Police have resumed a search for two men who went missing in Brabant 44 years ago after receiving a tip-off about their possible last resting place.

Piet Hölskens and Hans Martens disappeared after a night out in Deurne on March 16 1974. They are believed to have been killed. Police investigated the case several times, hiring a private detective agency and a psychic investigator, but have been unable to locate either the two men’s bodies or their car.

The latest search is the result of a private investigation carried out on behalf of the family by the Centaur bureau, which mentioned a body of water in Liessel which has never been searched before. A sonar boat is trawling the De Brink reservoir in search of the men’s car.

In 2012 police reopened the inquiry after detectives received a tip-off about the possible identity of the killer, but interviews and a DNA investigation produced a dead end.

The murder inquiry will not be reopened because the legal time limit to bring charges has expired, but a police spokesman said: ‘Missing persons cases don’t have a deadline.’