Detectives charge man, 45, with murder of mother who went missing 17 years ago after dentist appointment

  • Police charged a 45-year-old man over the murder of Rebecca Delalande
  • Ms Delalande disappeared in 2001 from a Perth suburb without raising suspicion
  • Mother Doreena said her daughter had a rebellious streak as a teenager
  • Police discovered the woman was missing during an unrelated investigation
  • Detectives will search an industrial property over the coming days for clues 

By Aidan Wondracz For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 01:43 EDT, 3 November 2018 | Updated: 04:57 EDT, 3 November 2018

A 45-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a missing woman who disappeared nearly two decades ago.

Rebecca Delalande attended a dentist appointment on November 5, 2001, before she was last seen at a home on Fortunella Grove in Seville Grove, a Perth suburb.

Suspicion escaped the family, which believed the then-23-year-old mother had simply moved.

Rebecca Delalande (pictured) attended a dentist appointment on November 5, 2001, before she was last seen at a home on Fortunella Grove in Seville Grove, a Perth suburb

Rebecca Delalande (pictured) attended a dentist appointment on November 5, 2001, before she was last seen at a home on Fortunella Grove in Seville Grove, a Perth suburb

They thought she had gone to make a new life for herself and left an adoptive family to raise her six-year-old son.

Ms Delalande's mother Doreena Kunoth told reporters on Wednesday her daughter had a rebellious streak as a teenager.

'I always had a feeling Rebecca was alive or is alive,' she said.

'I just assumed that my daughter got mixed up with some bad people, a bad crowd and she decided she didn’t want to be involved in the family anymore.'

Police only learned Ms Delalande had disappeared in late 2017, when detectives were investigating an unrelated case in which she could have been a witness.

Police only appealed for public assistance this week to help locate the missing woman.

'We would like to thank community members for coming forward and assisting with this investigation,' Cold Case Homicide Squad Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Stephen said. 

Today detectives said a 45-year-old man from Rockingham had been charged with murder.

Police only appealed for public assistance this week to help locate the missing woman

Police only appealed for public assistance this week to help locate the missing woman

They said a search would be carried out at an industrial property in Bayswater.

Police did not reveal the link between the man and the property and are going off 'sufficient information'. 

The property will be cleared of shipping containers and other materials this weekend before detectives carry out forensic works on Monday. 

In the meantime, police have urged anyone with information that could assist their investigation to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. 

Ms Delalande has been described as 161cm tall and of a slim build. She had brown hair and eyes.  

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Rockingham man charged with murder of Perth's Rebecca Delalande 17 years after disappearance

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