Family will never give up search for her body

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Family will never give up search for her body

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Arlene Arkinson was 15 when went she went missing in 1994

The sister of Arlene Arkinson, who was murdered 30 years ago, has said she will never give up hope that her body will be found.

The 15-year-old from Castlederg, County Tyrone,

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after a night out in Bundoran, County Donegal.

In July 2021,

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she was murdered by convicted child ******* and ******* Robert Howard, who ***** in 2015. He had previously been charged with her ******* in 2002 but acquitted in 2005.

Speaking ahead of a 30th anniversary vigil, Kathleen Arkinson said her sister deserved “to be found and get a decent burial” and that she believed deep in her heart that “some day Arlene will be 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 ********.

One of the last searches was conducted by An Garda Síochána (the Irish police service) in May 2024 in the Castlefin area of County Donegal.

Kathleen Arkinson said she has mixed emotions ahead of the memorial in her sister’s memory.

“One day I’m alright, the next I’m not – I just can’t believe it’s been 30 years,” she said.

“I’m thinking about Arlene and that night – I know she suffered, but I just wish I could’ve taken the pain.”

“[Robert] Howard ******* Arlene, but he also ******* a part of us as well,” she added.

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An inquest in 2021 found Robert Howard, who ***** in 2015, murdered Arlene Arkinson

Howard, who was the last person seen with Arlene Arkinson before her disappearance, was previously charged with her *******, but was acquitted in 2005.

The jury in the case was not told of his history of violent ******* offences and that he had already been convicted of the ******* and ***** of schoolgirl Hannah Williams in London in 2001.

When Arlene Arkinson disappeared, he was on bail for a series of violent ******* offences against a teenage girl.

He ***** in prison in 2015, aged 71.

A subsequent inquest later found that Howard was responsible for Arlene Arkinson’s *******.

Kathleen Arkinson said “the whole system let Arlene down” and their family are still left with many unanswered questions.

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The Arkinson family solicitor Des Doherty says new information could come to light if a public inquiry was held

The family’s solicitor, Des 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.

Mr Doherty said the family had been left in a “legal void”.

“If a public inquiry is the only way to keep their case in the public eye, then so be it,” the solicitor said.

“I do not see any other legal option [other than a public inquiry] that is available to the family at this point.

“I think new information will come to light.”

He said any public inquiry should not only focus on the activities of Howard “more closely”, but also look at the “legal system in this jurisdiction and how the law and the police behaved in relation to this case and how it was dealt with”.

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Justice Minister Naomi Long says there is “not sufficient grounds for a public inquiry”

Justice Minister Naomi Long said she had met the Arkinson family, and that she “fully appreciates the past 30 years have been deeply traumatic as they have continued to grieve and search for answers on behalf of Arlene”.

“My decision not to establish a public enquiry was taken after very careful consideration of everything that had been put before me, both verbally and in writing, by the Arkinson family and by their legal representative,” she said.

“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.”

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said their investigation into the disappearance and ******* of Arlene Arkinson was “dedicated and extensive, and we share genuine frustrations that Arlene’s body was never found”.

“While all active lines of enquiry have concluded, it is not too late for anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward,” they said.

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