Probe of Bendigo pair fell short: coroner

Police wasted decades before properly investigating the disappearance and likely murder of two Victorian teens, a coroner says.

Maureen Braddy and Allan Whyte vanished after leaving a dance in Bendigo on November 23, 1968.

Their bodies have never been found.

Coroner Iain West said many people, including their families and police, thought the 16-year-old and 17-year-old had run away.

It meant there was no adequate investigation into the mystery until the late 1990s.

The coroner has found the pair, who left all their personal belongings behind, likely met with foul play and died on the night of the dance or soon after.

Who killed them and how remains a mystery.

Police did not get witness statements in the days after and there was no forensic examination or public appeal for information.

"The critical period for this investigation was in the immediate aftermath of the disappearances," Mr West said on Thursday.

Neither the Braddy nor Whyte families appeared overly concerned at the time, Mr West said, which explained police shortcomings but didn't excuse them.

"They serve as a reminder to investigators of the need to challenge one's opinions, to seek out all evidence at the earliest opportunity and to fully consider all reasonable hypotheses," he said.

Maureen's father Stanley Braddy Snr was the only identified suspect in the case.

A witness reported hearing gunshots and a car drive away from the vicinity of the Braddy home that night, and during the inquest Mr Braddy said he believed the pair were still alive.

Coroner West said Mr Braddy's behaviour was highly suspicious but there wasn't enough evidence to find he was involved in the teenagers' deaths.