50 years after the disappearance of a Norfolk teenager - police say the case is still open.

April Fabb was 13 when she went missing while cycling on a quiet country road in the village of Metton near Cromer on April 8th 1969.

Her bike was found abandoned in a nearby village. Credit: ITV News Anglia

She had left home to cycle the two miles to her sister's house in the neighbouring village of Roughton. Sadly, she never arrived. She'd stopped to talk to two friends and was seen by a tractor driver but what happened in the few minutes before her bike was seen lying in a nearby village is a question nobody's been able to answer.

It sparked one of the biggest searches ever carried out by police in Norfolk.Despite an extensive investigation with nearly 2,000 statements taken, April has never been seen since.

Her grave in the village of Metton, North Norfolk. Credit: ITV News Anglia

50 years on, detectives are hoping this significant anniversary might just persuade someone who has information to at last come forward.

"I've always felt there was a local element to April's disappearance," said Andy Guy, who leads the cold case team reviewing almost 60 unsolved crimes in Norfolk and Suffolk.

He's ruled out a link between April Fabb and Robert Black, a child serial killer jailed after murdering four youngsters in the early 80s.

It may be there are people alive today that have always suspected a family member, friend; someone more local that they felt uncomfortable about. Perhaps as time's gone on and there's an anniversary, the mention of Metton means that person behaves differently or there's s change of behaviour. That's the kind of information we're interested in, even 50 years later." Andy Guy, Cold Case Manager

April's parents both died without ever knowing what happened. Credit: ITV News Anglia

Her parents Albert and Olive Fabb have both since died, tragically without ever finding out what happened to the youngest of their three daughters.

Although Mrs Fabb had remained hopeful in the weeks after April went missing, her husband was always more pessimistic.

I used to have hopes for her perhaps for a month or so but after it kept going on and on ,I think she must have been killed or done something to. Albert Fabb, Father

Extensive searches were carried out over the years. Credit: ITV News Anglia

Michael Cole was a reporter, working for the BBC at the time.

"The most poignant thing, the saddest thing of all was the saddle bag on her little blue and white bicycle with her possessions in it," he recalled. "She had 10 cigarettes which she was going to give as a birthday present to her brother- in -law, a handkerchief and five and a half old pence. That's all that remained."

Frogmen searched local lakes while police officers boarded local buses and trains in the hope of discovering that vital clue. This was all 50 years ago when police techniques were a lot less sophisticated than today.

The investigation became so desperate that a Dutch clairvoyant was brought in to try and help. But that yielded nothing. The police file remains open.