A police officer involved in re-investigating the death of Gomeroi teenager Mark Haines has told an inquest he's always believed someone was involved.

Mark Haines was 17 when his body was found on train tracks just outside Tamworth in northern NSW in January 1988.

Police found a stolen car next to the rail line, which appeared to have crashed and rolled.

Mr Haines' family never believed the findings of an initial police investigation, which ruled the 17-year-old had lain on the tracks either deliberately or in a dazed state after a car crash.

A coroner handed down an open finding after a subsequent inquest.

Mr Haines' family, led by his uncle Don Craigie, has campaigned for decades to re-examine the circumstances of his death, with a fresh inquest beginning in April 2024.

Detective C

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