THE sister of Arlene Arkinson, murdered 30 years ago, has said she will never give up hope that her body will be found, as a vigil was held in Tyrone to mark the devastatingly sad anniversary.
The 15-year-old from Castlederg, County Tyrone, disappeared in August 1994 after a night out in Bundoran, County Donegal. Her remains were never found. Numerous searches, including some in vast swathes of bogland and forestry near the Irish border, have been carried out in search of Ms Arkinson’s remains.
One of the last searches was conducted by the gardaí in May 2024 in the Castlefin area of Co. Donegal.
“The Police Service of Northern Ireland on their Long-Term Missing Persons site say: “Arlene Arkinson is described as being 15 years old (at the time of going missing), 5’4” tall, medium build, fresh complexion, dirty fair shoulder length hair, and blue eyes.
“Last seen: Arlene Arkinson had attended a disco in Bundoran, Co. Donegal, Ireland, and was then last seen in Castlederg, Co. Tyrone, in the early hours of Sunday 14 August 1994.
“Additional information: An inquest in 2021 led the coroner to rule that Robert Howard had been responsible for the death of Arlene Arkinson on 14 August 1994. Arlene Arkinson’s body has not yet been located.”
The PSNI stress that anyone with information can contact them on www.psni.police.uk/report in complete confidence.
Robert Howard, a convicted child killer and rapist was charged with Arlene’s murder in 2002 but acquitted in 2005. He died in 2015 in prison aged 71.
As was correct court procedure, the jury in the case was not told of Robert Howard’s history of violent sexual offences and that he had already been convicted of the murder and rape of schoolgirl Hannah Williams in London in 2001.When Arlene disappeared, he was on bail for a series of violent sexual offences against a teenage girl.
An inquest in 1921 found that Arlene was murdered by Howard. When Arlene Arkinson disappeared, he was on bail for a series of violent sexual offences against a teenage girl.
The Arkinson family solicitor Des Doherty said new information could come to light if a public inquiry were held
Mr Doherty, told BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme that there was “fresh momentum” to look at the case again and urged Justice Minister Naomi Long to reconsider her decision not to call a public inquiry.
For her part, the North’s Justice Minister Naomi Long defended her decision not to hold a public enquiry into the case. She told the BBC she had met the Arkinson family, and “fully appreciates the past 30 years have been deeply traumatic as they have continued to grieve and search for answers on behalf of Arlene”.
But she was adamant that the decision not to establish a public enquiry was taken after very careful consideration of all the facts pertaining to the case, particularly the points put forward by the Arkinson family and their legal representatives. “I also took account of the coroner’s detailed inquest findings, the Police Ombudsman report into the handling of the police investigation into Arlene’s disappearance, and the significant changes to police missing person policies.”