Residents are being urged to come forward as Homicide Squad detectives from Victoria Police continue their search for information in relation to the death of teenager Mandy Lee Yodgee, whose body was found in Sassafras in 1984.
On Sunday 29 April 1984, the 17-year-old left her Windsor home and travelled by taxi to the South Yarra arms Hotel on Toorak Road, wearing her favourite pink suede boots, a pink cardigan, blue jeans and was carrying a tan handbag with a foxtail charm attached.
Mandy indicated to a family friend she would spend the night at her boyfriend’s flat. She arrived at the South Yarra Arms Hotel at around 5.30pm, with witnesses telling police she socialized and drank with a man who was not her boyfriend before leaving the hotel with him an hour later.
The two visited the Windsor Castle Hotel at around 6.45pm and a pizza restaurant around 11pm before heading to a unit in Prahan where they ate pizza and continued drinking until the early hours of the morning.
Police said when questioned by investigators, the man said Mandy left the unit alone after 1.30am, intending to call a taxi as he was unable to drive her home because he was intoxicated.
Investigators know Mandy didn’t attend her boyfriend’s flat and there is nothing to verify Mandy ever left the unit.
On Wednesday 2 May 1984, Mandy was reported missing after she didn’t attend work or home for three days, having missed her 18th birthday.
Several witnesses came forward and provided information to investigators, including two independent sightings of Mandy on both 2 and 3 May.
On Tuesday 8 May 1984, her body was found discovered off the side of Mountain Highway, Sassafras in the Dandenong Ranges.
Mandy was found fully clothed and face down, however, her pink suede boots had been removed, with investigators believing they may have been removed and thrown from the highway down the embankment.
Detectives strongly believe that Mandy was murdered and there may be people in the community who know what happened to her and who was responsible.
Police are asking anybody with information or who may have witnessed Mandy’s movements between 29 April and 8 May 1984 to come forward, particularly in the South Yarra, Prahran, Windsor and Dandenong Ranges areas.
The man Mandy was last seen with on the night of 29 April 1984 remains a strong person of interest.
Anyone with information that could assist investigators is urged to contact 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report via the Crime Stoppers Victoria website.
