A new podcast investigating the disappearance of two teenage girls from the NSW Sutherland Shire more than 40 years ago has revealed striking similarities in the cold case to other unsolved murders in the region.

When good friends Elaine Johnson, 16, and Kerry Anne Joel, 17, vanished in January 1980, the police cast the pair as runaways.

The girls were seen as rebellious because Elaine left home shortly after arguing with her parents over a party held at their house, and Kerry Anne had a minor accident in her mother's car.

However, Elaine's family has maintained she wasn't the type to run away and never gave up searching for answers.

Key police shortcomings in their case have been examined in the investigative podcast Out from the Cold: Searching for Elaine .

The girls' friend

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