Former senior officers at Surrey Police failed to investigate a claim that Milly Dowler's phone had been hacked during their 2002 inquiry into her abduction and murder, a watchdog has found.
Officers at all levels of the inquiry knew the allegation had been made against the News Of The World (NOTW) but did nothing despite suggestions a crime may have been committed, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said.
But the watchdog added it had not been able to discover why nothing was done, adding senior officers appeared to be suffering from a "form of collective amnesia".
IPCC deputy chair Deborah Glass said: "We will never know what would have happened had Surrey Police carried out an investigation into the hacking of Milly Dowler's phone in 2002.
"Phone hacking was a crime and this should have been acted upon, if not in 2002, then later, once the NOTW's widespread use of phone hacking became a matter of public knowledge and concern.
"Our investigation has heard from officers and former officers from Surrey Police who have expressed surprise and dismay that it wasn't investigated.
"We have not been able to uncover any evidence, in documentation or witness statements, of why and by whom that decision was made - former senior officers, in particular, appear to have been afflicted by a form of collective amnesia in relation to the events of 2002.
"This is perhaps not surprising, given the events of 2011 and the public outcry that the hacking of Milly Dowler's phone produced."
Levi Bellfield was convicted of the girl's murder in June 2011 In July 2011, it emerged Milly's phone may have been hacked by the Sunday tabloid - claims which led to the newspaper's owner Rupert Murdoch shutting down the paper.
Milly, 13, was abducted in March 2002 and her body was found in September that year.
The IPCC findings follow an investigation into the conduct of two senior officers, Deputy Chief Constable Craig Denholm and temporary Detective Superintendent Maria Woodall.
Surrey Police said it had taken "management action and issued words of advice" to both officers, although the IPCC concluded neither had a case to answer for misconduct.
Former nightclub bouncer Levi Bellfield was convicted of Milly's murder in June 2011, some nine years after the teenager vanished as she walked home from school after leaving Walton-on-Thames station.
Following Bellfield's trial, the then Surrey Police chief constable, Mark Rowley, set up Operation Baronet to look into reports that Surrey Police was aware in April 2002 that the NOTW had allegedly intercepted Milly's voicemail.
Surrey Police Authority and Surrey Police referred complaints against Mr Denholm and Ms Woodall to the IPCC in June 2012 in light of evidence arising from Operation Baronet.
The force's chief constable Lynne Owens said: "Surrey Police acknowledged in 2011 that the hacking of Milly Dowler's voicemails should have been investigated and both the former chief constable and I have met with and apologised to the Dowler family for the distress this has caused."
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