POLICE investigating the 1996 disappearance of Sarah Spiers have charged Bradley Robert Edwards with her murder.

The 18-year-old girl was the first suspected victim in Perth’s infamous Claremont serial killings.

Ms Spiers disappeared after a night out with friends in Claremont in January 1996. Police believe she was abducted and murdered, but her body has never been found.

Edwards, 49, of Kewdale, has already been charged with the subsequent murders of Jane Rimmer and Sarah Glennon. The three girls disappeared from January 1996 to March 1997.

Sarah’s father Don Spiers previously told news.com.au that his family had been experiencing “unbelievable” anxiety since Edwards, a 48-year-old Kewdale man, was charged with the murders of the two other Claremont victims, although not his daughter’s disappearance.

But Mr Spiers said he remained ever hopeful the desperate answers to the questions that have haunted them for 22 years about where his daughter’s remains are and what happened to the teenager will one day be known.

However, it is not yet clear whether police are any closer to discovering Sarah’s body after the breakthrough charges today.

“I’m feeling pretty bad. The anxiety is unbelievable because they have made an arrest and we haven’t got a positive answer,” Mr Spiers said.

“We’re very anxious because we haven’t resolved anything. But I’ve said all along that I’m quite optimistic that there would be a result; over the 20 years I’ve never ever thought there would never be a result.

“Of course, we want closure but that’s not the only thing we want ... we just hope that there’s a chance it may happen.”

Earlier this month, it was revealed that cold case homicide squad detectives had found a new lead in the investigation.

They appealed for the public’s assistance to help find a white 1992 Toyota Camry Station Wagon.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde from the special crime division told Perth Now that, despite the significant passage of time, it was still possible the vehicle could assist the investigation.

“It is a new line of inquiry we’d like to finalise,” he said.

“We are aware this car was deregistered in 2008, but from that time onwards it is unclear what happened to it.

“It may have been wrecked or abandoned, or could still be in use on a rural property.”

Edwards is due to appear in the Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on Wednesday, February 28, on this and other previously laid charges.