SURREY Police and Crimestoppers are offering a £50,000 reward for information which helps them find whoever murdered 13-year-old Amanda (Milly) Dowler, who went missing from Walton-on-Thames a year ago.
Officers believe that a key pieces of information they are looking for could be the clothes and possessions that Milly had with her when she disappeared. None of Milly's school uniform nor her school bag and its contents have ever been found.
Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Denholm, leading the enquiry, said: "Finding Milly's clothes and the other items she had with her at the time of her disappearance would be one of our best opportunities for a breakthrough on this case.
"They may provide crucial evidence to help us find Milly's killer and we are again appealing for the public's help to locate them. If anyone has come across any of these items, whether in the possession of someone they know or discarded, I would urge them to call and let us know.
"We are offering a £50,000 reward for any information which leads us to Milly's killer. Anyone who would rather give information anonymously can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
Surrey Police say the size of the reward, which is funded by £10,000 from Crimestoppers and £40,000 from Surrey Police, is "quite exceptional and demonstrates the huge commitment to this case".
When Milly went missing, she was wearing her school uniform of navy blue blazer, light-blue V-necked jumper, white blouse, short, grey skirt and a navy and light-blue striped tie.
She also wore a pair of black "Pod" shoes. She had the following items with her: a Nokia 3210 mobile phone with a silver front and blue back which was marked "Milly"; a beige and black Jansport rucksack; a small pink, glittery Barbie case; a rimlock and a mortice lock key on a bottle opener keyring and a white plastic purse with a red heart motif.
Surrey Police still has a team of 30 to 40 officers on the enquiry, working from the Major Incident Room at Staines police station.
The investigating team has been contacted by almost 9,000 people offering information, hastaken more than 3,300 statements and checked more than 2,700 vehicles as part of the enquiry.
And more than 500 items have been submitted for forensic testing. Experts are still in the process of painstakingly examining more than 40 sacks of leaf matter, which were taken from the site where Milly's body was found.
Commenting on the investigation, Detective Chief Superintendent Denholm said: "We have committed huge resources to this investigation and have gone to extraordinary lengths to crack the case.
"This is why, despite being 12 months on, we still have a number of open lines of inquiry. We remain optimistic that we will find whoever is responsible for Milly's murder."