Today marks 20 years since the unsolved murder of Kirsty Bentley, but DNA advances bring new hope

December 31, 2018

The 15-year-old’s body was found 18 years later in scrub beside the Ashburton River.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the disappearance of Ashburton teenager Kirsty Bentley, but police haven't given up trying to find her killer. New DNA techniques are being used, two decades on.

The 15-year-old's body was found nearly three weeks later - discovered in the scrub beside the Ashburton River, where she had taken her dog Abby for a walk on New Year's Eve 1997.

Mother Jill Peachy has since left Ashburton in search of a new life, but one filled with the memories of her daughter.

"In some ways it's like it's yesterday, and in other ways it's a completely new life," Ms Peachy told 1 NEWS.

"She had a vibrancy that just lives forever and I think of her and that warmth of her smile comes through."

Kirsty's killer has never been found, with the location of the murder just as much of a mystery.

Her underwear is now being re-tested, along with the lead her dog was wearing, in the hope that advances in DNA testing could finally reveal the killer and give Kirsty's family some closure.

Had she lived, Kirsty would today be 35 years old.

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