A search is underway for the body of a 12-year-old Sydney girl who disappeared on her way to school nearly two decades ago, after a man was charged with her murder.

Quanne Diec left her Granville home in Sydney’s west on the morning of July 27, 1998, to go to school, but never made it.

After more than 18 years, police arrested and charged a 49-year-old man with her murder on Sunday afternoon.

He will appear in Central Local Court on Monday.

Superintendent Scott Whyte told reporters in Sydney the man accused of murdering Quanne was not known to the family, but said the murder was not random.

“There is a search underway at the moment at a (local) residence,” Supt Whyte said.

The accused, he said, has been “a person of interest in this investigation for 18 years”.

It’s also believed the 12-year-old was alive a short time after she disappeared.

He would not comment on whether the 49-year-old was stalking the schoolgirl.

Quanne never made it to Clyde train station on that July 1988 morning, and failed to turn up for class at Strathfield Girls High School.

Early on in the investigation, Quanne was feared to have been abducted, but her disappearance was not reported to police for about 10 hours because the school believed she was probably at home sick.

Her Vietnamese family refused to give up hope for Quanne, with then-premier Bob Carr offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to the location of the schoolgirl, who would now be 30.

The Diec family, who has searched for years for the schoolgirl, has been told of the man’s arrest.

“They are very distressed. It is a time of mixed emotions,” Supt Whyte told reporters on Monday.

Supt Whyte said police had never stopped investigating the disappearance of the girl.

“Police investigators … never stop, never give up.”

For the years following her disappearance, Quanne’s family prayed that she was alive.

Her elderly father ,Sam, had travelled around Australia in the hope of confirming reported sightings of his daughter.

While sister Tina and brother Sunny both told media in 2000 they were praying for the return of their sister.

Strike Force Lydney was established with police pursuing numerous avenues and following up reported sightings to no avail.

During the investigation Detective Inspector Brad Cox said police had hypnotised witnesses, set up mannequins and drained and searched a nearby waterway, Duck Creek, but failed to come up with answers.

Police were unable to confirm whether Quanne was the girl seen talking to the male driver of a white van near the intersection of Third and Factory streets in Granville on the day of her disappearance.

The girl was reportedly seen getting into the van, which then drove away.