboard advising of the $50,000 reward offer has been rented at the western end of Karangahape Rd and will be installed this afternoon. It will remain there for six weeks and anyone with information is urged to contact the investigation team on 0800 675 263 or e-mail furlong@police.govt.nz.
Anonymous informants can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

ENDS

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