I think it was her young age and family background, that made it obvious she wasnt just a run away. In those days there was no social media but her family and friends plastered missing posters everywhere.
In the recent replay of the CIA documentary about the Birnies it stated that the police took some time to link the cases, perhaps this time they wanted to jump straight on to the case of a missing teenage girl, unlike their somewhat slower response a decade earlier when they seemed to assume until Kate Moir escaped that the victims were runaways. IMO
https://youtu.be/WATx7dV6RXQ
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Good point about the police acting quickly in light of their experience with the Birnie's.
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